My Holiday Rules

Since April 2011, I have lost nearly 40 pounds. Since September, when I first measured it, I have lost 4 inches from my waist. Since I improved how I feel and my energy level at the same time, I feel good about the way I approached eating in 2011.

My holiday rules make sense to me, but they may offend ancestral eating purists. First, I defined the “holiday season” as beginning November 15th and ending February 13, 2012 which is my birthday. The general rule for the season is that I will try to maintain my reduced weight. My intent is to have this time as an annual rest period when I can relax somewhat about nutrition and my weight while maintaining an awareness of my health and reactions to food.

As of today, December 13^th, I have maintained the same weight or perhaps lost a pound or so since mid-November. It will only get harder in December, of course. For one thing, I spurned all conventional dishes at Thanksgiving and just hit the ancestral meats, vegetables and fruits hard. Secondly, on a day-to-day basis the only change I’ve made is eating full-fat yogurt every day. As mentioned previously, I make the yogurt at home so I can spike the fat content and avoid additives.

As we get closer to Christmas I’m sure I will partake of some conventional treats. I’ll just keep my portions small and keep an eye on my waistline. After New Year’s I expect to go back to typical ancestral eating, and will be in weight loss mode if I did gain at Christmas, but for the Super Bowl and my birthday I expect to be naughty again. I will then focus on nutrition and exercise as I did last year—2012 should be the year I achieve normal weight!