Wednesday Weigh-In: Lost the Christmas Five

Remember that five pounds I gained over the holidays?  It’s one week later and they’re gonzo.   

This week I learned a great lesson.  In the past if I was on a “diet” I would tell myself to enjoy the holidays then get back on track in the New Year, but afterwards the weight gain (even though I expected it) would dishearten me and I’d give up.  This year I told myself, very strictly, that I would not give in to discouragement.  I enjoyed the holidays in every way (see aforementioned 5 pound gain), but then dropped the extra weight in just one week.  I did it!  Surprisingly, it wasn’t even too hard.  I went back to eating leaner food in regular portions.   I also had a couple of glasses of wine and two chocolate chip cookies during the week, but the weight still came off.   Real life.  I needn’t sacrifice.  Eat a cookie one day, don’t eat a cookie the next, just like my regular sized friends would do. 

And that’s a great tip if you, fellow blogger, are trying to lose weight, too.  Study your regular sized friends and do what they do. 

Christmas party, weigh-in day and realistic holiday goals

Here we are on our way to Ed's Christmas party

On Saturday we went to Ed’s station’s Christmas party.  My night-long smile was not because of the good food or the music or the wine.  I smiled because earlier that day, while selecting my party clothes, I was slipping into pants and skirts I haven’t worn for many, many years.   I’m still the fat chick in the photo (albeit not as fat a chick as I was three months ago!) so none of my options were particularly sexy, but I sure as hell felt sexy in them.  

Today was Wednesday Weigh-In Day and I hopped on my scale with true enthusiasm.  I maintained.  Works for me!  Maintaining through the holidays is a realistic and obtainable goal and I recommend it to anyone.  It’s so much less stressful than saying “I will lose weight during the holidays”.  I don’t want to say no to all the delicious food and drinks during the holidays.  At parties and dinners I will enjoy my favourites in moderation, just like my average-sized friends do.   I’ve watched them for years.  I know their habits and learning to live them.   Real life.

Oh, and another reason I was so smiley at Ed’s Christmas party?  The chairs that were painfully (literally, painfully) too tight for me at the same venue two years ago?   The identical chairs gave my butt just enough room this year.   Yeah.  It was a big smile.