Healthy Holidays Update #8

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is in one week.  At first I was almost sad, because it didn't feel like the holidays were coming, but now things are settling into a more festive mood around here. 

My mother-in-law came into town this past Monday and I have had a crazy busy week.  So...my "dieting" hasn't really happened, but it's okay.  I had a feeling these two weeks would be good if I could not gain any weight.  Unfortunately, I had hoped to lose at least 5 pounds by now, but oh well.  

I can't be upset about my week when I've had this kind of fun happening....

My daughters have both been accepted to their colleges of choice and this past Wednesday I was able to go with one of them to her campus tour at the University of Oklahoma. 

 My husband attended the College of Dentistry at OU, so it was fun to go up and visit with friends the night before and then enjoy seeing Oklahoma again.  The OU campus is beautiful and it was a gorgeous fall day.  I was a Sooner wife and now I'll be a Sooner Mom.  Yay!

My mother-in-law is an amazing cook.  She is Mexican by birth and her love language is food, which we don't mind one bit.  Yesterday we went and finished buying fixings to make tamales and made a couple dozen in the evening. 

Today we are making up the rest of them ... I told her I'm blogging till the masa is ready and then we'll start assembling.  Woo Hoo!  It's not the healthiest of foods, but they are something we only eat once a year, so it's fun to have her making them for us here.  

I'm taking notes, because I really should try and do these on my own.  I'm so glad she enjoys teaching me how to make foods her family loved, because we all love it too.  

But...you really want to know about the update, so here it is...for official purposes: 

1. I will exercise at least 30 minutes at least 4 times a week.  Um, I am determined to go run tomorrow and that will only be my second day of intentional exercise this week.  I walked for a couple hours on Wednesday at the OU campus, but otherwise I've been busy and seriously busy enough I just didn't get that 30 minutes done.  
2. I will eat "weight-loss" portions and healthier options, tracking my food on My Fitness Pal, so I will see a loss of at least 10 pounds.  The scale is not up this week and I'm glad for that.  I haven't eaten like I'm trying to lose weight, but I'm okay with it considering the circumstances.  
3. I will drink at least 32 oz. of pure water a day.  I've done okay with this, but not 100%.
4. I will bake and enjoy holiday treats within reason, making sure to track what I eat no matter how high the calorie count.  M yes, enjoying within reason, but no tracking.  So yellow for this week.  My friend baked pumpkin rolls and I had some.  We are making tamales and I'm having some.  I haven't tracked at all though.  Honestly, I was busy and I've been trying to only eat when hungry.  
5. I will strive for a balance between challenging myself to stick to a healthier plan and allowing myself to mess up.  I have balance, because none of the red bothers me.  I have a post brewing about facing the need to care for our health.  I know I could've told my friend I'm watching my weight and skipped the pumpkin roll.  I also know I could be super careful and not enjoy the delicious food my mother-in-law is making while she is here.  But I also know these are not normal occurrences in our family and if I'm being careful to not overeat and the scale isn't moving up I'm okay with that for right now.  

Next update post will be after Thanksgiving.  I don't do Black Friday shopping, so I'm sure I'll hop on here and post a quick update.  My brother and his wife and my niece are coming on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to that. 

I hope you all have a nice weekend and don't go crazy getting those last minute plans done before the celebration.