Day 94 The Holiday Party and An Obesity Myth Busted

Day 94

The Holiday Party and An Obesity Myth Busted

Here we are in the middle of the holiday party season. Holiday fun time can certainly spell trouble if you’re not prepared. I always have my game face on in these situations. Today was the holiday party at Irene’s job. She’s a floor supervisor for a large casino. Once a year they close the casino down for 10 hours and have a huge party and plenty of food. They come up with free games for the employees and spouses and everyone has a great time. I stayed away from the “goody” table completely. I did enjoy a nice roasted white meat turkey dinner. I dipped some green beans, a small portion of mashed potatoes and gravy, just a tiny bit of stuffing, and I even had a roll! I snuck a peak at the package the rolls came in, it checked in at 110. As for the other stuff, I judged the calories by what I learned from Thanksgiving, and quickly concluded that my plate equaled 700 calories. I normally don’t spend 700 for lunch, but I decided to have a light dinner later. While I was there I won the Southwind Holiday Party Poker Tournament. I beat out all 44 other players and won a really fancy poker chip set and a very large, very heavy hold ‘em poker table top. I was thrilled. Not as thrilled as last years winner, who took home a big flat panel LCD TV. But hey, it was good. Not as good as cash like the winner the year before last took home. It didn’t cost me anything and it is a really nice setup. I guess I have to get a home game going now. I certainly have everything you need! The bottom line: It was fun. And that’s what a holiday party is all about right? While I was there three people commented on my weight loss. I really don’t talk about it that much, so it’s really cool when someone can’t help but notice, and offers a congratulations. I always say “Thanks, I’ve still got a ways to go, and I’ll get there…Thank you for noticing.” It’s cool to be at the stage of undeniable-completely-obvious results. When you have as much to lose as I do, it takes a while to get there. I wasn’t there after the first 21, or even 30 or 35, but now at 75 plus (weigh day is in less than a week) I’m there. People who know me, but rarely see me especially notice the change. The family, friends, and co-workers that see me everyday, they too can see the difference now, but it always takes them a little longer to notice the gradual change. I can’t wait to reach my ultimate goal and then run into someone I haven’t seen in a couple of years. They’ll walk right by I guarantee it!

By the way, I just wanted to clear up a popular misconception about the obese. We still get cold! Our fat doesn’t act as a blanket like many slim for life people seem to think. I mention this because I over-heard a couple of people talking in the convenience store while paying for gas the other day. Obese Stranger: “I sure hate this cold weather we’re having.” Slim and trim stranger: “You hate it? How do you think I feel? I don’t have any extra insulation like you.” They obviously knew each other and they were laughing about it. I felt like chiming in… Me: “True, I mean it might be 17 degrees out there, but I’m burning up under all this blubber.” Could’ve been hilarious to say, but I didn’t. It all comes from the old saying “fattening up for the winter.” I think this is a survival mechanism for animals, in case inclement weather makes it difficult to find food. That way their bodies can take energy from the extra fat they’ve added. I don’t think it’s for a blanket of warmth. I get just as cold as the next guy. And just a little bit below our surface we’re all close to 98.6 degrees. If the “extra fat” equals “extra warmth” theory were true, we wouldn’t have severely obese people in the world, we would have all died from excessive fever. Could you imagine if it were true? Talk about incentive to lose weight! If gaining weight raised your body temperature, we would all constantly monitor ourselves. How scary would that be? I mean, really, obesity kills anyway, it just usually takes a while. But if being fat made you get hot inside, well…that would be really quick. So, I think I’ve made a good point. Being obese doesn’t make me all warm and fuzzy. On the other hand, it can take more out of you in the summer, because you have to exert more energy to move. Ok, I feel better now.

I’m going to bed early tonight. I just feel much better when I’m well rested. My body probably works better at losing weight when I’m well rested. I don’t know that for sure, but it sounds reasonable. I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for reading. Good night and…

Good Choices,
Sean