February 5, 2013 - Visitors

I love when people come to my house for a visit. I am the Hospitality Queen. I LOVE planning, cleaning and cooking for the masses; it’s Basic Hospitality 101. I was raised preparing large quantities of food in preparation for anyone who might arrive for dinner. The only problem was that too often no one came. That meant we had extra for US and that every dog and cat in the neighborhood was pleasingly plump. J I wonder if planning for visitors had anything to do with my unhealthy portion sizes? I am not certain, but blaming someone other than me allows me to smile for a second. Have you ever blamed someone for your unhealthy life style? I have! But, let’s return to our talk on visitors. While planning for visitors to eat at your table is critical, accepting visitors to the scale IS NOT! It’s amazing to me how we conveniently “plan” and make room for those extra “visitors” to come into our lives for holidays. I honestly know people who PLAN to gain 10 pounds each year from Halloween to January 1st. They speak of this with a laugh and acceptance that makes me shake my head. For me – I never “planned” for them. I never weighed, so that meant I wasn’t accountable for the visitors. Right? Wrong! I LOVE guests, but a guest is not usually expected to become a legal resident in my house. And, if they need to stay longer than planned, they are expected to submit to the journey of MY life and MY family. Gaining weight and trying to “pet those pounds” (as if they were a new kitten) can be a monster in the closet. We cannot allow those “guests” to become legal residents! How do we avoid this? Every morning we must force ourselves to have an honest discussion with our accountability partner – the scale. Sometimes I would weigh myself three times, stand on the corners, and balance on one foot. Ever tried those? But the bottom line – no one held a gun to my head and made me welcome THOSE guests! I was a willing participant. Moral to this story: don’t pet the extra “guests” that arrive around certain holidays begging for clothes and a space to live. They have an AGENDA. They take you places you never planned to go and make you stay longer than you planned. UGH!