day fifty-one...how I survived two Christmas parties

Yep...you read that right...I had not one, but two Christmas parties today. And guess what? I stayed on plan! My timing was off a bit, but I definitely stuck to my Medifast snacks and a proper lean and green meal (which I divided into two meals).

Breakfast
I woke up this morning and started getting ready for my first Christmas party. I made a quick French vanilla shake and drank it while curling my hair. Too bad I don't have a picture of that...would have been a funny sight I'm sure.

Morning Snack
Right before I left for the staff Christmas party, I heated up a blueberry soft bake. It looks terrible, but it did the job and held me over until lunch was served.

Lunch
This is where I ate half of my lean and green meal. It is seriously funny how easy it was to say no to the bread basket going around the table and even dessert! Dessert is a huge one for me. I love all things sugar. I have a giant sweet tooth. But anyways, I ended up just eating a salad and the broccoli. Easily passed over the chicken parmesan and pasta. Funny story...my dad actually ate most of the food on his plate and then we switched plates so it looked like I ate some of it. ;) tricky, tricky, but it works!

Here is apicture of me and my brother at the CCCM Staff Christmas party. Isn't he handsome?

Afternoon Snack
Once I got home from party number one, I broke open a pack of mixed berry cereal crunch. I eat it alongside a cup of coffee and relaxed for a few minutes...then it was time to start getting ready for party number two...which was a formal one. :)

Dinner
So dinner at my second party was a bit tough. They basically had salad and pasta. Oh and bread...all catered by Maggianos. So, for the second half of my lean and green meal I ate some salad (picked out the dried cranberries) and then took some chicken from one of the pastas. It was on the top, so there was no sauce on it! Yay! The Lord is so good and is always looking out for me.

Dessert #1
They had a coffee bar so what I did was I brought a chai latte packet with me and poured it in one of the cups and filled it with some coffee and hot water. Perfection in a cup!

Dessert #2
I had my final meal of the day as soon as I got home around 11:45pm. I broke open an oatmeal raisin crunch bar and ate it while starting to write this post.

And...here is a picture of me and my best friend, Kiera at the second party of the night. It was with my college Bible study group. So much fun! Love my friends...they are the best. I mean, you know you have good friends when they bring you up and encourage you rather than tear you down.

So...there it is—my day in a nutshell. Just be encouraged and know that you can get through a Christmas party this month and still stay on plan. Don't be shy to bring your own snacks!

It felt good at the end of the day knowing that I stuck to the plan even though I attended two parties filled with food. But it can be done! I promise you, you will not regret saying no to that tempting food and staying on plan. Plus, it doesn't hurt when you are getting a ton of compliments all night about how great you look...just a little motivation for you right there.

Oh and tell people about the program or diet you are on! It helps you not only to stay on track but then you will also have a ton of people keeping you accountable. Accountability is key.

xoxo,
Toni