Hmmm, I say, no, give yourself a wee break with the whole weight loss thing. Still do your usual healthy things, but when it comes to Holiday Parties, or fun food at Christmas and all through the holidays, it's not really going to make any big difference in your actual weight if you just relax and enjoy yourself.. you've gotta really overdo it, every day, consistently, to gain weight in a short period, so, really, I think that's more of a media-hype thing than reality.
Dis me - man, do me always gotta stand like that? Hahaha! Whatevs - most people come up with a way they like to pose for pictures, and that's what sticks - lol! And I'm at Butchart Gardens, just outside of Victoria, BC, Canada - so gorgeous, we love it out there : )
I've been reading a LOT of diet and weight loss books, lately - mostly because I went in for a blood test, which I studied really hard for (lol!), and even fasted for over 12 hours so I would do really well on the test, went in, took the blood test, got a really nice nurse (so thankful for great nurses!), but then I got a call on a Saturday from the doctor's office, to say I had to come in, the doctor wanted to talk to me. Wow, a call from the doctor's office on a Saturday? Scary stuff, right? So immediately went out and got all these diet and weight loss books, making the big assumption it must be my blood sugar (since I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes when I was pregnant with my son, Aidan, although, truth be told, I never really believed that, but I did follow the diabetic diet right through my pregnancy, then just stuck with it after that - you know, the usual, switch up pop - soda - for water - which was waay harder than you might think - at first, I really didn't like water, had to add lemon, lime, oranges, cucumber...all sorts of things to make the water have a flavor, right? But now I just like regular water, and adding the extras in is just for fun, no longer a necessity! lol!).
So, the take-away is that I thought, immediately, okay, I need to lose weight, if that's gonna help my blood sugar, lower my blood pressure, that whole thing... so I read a Jorge Cruise book, was very interesting, but I am not a big fan of anything that says you can 'lose 9 pounds in one week' - yikes, nooo, that's not healthy! No do that to your pretty body! Be gentle and kind to your body, and your mind. I really like Jorge Cruise, though, he's a very good man, a nice guy, and super-handsome, and I did come away with some good information, about 'free food' - food Jorge Cruise has listed as, basically, free of sugar calories - so, cheese, nuts and seeds, meat (this is what I remember - I have also included Vanilla Fudge, since I really, really love Vanilla Fudge, soooo, it prolly okay, right?? hahahaha! Whatevs! It does make me all proud o' my food choices when I have cheese or seeds, which I love, anyway. It's definitely worth a read, but any 'diet' that is really involved will be virtually impossible to follow, at least for any significant amount of time, and you're not gonna want to do that during the holidays - that's a time for fun (also, Monday thru Sunday, 24/7, all year long! hahaha!)
Still me, but with some lovely Fall Colours! Same Dress, Same Pose, Same Place - lol! I am a creature of habit, I likes what I likes, apparently, all da time! hahaha! 
Then I read this book by a couple o' guys from Santa Barbara, technically doctors, 'Why Women Need Fat', or something like that - will look it up for you, if you want to read it, too : ) At first, for the first half of the book, I really enjoyed it, a very good look at why women gain weight with each baby, need the weight for the next baby (I know, questionable...), and the whole focus of the book was around Susan, who I started calling, Poor Ol' Susan, since they constantly referred to 'Susan' as a middle-aged chubby girl, who was having a really difficult time losing the weight around the middle... and then they lost me in the middle of the book, when they took a turn toward the creepy, and discussed a 'study' where this 19 year old guy was proven to NOT be attracted to Middle-aged Susan - uuuh, Susan says, Good?? hahahahaha! Yuck! But that makes me laugh! Pretty sure adult women are not trying to look great for all the 19 year old guys out there! hahahaha! Oh, man. Men. So funny! They have an interesting perspective on women... but I did like their whole premise that women have a 'set point' where their weight seems to naturally fluctuate - I believe that, that seems reasonable and accurate...but you can change your 'set point', if you want to, and it doesn't matter what or who your motivation is for wanting to reshape your body, or get your body back to your 'old' shape (lol!), whatever motivates you is a good thing! lol! Get in there, do what you wanna do : )Holiday Shopping - soo many amazing Deals, just for you! : )
Soo, really, the very best way to 'reshape' your body is with weights, either at the gym or at home. The truth is that most aerobic exercise is for your insides to be nice and healthy, and lifting weights, with lovely, fancy exercise machines, which I love, love, love, or hand weights at home, coupled with, say, a small stepper - should run you around $49.95 (ugh, I priced this stepper out a while ago, and was shocked to see the price had gone up to $129. - that's too much for a stepper, wait for it to go on sale - lol!), jus' so you know the price range, and hand weights should run you from $1 - $25, depending on the size of the hand weights - start small, work your way up, slowly, or just stick with the low weights - 1 - 5 pounds is plenty for women, when you're working on your arms...more for your legs and torso, so not too expensive, at all.
Interestingly enough, none of the 'diet' books I read included a good section on what exercises really work for women...oh, and as a quick aside, I cannot find a good gym in Victoria with decent equipment for women...what is that about? I did stop by Goodlife Fitness, but what jerks they are ('jerks' is a much nicer word than I would use in my car! hahaha!). If you go by a gym to see if it's right for you, don't let anyone push you around. If they're pushy when you first walk in, what a nightmare - they're there to sell you more product, will cost you a fortune, is very annoying, and I think they prey on women - not good. Very bad. So it's worth looking around for a gym where you see people smiling, friendly, not bitchy (ugh, that's annoying, ain't it?? lol!), and the staff are nice and normal. Those great gyms are out there, and they should have really good equipment for you to get your body into fantastic shape in no time.
And who doesn't want a little wine - we'll all age gracefully! lol! ; )
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Oh, almost forgot to tell you - I went in to see my lovely doctor, who is really nice and super-smart, and she said, nothing to worry about, I'm super-healthy! Yahoo! I'm still gonna drop 10 pounds - feel like that's a good idea, for me. I want to be really careful with my Blood Pressure, and losing 10 pounds can make a big difference in lowering your blood pressure and lowering your cholesterol, so I've been adding a 1/4 cup oatmeal onto my granola every morning - I love it, and I feel like all that oatmeal is working it's magic while I go about mah' day! hahaha! I put a lot o' stock in the health benefits of oatmeal! hahaha! Happy Holidays - go enjoy yourself! : )
