"Record" yourself and hold on to that beautiful-you feeling!

Thaksgiving has come and gone. I really enjoyed it this year. I made the trek into London to attend the Thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a brisk morning and my daughter and I dressed up and went for it! The service was really special.

Afterward, we took the tube to Knightsbridge and did some window shopping. We decided to spend some serious money having a balanced and healthy lunch, instead of taking a sandwich at Starbuck's or Pret A Manger or even E.A.T. These places DO have lower kcalorie, lower-fat selections, but we wanted a hot and GOOD lunch -- so we ventured into 'La Dolce Vita'. I had the most delicious Italian minestrone and then we each had a light pasta dish. We took NO bread with our meal and drank sparkling water and NO dessert. This sustained us as we walked the rest of the afternoon up and down and in and out of the fantastic shops. Harrod's has a Peter Pan theme going on for Christmas and Harvey Nics seems to have an over-the-top kitschy look.

Dinner was fantastic -- with friends -- and we enjoyed every morsel and ate EVERYTHING, but not OVER-ate.

And, now, I'm right back on track -- eating healthy,taking brisk walks in the frigid, but exhilarating fresh outdoors, and regularly going to the gym.

What helps me SO much is to keep looking in the mirror, having my daughter take snapshots of me, and keeping track of my weight and measurements once every couple weeks. I don't want to obsess, and I'm certainly not looking in the mirror or posing for snapshots, because I'm vain. It's just a way to "record myself" -- to keep AWARE that all my discipline and hard work is worth it and makes me LOOK great and feel great. I am SUPER tempted right now by all the wonderful sights and smells of all the holiday goodies around -- the aroma of mulled wine wafting from some of the pubs, the honey waffles being sold at a stall near a local church for their annual Christmas fayre, the chestnuts being roasted on an open fire by the train station. My daughter and I could've shared the roasted chestnuts -- they were dry-roasted and there's no added sugar or salt -- BUT, we had just finished lunch less than 2 hours before we passed the stall and decided to forego the temptation. We just weren't hungry even though the delicious aroma called out our names! We ducked into a beautiful dress shop and I kept looking in the mirror. This made me take stock and reign myself in.

So, keep up the great work and DO keep admiring how great you look and how wonderful it feels when your beautiful holiday clothes glide over your toned body. Enjoy every treat over the holidays, but don't lose that beautiful-you feeling! Think of THAT first before you take a goodie that you really don't need or want. And, if you do partake of the holiday fare and treats -- do so in moderation. The treats will taste better and you will still look and feel a treat!