jmb3450's Journal, 11 Dec 15

way to manage self control... see, thats what I need LOL  

Great plan Jim! You're doing super and remember...a promis is important :D  

No one can resist cookies fresh from the oven. I'm glad that little indulgence didn't mess up all your hard work. Have you tried Food Lion's Peppermint Ice Cream? It's so much better than Friendly's Peppermint Ice Cream. 

Brenda!!! I thought you were my friend but there you go tempting me with ice cream in luscious Holiday flavors!?!? Now I will have to try BOTH kinds to see which one my taste buds prefer. ;) 

:) I am your friend! The holiday flavors are only here for a very short time, read less opportunity to be tempted. Don't waste your money on the Friendly's brand, Food Lion's is much better. See, I'm also saving you money. 

great job! 

Hmmm...why is someone baking cookies at your house? I know 'tis the season, but this really puts unnecessary temptation in your path, what with all the parties you already have to navigate - like going to your Mom's! I wish you strength, JMB! 

@Brenda: I'll have to tell my mom about the flavor, she might get it and then I could have a sample on Christmas day without having to deal with having a whole container of it in my freezer. @Soon: The cookies are inevitable! :) My wife bakes them and will mail most of them to her kids in NY, we'll take some with us to the various holiday celebrations. I may make a some pecan crescents and always do rum balls which I give as gifts. I'm actually pretty good with them around, we keep them packed up in the garage where they're cold and less accessible until the times they're needed. I know cookies the like aren't really healthy, but it's a tradition I don't know we'll break from, at least not this year anyway. Now...we are having healthier food choices at the couple of holiday gatherings that will be at our house...(well....other than the cookies!). My biggest weaknesses are ice cream and ch-ch-chocolate!  

@Soon: lol...you are my conscience talking to me! Not a bad thing though. :) 

Perhaps give the gift of red wine (bottle of the newest Beaujolais), or send Visa Gift Cards (cash is ALWAYS appreciated), or how about fruit & nut baskets? Many of the women in my office bring in all those cookies from their relatives and give them away because they don't want them in their homes, so are your cookies really going to be appreciated? Are you giving them to people who need to gain weight? The problem with traditions is that sometimes they don't make sense, and no one questions it. I am all about your health, JMB!!!! 

@Soon: I truly do appreciate where you're coming from, and from the health standpoint you are right for sure. I think part of the reason my wife makes the cookies is that it's a way of connecting to the past. She gave up a lot to move 2 states away and live with me...making the cutout cookies and decorating them is something she always did with her kids so making them now and sending them, bringing some when we come to visit them, is a way of her re-connecting with the family she is separated from. Plus we have our traditions that are ingrained in us and they are part of the holidays/time of year/family makeup. Hard to break or just stop. For me, when I was a single dad I overcompensated trying to make up the loss of family to my kids, at Christmastime I began making lots of cookies and treats. I've pretty much stopped that now, other than rumballs and I may also make some boozy chocolates, and those go out just a few to each individual. One plus...I do make a nice Blackberry Merlot wine and give that to special friends!  

it's good when you can have your cake (cookies) and eat it too (maintain your weight).  

Hang in there Jim make sure and stay away from M&Ms those things are addictive. Maintaining is a good thing  

Make sure you fend off the ice cream attacks and put a lock on the pantry to keep those evil little devils contained :) 

Baked sugary carbohydrates = Love? Overcompensating for divorce with treats? I like the merlot thing you've got going on. Maybe now that the kids are over 21 you could give them that instead? These times, they are a'changin'! I'm sure that all your relatives will understand and love you anyway, and I bet that they're more interested in your company than in your cookies. Fat habits are hard to break, and there's always a healthier substitute. 

JMB--as a postscript to my above entry, I always try to offer alternative, healthy suggestions to fat habits of members, because a challenge to a certain (old) way of thinking is often enough what it takes to get people creative. Swapping out unhealthy habits for good ones is usually easier than simply deleting out the bad ones. 

Love keeps you alive. Merry Christmas.