Holiday Hips

My jeans are a little snug. It happens around the same time every
year. I gain between 7-10 pounds between my birthday - November
4 - and New Year's. I don't do it on purpose of course.
Though I teach four Jazzercise classes a week - Sundays, Tuesdays and
two on Thursdays - my good eating habits seem to fall by the weightside (lol) during
the holidays.

I always start the new year off with determination and drive.
I join my local Weight Watchers and ramp up my exercise regime -
participating in bootcamps in addition to teaching Jazzercise.

In the spring and summer, I'll go jogging in the mornings
and teach Jazzercise at night. I catch the metro to get a little
walking in and also walk during lunch. I love to go dancing and do other
outdoor activities. I eat light - salads, fruit, yogurt. I try to limit
bread and sweets (though I am totally addicted to desserts).

I'm usually at my weight goal (or near it) by summer and tend to do
well in eating right and exercising - until the holidays. And for me the holidays start on November 4. It seems that by the end of the year, I'm mentally
tired, exhausted really, of doing all the right things and just want to indulge, relax, be free. I want to enjoy the holiday gatherings with friends and family and not have
to worry about what I can and cannot have.
I don't want to be on a stringent schedule.

I'll be home for Christmas. Mississippi is the fattest state in the nation.
I don't want to add to the obesity problem. But it's hard when grandma, who you haven't seen all year, is insisting that you get "just a small slice" of her homemade poundcake or get "another bowl" of her Southern greens swimming in fat.
So, I'll eat the cake and the greens.

Unfortunately for me, my body type does not allow me to indulge, relax, be free - forever. I've faced the facts: I can't eat whatever I want, whenever I want.
If I don't want to be a statistic, one of the millions who are overweight and obese,
I have to be diligent in my eating and exercise.

So, though I've fallen off the bandwagon. On January 2, 2009 I'll be back to basics and before you know
it, back in my jeans.