Egg nog, cookies and pies, Oh My!.....

LOL, sometimes a good old fashioned dump.....ing episode is what I need to put me back on track!  I don't usually dump from anything.  However if I overdo it with the sweets I will start to feel pretty crappy pretty fast and then it's nappy time.....moments like that wake me back up in a real hurry!

I have a taste. I did find Silk Nog (soy milk egg nog) that has better stats for sugars than does the regular egg nog, and I use 1/2 cup of that for some of my vanilla shakes. Tastes good, gives me a bit of treat, and not as bad as it could be. So yeah, moderation.

Otherwise, I diligently search for things I can have that will give me the same feeling, including recipes that let me taste what I want without having issues (guilt, mostly... Maleficent tends to dislike the stuff that's good for me and LOVES the stuff that's bad. Developing will-power is interesting).

I do have issues with a lot of the stuff at Bariatric Eating.com, but Linda Farnsworth Harris has a greek-style yogurt souffle/cheesecake that DOES have that cheesecake consistency, and can be flavored with SF syrups so that it does taste like cheesecake that really substitutes well for me and for my family.

Cinnamon rolls... so far the best I've found is PB & Co's cinnamon raisin swirl peanut butter mixed in with my greek yogurt. It's not that same crispy/soft texture, but the flavor is good and keeps me in check.

Good luck with it - this really IS a journey!

Rebecca, thanks for the great tips.  I'm going to try some of those recipes!  Is Maleficent the name of your pouch? That's hilarious! I was confused about your use of the word, so I looked it up and that is such a perfect name (that is if you are referring to your new tummy!)  adj. causing or capable of producing evil or mischief.  I love it!  lol

im with Christina too ,
i have 6 different types of xmas cookies here including fudge that i baked. i gave most of them out in heaps and bounds including all the priests at my parish which left a lil at home but im guilty ive had a couple a day i just cant help it.
the holidays are almost over. ill be getting my " fit bit " in the mail shortly thats when ill REALLY get down and dirty and get to goal i gave myself till march (spring)

Toni, my son is getting me one of those. He loves his. We will be held accountable when we can track everything like that! 

Well - I don't like eggnog - so that's not an issue with me....

I tried making cookies with splenda and PB2 - which turned out OK, but I ended up eating almost all of them.  SO - that means NO MORE cookies for me.  I'm not a huge sweet eater, but I've found lately that if its there, I'm going to pick at it and eat it.

I have 3 parties to go to this weekend and a Christmas gathering for my family on Sunday.  Yes, food will abound and I'll have to deal with it!!

When I've gone to parties lately, I've eaten a pretty dense protein meal before going.  At Halloween I had a problem with a party that had NO protein and it scared the crap out of me and I was hungry (and drinking wine)... so I'm not going to let that happen to me again.  Since I'm not hungry, I won't pick at stuff... it has worked for me.

Ya know Jody, you're onto something that rings true for me too.  I think I've been so busy I've been forgetting to eat!  So if I am around all this stuff when my tummy's empty, OF COURSE it will be easy for me to pick at stuff.  AND I have been having a ittle alcohol here and there, which lowers my inhibitions for food.  Okay...thanks for the reality check.  I'm gonna go eat a dense protein RIGHT NOW!  Good luck to you, too!  I feel we should do a daily football huddle or something at the beginning of each day as a reminder ..... because dealing with this time of year is like playing defense in a big game and the food onslought is the offense!  I think I'll post something like this!  :) 

I eat pretty much what I want but now it's just in moderation.  I tend to do the "teaspoon" route when I want a bite of something that I know it's all that great for me. 

I already had a cookie this morning.  So at dinner tonight I will up the protein.  For me it all balances out fine.  Scale was 129 this morning.

I'm happy and I never feel deprived

Ash ;o)

"my kids deserve a normal Christmas"

But don't they also deserve to have a healthy attitude about food and good eating habits?

I'm not sure where this idea has come from that kids "deserve" to eat a lot of junk and fast food all the time. When I was growing up, that was not the norm. Which made it all that much more special when we did get the occasional treat.

I actually think we aren't doing our kids any favors by having a ready supply of "treats" around the house 24/7 and I've cut back on what I buy for them drastically. I have to say that they don't really miss it. I buy one bag of chips and one thing of cookies when dh used to buy 3-5 bags of chips and 2-5 things of cookies (as an example).

No one needs that much junk in a week but by buying it, we were teaching our kids that this is normal eating when it really isn't.

I want to teach my kids that the holidays are about people and giving, not about sweets. So we'll have a really nice Christmas dinner with two kinds of pie, but there won't be a steady parade of baking and sweets in the house leading up to it. Instead we'll ride around to look at Christmas lights, decorate the house together and send Christmas cards and other non-food special times. The most we'll do is bake some cookies for Santa, but not dozens and dozens.

I think that it's the time we spend with our kids that they remember and cherish and that's where I want the emphasis to be, not on the food.

These are really valid points and I think your kids will be well-served by your philosophy.  My kids are 24, 21 and 14 so I'm past those years of shaping their eating habits etc. But I can be in control of how much of the usual favorite Christmas goodies come into the house while they are all home.  For ex. my eldest son has trouble with egg nog.  He would drink a gallon by himself in one day if he could.  So I will limit how much is here and he will be forced to have it in moderation.  You got me thinking about not just myself, but my kids too!  Thanks and Merry Christmas.