Kicking It IX

With one holiday down and two to go, it will soon be over before you can say mistletoe.

Whew! Making it through Thanksgiving was the first hurdle. The ongoing mantra around here is “it’s just food.”

OK, there may be an argument that pumpkin pie with whipped cream is more than just food. However, this year the slices were much, much smaller. Absolutely no second helpings.

I didn’t gain any weight during Thanksgiving or even while in Alaska a few weeks ago. It proves I can manage eating every meal out without overindulging. Of course, in Alaska, I was with my celiac-vegetarian daughter who is also allergic to dairy, citrus (except grapefruit), melons (except watermelon) and won’t go near meat with someone else’s fork. That made it not so hard to stay on track. She is stick thin. No surprise there, right? Intaking enough viable protein is her only dietary concern.

When asked what she had for Thanksgiving while isolated in the remote village of Shaktoolik, Alaska, she replied her meal was oatmeal with a persimmon for dessert. All of the grocery shelves were empty. One of the reasons she always carries food with her on village visits

Without any food allergies holding me back, I have to rely on self-discipline. And if you’ve met me, you know I am self-indulgent. I’ll forego Christmas baking this December. A first in a very long time, decades probably. Just the same I only know two people under 6 years old and they cannot possibly eat all of the sugarplums I usually bake. Everyone else I know just groans and rolls their eyes when offered a sweet.

This has been a journey – this healthy lifestyle business. I am trying not to be preachy about weight loss. We all know those born-again folks that go on and on. Lordy, let it not be me.

One good thing. Envelope sealant is calorie free. Therefore, I have finished sealing my Christmas cards without concern for added intake.

With all of my Christmas shopping completed, I only need to muscle through the postal lines one last time to ship the final gifts to Nome. One is filled with pomegranates, hand-picked from my bridge-partner’s tree, one with the final bits that Amazon wouldn’t drop ship and a big box of persimmons from our front yard tree.

Funny how in past years it was a strain to carry several stacked postal boxes weighing over 40+ pounds, but not so much this year. Time is ticking. Only 88 days left!

Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal can be reached by email at [email protected].