We had a very understated Thanksgiving. Due to the fact that leading up to Thanksgiving week, during the first two weeks of November, I gained 5 pounds. I skipped a Weight Watcher meeting Nov. 12, but forced myself to go and weigh in the following Sunday, Nov. 19. I was up 5 pounds.
The reason for the gain is simple, I overate. I resorted to some old binge eating behavior that I hadn't done for almost a year. I stopped at the grocery store three times in one week, and purchased a large amount of candy, chips and other junk food. I ate it in my car on my 30-minute commute home. All the while listening to weight loss podcasts (I know how crazy this sounds). I always binge in secret, but I honestly thought I was over my binge problem. Obviously, this is still a problem for me, my Achilles heel that will probably be with me for the rest of my life.
I've been back on track since last Tuesday, Nov. 21. My last secret binge was about the same time in 2016, in November, before, during and after Thanksgiving. I remember it well, because I got up to 230 pounds and went on a diet of my own, then Jenny Craig for about two hours (that's an old post you can read about here), and then joined Weight Watchers in January 2017.
I weighed in yesterday at my Weight Watcher meeting, and lost .8 pounds, so I'm at 166. Still 4.2 higher than my low of 161.8 on Nov. 5. I feel fairly confident that I'll stay on track, but you never know with me. I change on a whim how I feel, one minute I'm super strict with myself, eat right, exercise. Then suddenly, I just don't care anymore. It's been a year since I had that feeling, but I sure had it a couple weeks ago.
I asked my boyfriend since it was just us this year, if we could do a simple, non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. He agreed, since he's gained a few pounds too. He's 6 foot and usually sits at 160 (yes, he's usually very thin, but very muscular too). He was up to 170 and upset by his gain. So he's on a "diet".
We decided a simple dinner of grilled wild-caught sockeye salmon, asparagus, and cranberry sauce made with a little honey and some Stevia (we're both off of processed sugar--although I know honey is really just sugar). Because he loves cranberry sauce, I figure it was a small thing to do to please him. Dessert was homemade angel food cake (with real sugar) with plain, fresh strawberries.
The dinner was really good, but I overate the angel food cake (which has a LOT of calories). My boyfriend cooked the salmon and asparagus. He's an amazing cook and both came out perfect. The salmon with a little cranberry sauce was unusual, but surprisingly delicious. It wasn't nearly as sweet as regular cranberry sauce, but we both really liked it and would make it again. Here's the recipe if you're interested. It doesn't have a calorie or Points count, and I didn't put it into any of my recipe builder apps.
I leave you with a couple of my favorite things, sort of Oprah style. 😀
I love Good Earth Sweet & Spicy tea! It's naturally sweet, and doesn't need anything added to it. Sometimes I add a little non-fat half & half for a delicious, healthy treat. They also make a caffeine-free and a chamomile version.
The Missy cat that rules the house. I love this girl, she's my baby. We're sitting by the fire and she's sound asleep. That's my undecorated tree in the background. I actually considered not decorating it at all, and calling it a minimalist tree. I'm really not into decorating this year. I'm trying to live a minimalist life, and I've always hated clutter. We'll probably decorate it, although I think it looks just fine without anything on it.
This is Missy Christmas 2016, a better look at her beautiful face (and her annoyed expression is because I crawled under the tree and woke her up to take her picture).
