Friday, November 27, 2009

Holiday Challenge


(Song for your enjoyment while reading. One of my favorite that gets me going when I am down. And you know you love country in that undercover way!)

In my weight loss post a few weeks back I mentioned a book that really got me to focus make on my my health and mental well-being.  Well that author, Tom Venuto, has created a Holiday Challenge that I accepted on November 22, 2009.  Some of you may be asking yourself, why in the hell would you do that?  Well, I'll tell you why...cause I want to.  The fact that I actually want to makes me excited to do it.  Let me explain.


Holidays can be alot of fun.  Friends, family (if you like yours), booze, food, and jolly good times.  Really, after Halloween the holidays are crammed down our throats as department stores begin to decorate, Christmas music is pumped out 24/7 (starting at Starbucks), and people start to make plans for Christmas parties and holiday travel.  It is all around us and in that frenzy many times we forget about what the holiday season is suppose to be about, along with our own sanity and well being.  We begin to stress over getting others the right present, getting to the stores at the butt crack of down for the right deals (I mean really, who in the hell thinks its a good idea to camp outside of Best Buy for a TV or Nintendo Wii?  I'd rather look for a hot one on the corner and pay $10 bucks more and avoid the insane moms with the strollers who want to run you and you're little dog over, but I'm just sayin), going to all the right Christmas parties, and making sure family members are happy.  So really, the holidays can make you go crazy, have you eating to much, drinking even more, and by the time New Years day rolls around you are tired, bloated, look 3 years older, and all you really want to do is have a lie in - but you can't cause it's the New Year and you need to make that New Year's resolution to drop weight and get into a bikini by summer.  Damn, I'm tired even thinking about it!
 
Sister Big Bone (couldn't embed it -damn copyright across international borders infringement)!

Now, some of you might be thinking "damn Nicole you sound like Scrooge on a good day."  So, let me explain further.  For me the holidays are a time of celebration and mourning.  My family is not that close.  They are not that keen on keeping in touch once you leave the Chicagoland area.  I am never in that area, therefore I tend to be on my own during the holidays.  In the past I traveled and didnt think anything of it - I made this front like I didn't care.  Yet, as I get older I find myself longing for that family connection - no matter how much of a pain in the ass they can be (and are to be honest).   I look at Mike and his family and I see how a family can be.   Yesterday his whole family was over at his Aunt's for Thanksgiving and they skyped him to say hello.  It was like something off of a tv commercial - the whole family is over talking and cooking and the one son is off somewhere else in the world.  But through the wonderful advantages of internet they can be together.  It made me sad as I longed for that with my own family, but I know it will never happen.

However,  instead of me drowning my sorrows in cheap wine and turkey, what I can do is focus on my own goals - and one of the main ones is to get myself in a body that can go long distances and not be in pain.  The holiday challenge seemed like a logical avenue to pursue.  In doing this the holidays are not a time for me to be sad, but instead they become a time where I can learn to enjoy myself in new surroundings with Mike, make new friends, and get out there and explore.


So, I have 50 days to transform my body composition in the hopes of winning a 5-day all inclusive trip to Jamaica.  Do I think I can win it?  Well, HELL YEA I DO!  A body composition challenge focused on body fat lose, not just weight lose, is exactly what I need to keep my spirits and hopes up this holiday season.  I am tired of having to travel to escape confrontation with the holidays.  This Christmas Mike and I go to Spain to be with another friend who has just moved to Europe, but for New Years we will be celebrating it at our flat, with one drink in hand and stomachs flatter (I know that sounds counterproductive but roll with me here).  I wouldn't have it any other way.  As the days go on I will keep updating my status, but know that this challenge was just what the doctor ordered for me this holiday season.  Waddle on friends...


2 comments:

Sam said...

1) There is nothing undercover about your love for country music.
2) This is why you create your family. Not everyone is fortunate to have a close, Hallmark family through birth.
3) I look forward to your updates while I continue to gorge myself and feel bad about it at the gym.

Celester said...

YES!

you, my friend, are an example of "yes". I love it.

And for the love of GOD listen to that Sivert Hoyem album. www.siverthoyem.com/music Track 2. ALL YOU