Weigh-in no. 19: The Day after Christmas

This weigh-in post is going to be short and to the point.  It's the day after Christmas - St. Stephen's Day or Boxing Day in this part of the world - and my body is feeling the effects of this past week's (well, the last 2 days really) food choices.

All in all, I've been pretty happy with myself thus far.  Jim begged me to make peanut butter and jelly bars, which caused me to lose control briefly, but on the whole (in comparison to other years), I've not eaten until I was so full that I felt sick or even cleaned my plate and went for seconds.  This year, I only ate half of my portion of Jim's lovely Beef Wellington and have walked away when I've felt full.  That's a victory.

Despite that, however, I have gained this week... 

Weigh-in no. 19: + 3.4

Last week:    293.4
This week:    296.8      
Loss of          + 3.4
Total Loss     - 30.2

But I was prepared for that.  I'm not upset or ashamed.  I had already said I would be enjoying Christmas and if I gained, I gained - knowing full well that I wasn't going to be going "whole-hog" and eat everything in sight and gain everything I've lost back.  Some of the gain is undoubtedly because of the amount of calories I've consumed the last few days and the lack of exercise (I haven't done much of anything the past week), so I'm not going to make excuses.  However, I'm sure some of the gain is also water-retention; I've had a mini-cold the last few days, have eaten more salt than usual, have had more alcohol than I've had in months, and I feel utterly dehydrated, yet bloated.  Also I haven't had as much fiber the last few days as normal and I'm feeling the effects of having eaten a lot more protein than I normally do, so my gut is feeling a little heavy.

So, what's my plan now?  My friends are still here (yay!!!!) and we are still going to enjoy great food.  But now that the weather seems to be easing up and getting warmer (c'mon thaw!), we'll be getting out and walking around more, eating healthier, more everyday foods and I need to start drinking lots more water to hydrate and get things moving.

I'll be less ok than I am now if I show further gain next week, but still I know it's temporary.  In the end, I don't want this holiday to be remembered for the amount of weight I gained or lost, but for the amount of time I was able to spend with my friends and the fun we had cooking & eating, laughing, exploring and being in one another's company.  This is Christmas, after all.  :o)