Holiday Fatness!

Angelism: Holiday season = sweaters & fat pants!

The holidays are challenging. It’s my favorite time of year, yet the most difficult. I love parties, visiting with friends and family, sharing gifts, and creating memories. Additionally, I like to enjoy all the food and beverages that come with these moments. The sluggish, lethargic feeling of fatness that is the result of Halloween through New Years really weighs on me. Literally, weight on  me! I never seem to get through a holiday without packing on pounds and losing my cardio strength.

Many people struggle during this time. The holidays are like an annual free pass to get extra chubby and say, “Fuck it, I’ll wear all my fat clothes for two months!” My rolls may spill over my jeans but they button so that’s a plus! My boobs may form a tri-tit in the front center of my bra but at least it still wraps around my back. Wearing yoga pants and sweaters seems OK during this feasting season. The average American gains about ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. You would think after ten months of eating right and exercising regularly that a two month splurge wouldn’t be so hazardous to my health. Turns out everything good is bad and the holidays remind me of this again and again.

Now that the holiday madness is in full swing, in my head I am thrilled to start a New Year. I look forward to filling up my schedule with fun plans and setting goals to get organized and start fresh. The energy I have to do things from day one of a new year is amazing. I tell myself that no matter how lazy I am during the holidays, I will get focused come January 1st; however, until January 1st, I sit here feeling fat daily. I want nothing more than to drink a bottle of wine, eat some apple pie with ice cream, and watch movies while cuddling under a blanket near the fire. Sorry not sorry.

Despite my anger towards these eight weeks of laziness, I find a lot of comfort in the delicious homemade foods, fancy cocktails, yummy desserts, and endless treats. This comfort continually blinds me to the fact that every bite I take will add another dimple on my behind and another roll on my waste. In the moment while eating, I don’t consider how hard it will be to fit in my denim, or how many miles I will have to run to burn off the additional muffin top; I focus solely on how many lazy, comfort food, cuddle days I can spend indoors, stuffing my face, while lounging in my pajamas. The reality will hit me the Monday after all the holidays are over and I have to go back to work. That day is brutal.

Soon I will say farewell to the pecan pie and hello to the chicken salad!  Until then, all I can do is embrace my holiday curves. Next year I should start my November off ten pounds under my usual weight so I can eat the foods I love and not feel like such a failure. I’m officially getting too old for this shit!
 Happy Holidays! Good luck with your holiday pounds.

Throw Away Your Vitamins!!!

Angelism: “A healthier you doesn’t come in an over the counter bottle. Stop being fooled by the media, if you are concerned about your health, go to the doctors & have your blood drawn. There, you will find answers.”

I rarely discuss health topics but vitamins and over the counter weight loss pills are crap! Much like many of you, I believed in bottled nutrients and thought they were the key to good health. In my early 20’s I used to take anti-oxidants for immunity, papaya and garlic for good digestion, and fat burners to boost my metabolism. I assumed I’d be healthier, trimmer, and lose weight, all while maintaining energy. What a waste! Now that I work in the medical field I have learned more about nutrition and how the body works. If there is one thing that has been drilled into my head, it is that vitamins are a waste of money and that taking them may do more harm than good.

Now don’t assume all vitamins are bad. Over the counter vitamins do have a purpose. They exist to replenish a nutrient in your body that you are deficient in. How do you know if you are deficient? Go to the doctor’s office and have your labs drawn. If your lab work proves you are deficient then you can take a supplement per the doctor’s orders; if not don’t waste your money. Never diagnose yourself. Your answers to better health will likely not be found in an expensive bottle at the local health food store.

Marketing thrives on informing us that certain vitamins are healthy and will enhance our life. Yes, getting your daily vitamins is important, but this does not mean you need to physically take supplements. In today’s society, food is easily accessible and nutrients are sprinkled into even the unhealthiest of foods. Many of us are nowhere near a deficiency in any one vitamin. The crappiest of breakfast cereals have powdered nutrients in it, and those high fructose corn syrup beverages many Americans drink are doused in vitamin C. Why would you need to take more vitamins? When is the last time you have known of someone having scurvy? Deficiencies are rare. If you eat enough food daily and have a variety of foods in your diet, you are not going to need supplements. If you are concerned, get your blood drawn at your doctor’s office and verify that you are OK.

As for all the other supplements available like Acai Berry pills, Green Tea Extract pills, and other fat burners and over the counter diet pills; I think they are not healthy and a waste of money. There is no answer or quick fix to health and weight loss. If you want to be healthier, look and feel better, then guess what? You will have to work hard to achieve it. Diet and exercise on a regular basis throughout your ENTIRE LIFE is key. Every day it has to be an awareness and a choice. Every day you have to want to be good to your body and take care of it. Health is not something you can buy, it is something you have to earn all on your own!