Holy Mother of Mashed Potatoes! I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were orphaned this season because our families live in TX and MO so I spent the holiday with my husband and daughters this year and it was simply divine. Ever since I was little I couldn’t care less about the turkey all I really wanted to eat was mashed potatoes, rolls and pie during Thanksgiving. That really hasn’t changed even as I’ve gotten older so I wasn’t really all that bummed that I didn’t like the ham I prepared. Luckily Brent and Bridget loved it and Penelope noshed on squished peas so we’re not sure where she stands on ham glazes yet.

Today is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I’m starting to wade my way between the holidays. This is usually a horrible time for me nutritionally because I tend to be an all or nothing kind of gal. A few years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS and it turns out that one of the side effects of this condition is insulin resistence. This means my body has a hard time processing sugar. Basically I’m like a gremlin. You know that 80’s movie with the cute fuzzy balls of cuteness that turn into crazy evil monsters with big ears if you spill water on them? Actually, I don’t really remember how they turn into monsters it had to do with water and midnight…

(before sugar)

(after sugar)

The point is I’m kind of like that. If I eat too much sugar I want more and more and MORE! This exacerbates all of my PCOS symptoms. I gain weight, I get depressed, and my skin breaks out. And the more sugar I eat the more weight I gain, the more weight I gain the worse the symptoms get. It’s a vicious cycle. By the time the holidays are over the symptoms are at their peak and when the Christmas lights and tinsel are taken down I’m plunged into darkness wallowing in my fat suit. The best way I can battle this is to limit my sugar intake and exercise. Throughout the rest of the year I’m pretty good at balancing this. But during this time of year my psyche is the meanest kind of Grinch possible. These are the things it whispers in my ear during the month of December…

• It’s impossible to enjoy the holidays and try to stay healthy. It’s one or the other!
• Every wintery activity isn’t complete unless you have hot chocolate in hand!
• You have to make a thousand varieties of cookies and test them out pre-baking and post-baking to make sure that they will be good!
• Why bother working out? You’ve eaten so much cookie dough that you feel really gross so it’s probably best to just wait until the holidays are over to be good!

Okay… so apparently my little psychological Grinch yells these things at me because I felt compelled to put exclamation points behind every statement.

Here is my plan to keep negative thoughts at bay and to prevent any chances of me becoming a gremlin. Here are the rules:

1. Once a week I am allowed processed sugar or carbohydrates in limited amounts. All other sugar sources will come naturally through fruit. This means I can make cookies and have a few but not spend an entire week polishing them off.

2. I must get out and move every day. This can mean a major sweat session at the gym or a simple walk enjoying my neighbors holiday decorations. Either way I have to move.

That’s it. I’m keeping it simple. No calorie counting just good old clean eating with the occassional treat. Oh and the best part… for every day that I follow through with my plan I pay myself $4 . I will spend this money on myself via pedicures, massage, clothes… the possibilities are endless. This is the typical price for a super sugary Starbucks of which I’m addicted to. I have a tendency to treat myself more often than I should because I don’t treat myself in any other way.  It’s time for that to change. This challenge is going from November 24th-December 21. I’ll keep posting to let you know how it’s going.