For those of us who are trying mightily to lose weight, we often dread the holidays because we know from past experience how those old familiar smells will get to us.  Think about walking in to your family home and smelling the freshly baked bread and pumpkin pie just out of the oven.  It not only brings the sensation that you really want to eat some, it brings back memories of a happy time.  Researchers will tell us that smell is one of the biggest things that can recall memories.

I was on the phone today with my son in Atlanta and he’s having similar problems.  Maybe it’s genetic.  He told me that he loved being with all his family for the holiday but he is feeling guilty ahead of time that he’s eaten too much.  How sad is that?

Every year about this time I sit down and think to myself that this year will be different.  I won’t eat all my favorite foods because I know as soon as I swallow I’ll regret it.  I crave the feeling I get when I eat food that brings back happy memories.  Maybe I’m just nuts in addition to being overweight.

My lapband is still in place and although I talk about overeating like I eat 9 platesful at every meal, I don’t.  I haven’t gained any weight but I still haven’t lost the last 30 pounds.  I know I’ll feel better healthwise if I get it off and I know I’ll be more active if I do, so I’m committed to getting it off.

Maybe I should just stick to a New Year resolution and enjoy myself.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Eating, holidays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.