The Ten Pounds of Christmas

The Ten Pounds of Christmas

            I gain ten pounds every year at Christmas.

How is that possible? It’s easy. I start in October. Then I struggle to take off my “Christmas fat” in January and February.

            This shameful acquisition of the bulge begins in October with Halloween candy. (And I don’t have small children to blame its presence on.) October is candy month. Any candy that comes into this house during October is for yours truly.

Then there’s snacking during football games—an annual ritual—the home team couldn’t win if I weren’t encouraging them in front of the TV with the cheers of my crunching.

            In November I vow that I will NOT gain weight over the holidays this year. But, having made that vow, the terror of holiday goodie deprivation niggles at me. The only cure for this tweak of conscience is—guess what?—a bowl of buttered popcorn and the last of the Halloween candy.

            Then comes the mother of all eating events, Thanksgiving. It would be a sin to diet on Thanksgiving, wouldn’t it? How else would I show my thankfulness except by indulging in everything the buffet has to offer? Someone went to a lot of trouble to cook all that goodness; it would be rude to pass it up.

            I hardly need to remind you what December brings. But I will: parties, Christmas cookies on display everywhere I go, gifts of home made treats, boxes of fudge and chocolates . . . the list goes on.

            I’m not sure January would be the same without digging out my “fat” clothes, bemoaning my food transgressions of the previous ten weeks, and joining a diet group for the umpteenth time. It’s all part of the post-holiday depression syndrome, that and the drifts of snow that nearly cover our west-facing windows.

Forgive me if you’ve seen this blog before. Yes, I posted it last year and did a weekly add-on until the second week of January. The reason for this repetition? It worked! I gained a mere ½ pound last year. So, hopefully, along with this blog and my weekly trip to TOPS, I can do it again this year.

The holiday season is especially hard for writers. Not only do we have to find time for all things holiday, we frantically try to keep up with our writing and all the things that accompany it. And what’s the easiest cure for stress? Food, of course. Much easier to grab a bag of chips than go for a walk in the frigid air, right?

So please join me for tips, camaraderie, and friendly banter. Together we’ll keep our writing up and our weight down!

Tip of the week:  Dealing with leftovers.

If you're the hostess, be armed with stacks of plastic containers. They're inexpensive, and you can box everything up and send it home with your guests. Be assertive!

If you're stuck with rich goodies, and don’t want to eat them, freeze it or throw it out. But make sure it’s in the garbage with something disgusting enough to prevent retrieving it in a moment of mad craving!

Dear readers,

I plan to continue blogging on the holiday weight-gaining dilemma weekly. Each week I’ll add a new tip on how to buck holiday weight gain. This will be the second year of the series. It really helped me last year, along with joining TOPS before, rather than after, the holiday season. I plan to have another no-weight-gain holiday season. Please join me.

Till next week,

Marla