It's On!

My husband and I have been married for over 11 years. Since being married, we have always alternated Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays between the two families. So, it's always been either my parents or Jon's parents hosting the holidays. We lived in a small house, hours away from either family, so hosting never came up as an option.

March of this year, we relocated to southern Oregon to be closer to Jon's family. This also was the year we spent Christmas with Jon's family. We invited his grandparents to stay with us for five days over the Christmas holiday. The kids were especially excited to have their great-grandparents here.

Now that we live near family, and have a house big enough to have a gathering, we hosted Christmas. I was so excited to finally use my Christmas dishes! It wasn't until this year that I really appreciated what it meant to have someone else host Christmas, and at a distance from our house. Usually, we would go to visit my parents, or Jon's parents. It would be wonderful, magical and full of good food and family. A day or two after Christmas, we would pack up and head home, returning to our normal routine.

Our Christmas tree

The thing about hosting Christmas, and especially about having guests, is that all the food is at our house. Which means, the leftovers are at our house. I hosted a potluck, to make it easy on myself to host a meal for twelve people. I feel like everyday since Christmas, has been Christmas all over again. THE FOOD. There's been ham, potatoes, sweets...you name it.

We never repent of having eaten too little.
Thomas Jefferson

As you've gathered from the title of my blog, I'm a bit of a sweet tooth. Dessert is a weakness for me - like a drug. I need a 12-step program for my sugar addiction. My endocrinologist tells me that this is one of the horrific symptoms of having PCOS. I am insulin resistant, meaning that my body doesn't process sugar correctly. The more I eat, the more I crave. It's a vicious cycle.

What I need to do, is cut down my sugar intake. I did this once before, last spring. I lost 20 pounds in two months, almost effortlessly. I need to be conscious of what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm a boredom eater, and a stress eater...so I'm going to have to find some new vices for when I'm bored or stressed. I'm thinking that reading, exercising and writing this blog will be a good start.

Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow ye diet.
William Gilmore Beymer

So, here we are, on New Year's Eve. Tomorrow is a new day, and a fresh start.

Frustration

I feel as if I live at the doctor's office sometimes. Between my bad knees and PCOS, I frequent the doctor often. I see a reproductive endocrinologist in Eugene, Oregon for my PCOS. He has been a breath of fresh air for me. He understands the syndrome so well, and has helped me understand it better too. He has me on several medications to manage my symptoms, but I have found it difficult to take some of the larger pills lately.


Last week, per his suggestion, I visited a Gastroenterologist. I now have an appointment on January 11th to have an upper endoscopy. Hopefully that will help. In the meantime, I'm going without some of my larger pills and am feeling the effects.


Now, with Christmas over...I have managed to get a cold, complete with pink eye. I am feeling like a hermit. This social butterfly needs to spread her wings! What I need to do is rest, but with kids that isn't always an option. I think there will have to be naps or at least quiet time today, so we can all be well by the weekend. I think my New Year's Eve plans are looking dim.

Movement Goals

So, my friend sent me an invitation on Facebook to join the 100 Days Challenge. The premise is to exercise for 30 minutes per day for 100 days. I suppose that the 'event' being on Facebook is just the incentive that some people need - me included. I was skeptical to accept the invitation, because accountability is a scary thing sometimes. But, I figured if I'm putting myself out there enough to do this blog, I could certainly accept an exercise challenge on Facebook.


My husband and his brother fixed the horrendous squeak in my elliptical machine a few weeks ago, so it's time to get on and conquer that beast once again. I also have one exercise DVD, and several Wii games...so no excuses! You can see my list of resources along the sides of my blog page. I also plan to start walking Old Military Road. This is a steep, country loop.

Stay tuned for updates...

Why am I here?

Well, it's coming time for New Year's resolutions. While I'm not a big fan of that whole tradition, I can appreciate where a new year can be a fresh start. So, here I am.

Summer '07

In September of 2006, I rejoined Weight Watchers for a third time, determined to lose the excess weight and get in shape before I turned 30. I joined a gym and started working out for 1-2 hours, 3-5 times per week. I was on track with my eating, even through the holiday season. I kept a blog of my progress on my MySpace account. It was encouraging, and my friends were supportive. I got down to 140 pounds, and a size 8. I was in the shape of my life for my 30th birthday, April 2007.

I graduated fall '09

That next fall, feeling renewed and invincible, I returned to Oregon State University to complete my bachelor's degree. Between the stress of school, and the lack of time juggling my whole life, the gym fell to the wayside. My food choices started to fall back into old habits of bad choices. Here I am, a few days away from the start of 2011, and I'm dreaming of being healthy and fit, once again.

So, this blog is dedicated to keeping me focused on reaching my health goals, once again. It won't be easy, and it won't be quick...but I know I can do it!