How the INCH Tried to Steal Christmas

It was a snowy, snowy night and all the little WW's (Weight Watchers) were snug in their cozy homes drinking eggnog, munching on the last of the chocolates and shortbread and nodding off from turkey and stuffing and all the rest of the Christmas feast. They had been to the town square, sang carols around the tree, sipped a little mulled wine and then joked and laughed with each other as they headed back to their little homes scattered along the base of the mountain they called their own.

No sugar plums dancing in their heads tonight - they were all eaten by noon today! The stockings were no longer hanging; they were hidden in little WW's closets still full of old nuts, oranges and a little Christmas candy - not a chocolate snowman to be seen. The living rooms of the little village were strewn with a few dishes of nuts & bolts on coffee tables, one lonely piece of mincemeat pie left on the kitchen counter and cookie crumbs swept under the mat for tomorrows clean up.   Smiles lingered on many faces as they patted their tummies in satisfaction and headed off to bed.

Day 300

Amazing. Mind boggling! Unbelievable but true! I have been on my journey to better health for 300 days as of today.  And what a journey it has been!

1. Experimenting with foods personally suited to my body.The first steps along this crazy path were determined, bold, but running in many directions.  Grain or no grain; sugar or no sugar - what was best?  Raouf got into the habit of asking how I would be eating this week every Friday night before he went grocery shopping just so he could cook the meal-of-the-moment. I survived an elimination diet before the January 1, 2012 start date and dropped 24 lb in 6 weeks.  Rapid weight loss by most measurments but I ate lots of healthy food and felt fantastic.  With the elimination diet over and my observations indicating that grain and/or sugar were not sitting well with my body, I transitoned into various eating patterns, never totally eliminating either grains or sugar but including them to some small degree each week. I gained 4 lb back and felt the panic start to grow.

Gentle Yoga

My granddaughter shared one of the objectives in her school this year is to participate in 20 hours of aerobic exercise using different sports and activities.  She has decided to include swimming so far. I suggested Zumba would be fun and we could do it together.  I got "the face". You know, that one - "thanks Grandma but really - that is not cool" in her eyes and a little smile/grimace on her lips.  Of course, at twelve, she is bouncing between the little girl wanting to spend time with me to the almost teenager who just can't understand why anyone would listen to Janis Joplin - ever! Now I might actually be able to discuss that one choice with her and even agree to some of her points, but, in the end, there is one very real barrier standing in the way - multiple generation gaps!