Coping with Thanksgiving

Ok. So, I'm pretty sure that the early settlers devised a master plan when they sat down with the Native Americans and created a little national holiday called Thanksgiving. That plan; to keep Candice fat until the end of her days. Those settlers brought food, watched football and went to sleep at 4pm. Also, I don't appreciate the fact that its so close to Jesus' birthday. You know wherever there's a birthday, there's cake... or pie... or ham.

This year, I'm trying to keep things a little healthier than in years past. I will be making half of the dishes to be served this year and I am looking to reduce fat and calories wherever I can, if at all possible. You see, the half of the menu my mom is making will be laden with butter and wonderful, delicious, goodness. The recipe I just printed for her: Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake. Seriously, I love Paula Deen. She's a good Christian southern woman, but I don't know how much longer she'll be with us if she eats half the stuff she makes on that show. With all of the carbs and sugars on this Thx-giving menu, Chuck will be on the floor having a diabetic seizure. I'll keep a spoon handy.

So, these are the items on my menu this year and how I'm attempting to do some damage control:

Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes - I'll be using buttermilk and using as little light margarine as possible.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese - reduced fat cheeses only, whole wheat farfalle and a saltine crust

Sweet Potato Casserole - I am going to try this recipe.

Dad's Birthday Cinnamon Streusel Bundt Cake - It's my Dad's 50th birthday tomorrow! He's needs some meat on his bones so I'll leave this one alone.

Mom's menu doesn't exercise any restraint at all and obviously, she has a sweet tooth:

Rotisserie Chicken - not really a menu item as it's store-bought but hey, she's buying it. Meijer has some REALLY tasty rotisserie chicken.

Dressing and gravy- homestyle

Roasted potatoes - the kids prefer these over the mashed

Pudding Pies - my little brother will be making these. Graham cracker crust, Jell-o pudding mix and whipped cream. Simple and delicious.

The occassional vegetable - in a butter sauce no doubt.

Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake - Yeah.

From-scratch cookies - undoubtedly, she will double the chips called for in the recipe. A bag of chocolate and a bag of butterscotch... but she always makes me a few with JUST chocolate chips.

So things are basically traditional but I have no doubt that I'll eat a lot more than I should. All I can do is try to call on my will power to push me away from the plate. I won't have the turkey to knock me out early. Dammit.

Deuces

Candice K.

252 lbs. (weigh-in tomorrow)

I'm Gonna Need Wiihabilitation...

That's right. Chuck went out and purchased us a Wii last night. My plan is to use the Wii as a tool in my weight loss. I had been obsessed with it since I went to a friend's house and played Wii Sports. The fixation only worsened when I again visited said friend and this time, I played Guitar Hero. This prompted me to download Guitar Hero to my cell phone... Please believe me when I say it is not easy to hit one button per column of numbers on a cell phone with two fingers, let alone when you have artificial nails which I do at the moment.

I don't plan on solely working out with Wii Sports for fear of developing Wii Elbow. I am also getting Wii Fit as a supplement to my normal workout at the gym. This video is the reason Chuck encourages my decision to get Wii Fit. I found out that on Thanksgiving, Meijer is selling the Wii Fit ($89.99) with the Wii Workout Kit included FREE (including one 56" non-skid textured workout mat for your Wii Balance Board, one rechargeable battery pack and charging cable, two soft grip 2 lbs. dumbbells, one workout towel, two wrist bands, and one water bottle to keep you hydrated). So I'm gonna get on that.

On a somewhat related note. If you are able to get out on Thanksgiving and/or the wee hours of the morning that Friday (also known as Black Friday) and Saturday, there are alot of great deals this year. Just visit The Official Site of Black Friday 2008. If you are looking for a wiidiculous price on Wii's, most places have them right now for $250 which includes Wii Sports and one controller and nunchuk. I would caution people to research bundles before purchasing them. Retailers can really gouge you on those.

Also, I weighed in this morning and unfortunately, I did not lose any weight. However, I didn't gain anything, either. I think that in itself is a success. If I could pass on a word of advice to dieters, it would be that you have to take diets one day at a time. If you binge or don't exercise one day, that shouldn't suggest your whole week, month, year or millenium is ruined. Just make a commitment to yourself that you are going to do better tomorrow. Eventually, you'll find that you don't put as much on your plate or you are kind of wanting to work out. I know, my wisdom is so powerful it moves you.

So, just to round out this post nicely, please enjoy a few Wii-tastic words courtesy of UrbanDictionary.com:

Wii-lationaship - a relationship developed over the Wii internet

Wiidoken - the act of swinging your Wii remote with such force as to break the wrist strap resulting in the destruction of expensive electronics and/or injury of personal friends

Wiigwam - a room dedicated to the use of the Nintendo Wii

Wiiologism - any word made up in reference to the Nintendo Wii

Candy K.

252 lbs.

Today, my goal is to drink 60 ounces of water