Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Chasing the Turkey

My friend sends me wacky antique cards via email for all the major holidays. Today he asked for a possible caption for this lovely specimen, and my demented reply was:
"Here, turkey turkey turkey! Come to my shiny knife! I'll eat your meat and wear your feathers, for I have no clothes!"

But after seeing this picture I've been imagining myself in the place of the knife-wielding, loincloth-wearing cherub, chasing down the Thanksgiving bounty. That's definitely how I'm feeling this week, as I'm circling in on all the holiday foods coming my way.

I don't want to say I'm giving up this week: I'm still exercising, still eating healthy breakfasts, etc. But I know there's no way I'm losing weight this week. I've got the dinner I'm hosting on Thursday, and then my in-laws are having another one Saturday. Two days of huge meals, and let's not forget the leftovers.

Is it acceptable to say I'm giving myself a "by week" like a football team? It's when a team has a week off, or they're "passing by" that week. It's a little time off to rest and it gives any injured players some time to recuperate. But the team knows that the following week they're heading back to the field to battle another opponent, so they can't get complacent and they have to keep the next game in the back of their minds the whole time.

For me, it means I'll loosen the tight reins I've had on my eating, but not let go entirely. Because come Monday it's back to the Routine (sounds much better than the Diet, I think), so my days of R&R will have a definite expiration. Because I've got another weigh in day right around the corner.

I did this last year and it worked well. I think my eating days may have even extended to an entire week, but as I've mentioned before (and if I mention it too often please tell me I'm getting annoying), I managed to lose 50 pounds last fall, so apparently my plan worked.

I may slow down my weight loss a little, but better to take an extra week than to go mad like the cherub above and chase my food high until St. Patrick's Day. Of course, by then I'd be panting and wheezing from the extra 40 pounds I packed back on!

I'm not sure how much I'll be online the next four to five days, so I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. My wish for myself and anyone reading is to enjoy the time with your loved ones, relish a good meal, and avoid as much guilt, dysfunction and bloating as possible!

2 comments:

Lori G. said...

My goal for Thanksgiving is to eat a half plate of vegetables on one side and other stuff on the other side. I'm making Anne's pumpkin pie tonight along with the asparagus.

Friday is a shopping day for me (although not at 5 am unless my cousin asks me to go with her, then it would be an adventure and fun with someone). But the beauty of my long weekend is that all the students are gone and I and the rest of the townies have the gym to ourselves. All to ourselves, mine mine mine (imitating Gollum), my precious! :-)

Maintaining is an excellent goal. And yes, it's okay to have a bye week. Have a great Thanksgiving and we'll see you when you get back.

Grumpy Chair said...

Have a great guilt-free Thanksgiving Day, I know I'm gonna try too.