Stressed for Success

I know that anything eaten alone, over the sink or directly in front of the fridge does not count calorie-wise. But what about things eaten in the pre-Christmas frenzy? Are those calories null and void as well - under the, say, Santa Clause? Does stress count as cardio? Will my aunt mind that some apple crisp crumbs happened to make their way into her gift box? Can I pretend that it's artificial snow - thrown in to make the present more festive and seasonal? Or would my reaching in with a moist fingertip to pick up the "snow" after she opens it up blow my cover? Is tracking real snow into the house by an "adult" male (aka "husband who should know better") a basis for justifiable homicide? If not, how about my bitchy sister intentionally giving me a ribbed knit sweater (ribbed knit = extra cling factor) two sizes too small? Hey, it's not like she's the skinny one anymore. Not since menopause and marriage hit her right between the eyes. (You know what they say about getting married - once you've caught the bus, you can stop running.) My present to her? Re-gifting last year's tight sweater.

Okay, so I'm a little stressed and have been eating whatever is handy and devoid of nutrition - especially devoid of nutrition. I had hoped to be a lot more organized and therefore not so susceptible to the mindless eating currently underway. I had also hoped to be a lot closer to my goal of weighing 200 lbs by New Year's Day. But by anyone's standards, this has been a tough year and I shouldn't start heaping more misery on myself about missing my goal and eating Toberlone for breakfast. Things will right themselves soon enough...probably after the son and husband return to school and work on January 5th (oh happy day!). I'm also probably suffering a little cabin fever as the weather has been relentless and we've all been locked up together for days (Donner party of three? Your table is ready). I'm going to be taking hostages if the bad weather doesn't let up pretty soon.

I have clearly let stress knock down my front door and start going through my dresser drawers. It is always an uninvited guest this time of year. I've lost track of my goals and let the craziness of the season take over. So I've reminded myself that my next most immediate goal is my doctor's appointment on 1/6 in which I need to show some tangible weight loss (from July at 221). I've lost some weight but it should've, could've, would've been more. I admit that for the past couple of months I have really been half-assing this whole weight-loss mission. I can't let stress push me around like this (that's what family's for, right?). But instead of waiting for New Year's to make a resolution to do better, I'm doing that today. Why lose all that time and even feel worse about myself then than I do now? I can do this if I put my mind to it.