Last week was a good week all around! No big eating disasters/ out of control sugar binges to report. I actually felt like a normal person! Just to prove that my life does not ALWAYS revolve around sugar, I wanted to share with you some of the fun things I got to do last week!
Highlights included watching my husband, Tom, take a tennis lesson down in Pacific Palisades. (His teacher, Lola is great and I think Tom looks very handsome in his tennis outfit!) As a side note, Tom always tries to bribe me to play tennis by buying me cute tennis dresses. So far, his plan has not worked - instead of playing tennis with him, I just wear the tennis dresses while I sit on the bench watching HIM play tennis! Oh well, at least I'm one step closer to the courts and at least I'm sitting outside watching others get some exercise. It does inspire me - when I see others running around having fun (while getting exercise) it does open my mind up to the possibility that exercise can be fun.
I also went to the Venice Beach Skate Park to shoot a segment for a kid's show idea I have called "When I Grow Up." The basic idea is that my co-host, Karlos Walkes, and I interview kids about what they want to be when they grow up; then we go out and interview adults who have those jobs. In this segment I took two kids named Jackson and Kanan (who want to grow up to do stunts for TV and film) to meet professional stunt people, Tammie Baird (far left in photo/ dark hair) and Shawn Crowder. Tammie and Shawn have both performed stunts in shows such as Dexter, Desperate Housewives and NCIS; Los Angeles. I actually know Tammie fairly well and (like Kiana) she has a natural balance in her life that amazes and inspires me. She combines regular exercise (and some heavy duty rehearsals for stunts) with a balanced diet and no big crazy sugar rampages. (In my mind) she's one of those super humans, like Kiana, who makes living life look effortless when it comes to exercise and diet. Tammie told me in the interview that as a child, one of her first influences was Selina Kyle (better known as Cat Woman.) I laughed because that's not really your typical role model; but then again, Tammie is not your typical woman!
Looking ahead this month; I'm feeling a bit of anxiety about Thanksgiving. I tend to use the holidays as an excuse to overeat (especially when it comes to pecan pie, which is one of my favorites!) My out of control behavior usually starts with Halloween, progresses through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve, then finally winds down around January 15 when I become conscious again and asses the damage I've done. I read in an article that I'm not alone. This article said that the average person gains 8 lbs. over the holidays! I'm wondering how (you and) I can avoid doing that. How can we engage in the holidays and enjoy some of the food but not get out of control? I'm hoping Kiana has some suggestions? Kiana, are you there? Any suggestions?
Rebecca Hill is the author of "Confessions of an Innkeeper" and "Don't You Worry, Don't You Cry." Her writing has appeared in Redbook Magazine and she frequently contributes to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Her most recent story appeared in the new Chicken Soup for the Soul book, "Thanks, Mom!" She has worked as coordinator on high profile projects including: Kiana's Flex Appeal, American Idol and Scooby Doo the movie.
I feel compelled to share my thoughts on Thanksgiving. As a single person living in LA, with family on the East coast, sometimes I resent the feeling of being "forced" to find an "adoptive family" to invite me over for Thanksgiving. When I see how hard the host/hostess works to put together a meal that lasts about eight minutes long, it makes me feel sorry for them. Plus, I really don't want to help clean up. That is NOT my idea of fun! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI think about all of the food banks asking for TURKEYS for Thanksgiving for the families that cannot afford one. Again, we force upon ourselves the feeling of "we must have a turkey for Thanksgiving" or somehow we are failures. This puts tremendous pressure on the food banks to come up with so many turkeys (not to mention the poor turkeys who sacrifice themselves for this food holiday).
I have decided to spend Thanksgiving day down at the beach in Santa Monica, alone, sharing my skills of juggling, hula hooping, and just dancing like no one is watching. This is not the first time I've done this, by the way. And look, I am still a happy, well-adjusted person! I choose to spend Thanksgiving being thankful for the choice to do what I want!
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI would love to offer you some great advice about the upcoming 'grazing and feasting' holiday, but I was just in the kitchen fighting with a frozen Claim Jumper Chocolate Silk Pie I had bought for the big day. Apparently I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving.... it doesn't taste half bad totally frozen, although it was a bit hard to cut. I figured that was my exercise for the day.
