Gain Zero Results and Deep Thoughts

I want to start this post off with saying Congrats to all my friends who took my Gain Zero Challenge and maintained or Lost weight! I know at least 4 or 5 of my friends took my challenge and they all lost 1 to 2 pounds over Thanksgiving! Way to go everyone, didn’t it feel great? I have to brag, I also lost 1.5 lbs over the Holiday, even with 2 Thanksgiving dinners in a row, a really naughty breakfast and the “Big Game”. What saved me from gaining and why did I lose? I was accountable for everything I ate by keeping a food journal, and I worked out and didn’t do a lot of sitting around.

After eating Thanksgiving, I sat looking at the Plethora of food, it all looked yummy, it all was yummy, but there were only two things that I ate that were not bad for me. Turkey, and a Sweet Potato. This got me thinking about a lot of things.

In my opinion I think it is time for people to start making a change in how we as a society eat. Have Thanksgiving, but find a better, more healthful way to make it. Have social gatherings, but only serve healthful food and only one dessert option instead of 10! I want to look forward to going to a Holiday dinner, or dinner party or girls night out instead of dreading them. When I have something to go to, I have to mentally prepare myself to Just Say No to all the goodies, or only take a small portion of the naughty stuff and it is hard and I dread it. The problem is, most things I go to have more Naughty choices then Healthful ones. I just think it is time for people to realize what they are doing to themselves and others. I think we are all in the habit of making excuses, “Oh, its Thanksgiving, I am going to enjoy it!” ” It’s girls night and I am going to eat and have a good time!” . I hear those types of quotes all the time, I was one of those women saying those things! I think it is time to snap out of these bad habits and make a change!

I will end my rant by sharing my experiment. I had the opportunity to host a giant girls night out party before we went to a midnight movie. Everyone was so kind to offer to bring something. Instead of assigning them treats, I assigned them a veggie, or a veggie dip, or fruit or a fruit dip, tortilla chips and salsa. I assigned a couple people soda, because I knew some would want something other than water, and I only assigned 1 person a treat and I served a healthful homemade soup. Guess what happened? I had friends thanking me for having healthful choices at my party, they were so glad they could eat, socialize and not be tempted to buy junk at the Theater, and they all felt good the next day instead of feeling like crap because they ate healthful yummy food. This little experiment showed me that you can feed your friends and family healthy stuff, and they will appreciate it more than when you serve them junk. I think people say “I love you” with food and feel love by being fed. What better way to say I love you than with healthy options? I want that kind of love!

The only way social gatherings will change is if we start changing them. Girls nights, church activities, dinner parties and Holidays will never be the same, they will be better if we step up and make a change!

—Jena