Health and Happiness through the Holidays

Holidays can be more stressful than any other time of the year. Expectations rise. Disappointments occur. Illusions flop. And with all the added stress, some people turn to food to fill the empty hole in their hearts. Even if one isn't sad or stress throughout the holiday season, there are a lot of temptations out there calling our names. Fattening meals, sugary treats, succulent and savory treats.

Over-indulgence is almost expected. Cheered on. Dieting? Through the holidays? Not so much. So what is a person to do if she is on a diet and trying to lose weight for health reasons? Give up? Cave in? Gain a bit?

Maybe. But this girl isn't giving up or caving in. She's seeing results so she's not willing to see that scale go up. That would stress this girl out.

My solution to the holiday temptations? Balance.

I'm not denying myself a slice or two of my favorite cheeses nor am I eating a frozen low cal meal for Christmas dinner. I've got two heavy meals planned for this week. One is a Disney Themed meal which will have some pretty high calorie dishes including Twinkie Tiramasu. I can't wait to make it and to taste it. I've also got my favorite pot roast planned for this evening along with a dreamy chocolate lava cake for dessert. I've decided to make Oreo Truffles with my daughter as well as our favorite Chocolate Sambucca cookies. They're tradition.

I don't want to lose weight right now. But maintaining the number is important. First weapon against gaining is working out. I've been to the gym every day or out walking for at least half an hour. I'm adding additional time to the gym next week to offset the calories. I'm also weighing every day to make sure that the scale remains in balance. Frankly, I've worked too hard to lose this weight. I don't want to lose it again and again and again. I also am eating very healthy and low cal foods during my other meals. Same low cal breakfast and lunch and dinners with large salads.

And best of all, my family is on board with this plan. It helps. A lot!!

I'm doing my best to remain on track during the holiday season. What are you doing to keep on track?

Happy Holidays!

Tis' the season to be jolly... we are celebrating our holiday traditions this year as a family. Darling Daughter and Darling Husband have two weeks off. And, with the exception of my daily writing goal of a minimum of 200 words a day, so am I.

I'm looking forward to putting together goodie bags for my neighbors, Christmas dinner with my friends, seeing the Galaxy of Lights at the Botanical Gardens, and just plain hanging out.

With the exception of a few pre-scheduled blogs, Digging Out of Distraction will be on a holiday as well.

I wish you and your families a blessed vacation time. May you head into 2011 renewed, refreshed, and revitalized!

Ten Days till Christmas--Countdown!

The closer the big day is to arriving, the less writing I manage to accomplish. I went shopping Friday, Saturday was a big recital day, and Sunday I prepared goodies for giveaways all afternoon. I haven't written one word for my MS since Thursday.

But I am not upset at myself this year, because I have done more in the month of December than I ever did before and I am making progress. I tell myself I will write, but if I get distracted, I tell myself that other "working" people are taking two weeks off of work starting Saturday. So I can, too. If I want. I am not under an editor's knife, having to get anything done. Any work I do is because I am under my own knife.

And my "knife" is a little dull right now. I usually take most of December off so I can enjoy the holidays. This year I haven't taken as much time off, but I've still had fun. Now, I have ten days to finish shopping, wrapping and making goodies. And it suddenly feels like writing is not as important as Christmas preparations.

However, I am still setting the following goal for my last week of writing without family around.

*write 1 hr a day till Friday

After that, it's a crap shoot. I may manage to get 1 hr in per day the 22, and 23 of December, but I doubt much will happen until after Christmas. Everyone deserves a holiday. Even unpaid writers!

I will be back in the saddle in the New Year. And I have a lot of goals for the new year. I also feel proud of all I have accomplished this year despite moving to a new state and starting my daughter in a new school system. I managed to finish a book, place third in a contest, and send off my MS to the Golden Heart. Not too shabby given all the changes. I have to ask myself, how much more will I accomplish in 2009 without the major distractions!?

And now, back to reality. I still have a household to run and a book to finish revising.

December Distractions

Up until last year, I took the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas OFF. I enjoyed getting ready for the holidays and spending time with my friends. Last year, I changed the routine, but found myself feeling guilty every time I wrote or every time I didn't write. It wasn't a good feeling. This year, I decided to follow the 100 words a day advice I got from the Wet Noodle Posse. I feel that way I am not taking away time from my writing or from readying for the holidays. No more guilt!!

Writing 100 words a day isn't really what I am doing. I am shooting for an hour a day. And it is amazing how much you can accomplish in an hour. Since Monday I have plowed through 21 pages of my MS for the revision. Spending an uninterupted hour in front of the computer means getting at least 1 scene tweaked in the MS. If I get stuck, I use another trick and write XXX so I can look for that later on in a seek/find throughout the MS. The point is to get SOMETHING done. Perfection no longer is the key. If I keep going at this pace, I should be able to plow through another 90 pages before Christmas hits.

I know that once my daughter is home for the break, I won't get much accomplished, but I am planning on utilizing my Lark tendencies to my benefit. I'm up before everyone else, so I can chop out an hour before the lazy ones arise.