Wow, if the average girl gains 8 lbs over the holidays, I'm already way ahead the game, considering I put on 12 pounds since Halloween. I believe my first mistake was buying Halloween candy early. I convinced myself I was saving money by taking advantage of the big candy sales. The second trip to the store, one week ahead of Halloween, I convinced myself that I could hide it from myself... Needless to say, the day of Halloween I was back at the store, this time hoping to keep enough in the bowl for all the trick-or-treaters.... sadly there were no trick-or-treaters this year.... thus the 12 pounds.
So, I am doing the math... 12 + 8= 20.... a very nice round number to start with on January 1st... or maybe January 2nd... or maybe I should wait til February 15th, after Valentines day... oh how I love a good box of Sees Candy. Wait, I can't start a diet right before Easter.... The Easter Bunny always delivers the goods! I've been threatening to get back to my pre-baby weight for 5 years .... but maybe I'll wait for the kids to go away to college... I'll have more free time then.
Yours Truly,
Dana
Kiana - I just received the email below directly from a woman who read my sugar blog on your website. I felt it was important to share (because I'm betting many women feel this way) so she said I could post it as "anonymous." I love that women are sharing their experiences on your website ...thankful to Chris for encouraging us to accept that "it's okay to do Thanksgiving your way" - and I think Dana humorously points out similar issues to what the woman says below - how are busy moms supposed to find time for exercise and healthy eating while raising a family and (for some) also holding down a job - do they really have to wait until their kids go to college to get their lives (and their bodies!) back!?!
ReplyDeleteWell, here's the email I received directly from one of our members at Curves - hoping you can address it, Kiana! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! XO, Rebecca
Anonymous letter from a Curves member/ Kiana fan:
I really think my issue with food is that I just don't care enough about myself. I sometimes think if I lived all alone I could handle the food, but when I have to cook and take the kids out to eat all the time, I can't control myself. I don't know that it's actually just sugar, it's overeating in every respect. For me it's not just Thanksgiving, it's LIFE! It's just trying to carve out a life of my own among everyone else. Do you know what I mean? Food helps me cope with the things in life I can't seem to control. In my daily life, I end up feeling more like a maid, cook, chauffeur, than I do myself. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer for the world to see which is why I'm posting this as "anonymous" but this is how I feel
This Thanksgiving my family and I are going out to a restaurant, so when they take the plates away, it's over, no picking non-stop from the leftovers. It's just the chocolate chips I have to stop buying!!!!
Hi Chris! What an interesting post, you def. shed light on your POV.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I am the HOSTESS this year putting together the 8 minute meal. I've been working for 3 days getting everything ready....Can I go with you to the beach - I can do a fierce hula hoop.....lol....
My husband and I often feel that some Holidays are Hallmark Holidays and they put so much pressure on everyone for a variety of reasons. Pertinent story: many years ago I was traveling so much and got sick from sick passengers on the Airplane, being run down and doing too much. As a result, I was sick on Christmas Day. I was so sad to miss the Family Christmas Party, but could not get out of bed, i knew if I pushed myself to go, I would get more run down. Ironically, when I woke up the next morning, I was feeling much much better. I missed the trafffc and the family gossip. It wasn't that big of a deal. I think the prep. is often more fun than the actual event sometimes as it's over so fast!
Thanks for the post!
Oh girl! i hear you! and Thanksgiving is the worst when you have a choice of three pies and two cakes!
ReplyDeleteI was so happy to read this blog before the holiday to try and get myself under control and stop from gaining those 8 lbs. you talked about. I did pretty good over Thanksgiving and kept things I love....like pumpkin pie....within reason and did not go back for seconds which is a big step for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and looking forward to hearing how you made it through Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving seems to be the start of the disaster for me and I am happy to hear for most others....helps to keep things in perspective and try to maintain some type of balance but nice to know I am not alone.
ReplyDeleteHosting Thanksgiving is a lot of work but it's good to get together with friends and family and not be in a rush. I enjoy the food! I make real sweet potatoes, collard greens (never fattening) and turkey. There are some foods I should make more often becuase they are so healthy. I enjoy having left overs (that I like)! Not cooking for a few days feels like a vacation. And I always need a reason to get the house REALLY clean! Then I get 3 days off from work with a clean house and a stocked fridge. The key is to just have visitors for 1 day --no overnight guests! Was that my out loud voice? haha!
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