I think I was unable to find any fucks to give once The Holidays hit.
Things got busy around Thanksgiving, with appointments and lunches and whatnot, so I didn’t work out over lunch as often. Then people started taking vacations — both fitness instructors and attendees — so there were fewer appealing classes on the fitness center schedule. So, instead of finding other stuff to do, I just didn’t work out.
My weight crept up by a few pounds in November, and I got some of it back off in early December, but the yo-yo bounced right back a couple weeks in and I just didn’t care. I wasn’t working out, I was eating in the evenings again, and I knew more food was on the way.
Over Christmas weekend, I gleefully partook in all the sweets and goodies, and I didn’t track a damn thing. Sausage cake, cookies, fudge… Ironically enough, the Christmas meal I planned was actually quite healthy on its own: ham, scalloped sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, baked corn, and rolls. It was just the desserts that did me in.
Right now, I’m working on getting rid of the leftover Christmas cookies. It’s my fault for spearheading the return of the Cookie Table — and I even sent cookies home with people! On Tuesday, I offloaded all but four of the remaining molasses cookies on my co-workers, and yesterday I shared the joy of Italian wedding cookies (aka snowballs or butterballs). I guess that might count as a Non-Scale Victory, if I hadn’t eaten five cookies myself. Then no one tried them, anyway, so I sat in front of the TV last night and polished off most of them myself.
Other Actual Non-Scale Victories:
- After lunch out with my co-worker one Wednesday, I really, REALLY wanted lunch dessert. Everything at the cafe downstairs is sooooo huge, though, and I’d already blown through most of my daily Points on a splurgy mushroom burger. I slowed my roll by forcing myself to drink an entire 16 oz glass of water before I decided to get anything — then, halfway through my water, I decided to have a Poor Man’s Mocha instead (coffee with hot cocoa). That sated my sweet tooth and gave me an afternoon energy boost without sending me down a carby rabbit hole.
- I know I’m kind of behind the trend on this one, but I bought my very first pair of skinny jeans since high school.
Right now, I feel like ass. I’m tired, I’m lethargic, I’m bloated, my muffin top is more muffiny than ever, and I have a mucousy head cold that just won’t quit. Another Non-Scale Victory involved me getting my ass out of my chair over lunch yesterday and going for a 35-minute walk — the wind was calm and the temps were just hovering just above freezing. Honestly, it didn’t make me feel noticeably better, but that was mostly because of my cold.
This morning, I finally surpassed my Oh Shit weight (currently 175 lbs).
Time to get back to business.
Even if I’m not as active as I was a couple of months ago, I can at least go for walks or hit up the treadmill at the work gym, instead of sitting at my desk and reading my news feed and playing on my phone. Even if I don’t feel like packing my lunch, I can at least order something healthy from the cafe downstairs, instead of ordering mac and cheese and jalapeno poppers. And for the love of all that’s holy, I need to STOP this evening binge-eating shenanigans.
I know how to do this. I’ve got this. I just need to shift my mental focus again, and get back in the right headspace.
I’ll feel so much better for it.