Holidays, Damn Holidays

The Matterhorn. Yep. It isn't an illusion.
It goes up and up and disappears into the trees.

By C.P. Stringham

It’s my week at the Broads of a Feather Blog and I’m discussing diets. I’ve been attempting the balance between shameless foodie and healthy dieter since June 2013. The results have been positive, although the holidays proved to be extremely difficult for me. My initial weight loss was forty-three pounds, but I went backwards gaining twelve pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. I’ll admit it, I went CrAzY during the holidays. Reckless abandon. Baked goods, wine, candy, and fatty foods. As I went hand to mouth, I kept telling myself, “Tomorrow, you’ll get back on track.” Yea, it didn’t happen.

And then, on January 2^nd, I tried on my “skinny pants.” When I say skinny pants, you all know the pants I’m talking about. They’re the smallest pants you own, your way of gauging your weight without stepping onto a scale. When I say I tried my skinny pants on, I mean I wiggled them up over my hips and cursed like a trucker when the button was an elusive 1 ½” from the button hole. No amount of pulling of lying down on the bed while sucking it all in was going to make the two meet. I took them off, tossed them onto my bed, and stared at them with loathing.

Once I rationalized my H&M cargo pants weren’t responsible for my Holiday Gorge Fest, I vowed to overcome the setback. Through rain, sleet, snow, and frigid temperatures (thank you, Polar Vortex,) my friend, Paralegal Jenn, and I have resumed our exercise routine in the way of trekking a 2.6-mile walk along rural dirt roads. I’ve nicknamed our route The Matterhorn because, I swear to God, the one freaking hill has got to be a 45 degree grade that we climb. We’ve walked it eleven out of sixteen days (we started walking it before January 2nd) and I still can’t do it without taking a 3-5 minute break mid-hill. That’s when my heart is pounding between my ears and I feel as if I’m going to vomit. But I’m determined to conquer that hill before the end of January! Once that happens, we’re adding distance to our walk.

I’m happy to say my skinny pants are buttoning again. Do they look painted on me? Absolutely. I still have a ways to go.

Did any of you fall off the dieter’s wagon during the holidays? If you did, I’d love to hear what you’re doing to get back on track! Share it in the comments section.