Shocking Weight Loss Secret Revealed!

During our recent trip to Massachusetts, I discovered the key to my 20-pound weight loss since January.  In fact, before hopping on the plane on Friday morning, I was hovering around 21 pounds lost.  Keep in mind that when I decided to drop some weight I was at my highest point yet, aside from my two pregnancies.  But still, I was feeling pretty good about myself.  Until I stepped foot off that plane...

My observations:

Clue #1: I hadn't been to Massachusetts since Christmas, just before I began to lose weight.

Clue #2: My mom keeps her house at a temperature just low enough that one's body is tricked into thinking it's still winter.  And during winter, I eat.  A lot.

Clue #3: When we travel up north, it's usually for a celebration: Christmas, someone's birthday, a vacation week off from school.  Let's face it, with that side of my family, the mere fact that we're together is reason enough to open a bottle of wine and finish off a plate of macaroni.  And then, enjoy whatever delicious baked goods my cousins and aunts have whipped up.  In this case, we were celebrating two birthdays: a one-year-old's and an 88-year-old's.  Needless to say, food was abundant at both parties.  Two different birthday cakes.  Macaroni and cheese,  stuffed shells, and whoopie pies at one event.  Bagels, coffee cake, and quiche at the other.

From birthday party #2

Aside from the parties, there was pizza for dinner one night and a trip to Sichuan Garden down the street another night.  A lunch at Cheesecake Factory after the annual visit with the Easter Bunny at the Burlington Mall.  Bull's eye candies devoured while watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory with my mom.  Did I mention there is a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner in that state?  In some parts of my hometown, there are DDs across the street from one another.  That's not hyperbole; that's fact.

It hit me like a ton of bricks.  I'd lost weight this year because I had, until this past weekend, steered clear of my biggest diet pitfall: spending time with my family in Massachusetts.


What other conclusion could be drawn from the fact that I gained back 4 pounds during our 4-day stay at my mom's house?  How else could I interpret my inability to refuse the pasta, bread, and desserts, laden with carbohydrates and fats, that I have been avoiding here in Virginia?

Well.  I guess some of it has to do with willpower.  Maybe.

But there is something about returning to the house in which I grew up that triggers a desire to eat.  Is that where the term "comfort food" comes from?  Because when I am happily gorging on whatever my mom has stocked in her fridge or pantry, I am feeling very comfortable.

Of course, there's no way I can stay away from my Massachusetts family.  In fact, I crave time in their company the same way I crave chocolate.  They've seen me at my best and worst and loved me through every moment.  And I love each of them just as much.  Plus, it's been amazing as I watch my boys get to know these special people (there's something especially touching about their relationship with "Big Nana", my grandmother).

But now that I've determined my biggest area of weakness when it comes to eating well, I'll be better prepared the next time we travel up north.  Fit in some workouts to counterbalance the eating.  Pass on that second helping of macaroni.  Eat one less pizza slice.

Oh.  And next time, I won't ask my brother and the Godfather to bring me back these from the North End.  I think that might help my cause a little.

Mmm...Mike's Pastry.

There's a reason they left the gun and took the cannoli.

Does anyone else blame their family's good cooking for their poor eating habits?  Share your story below!
As always, thanks for reading and for more adventures in family eating, "like" me on Facebook.