Holiday Prep

Now that that is over with, we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

We seem to have our holiday planning put together - juggling two sides of the family who live 90 miles apart is always challenging at holiday time. I must admit to a certain amount of apprehension. This will be, after all, the first time several family members have seen us in almost a year - since well before we even started the surgical process. What are they going to think of our surgically improved selves? I don't really care about the opinions of many, but I will be seeing the majority of the people on that list in the next couple months.

For years now, this is traditionally the time when my winter "weight creep" starts. I am not alone in this - a large percentage of the country suffers from the same cycle. An already low activity level grows lower, we start making the rounds of food-filled family gatherings, and we begin to over-eat because everything is so darn good. By the time March rolls around, we have gained some weight (usually 10 or 15 pounds for me), some remnant of which stays with us throughout the next year.

So, it is exciting to think that this should be the first winter on record where I lose weight between November and March. My weight loss has been slowing down, as I have commented on here, but it has not ever stopped - even on weeks when I have only lost a fraction of a pound, I am still losing. And don't even get me started on the physical changes I am undergoing. I have empty dresser drawers and a half-empty closet currently, due to my stubborn insistence on not spending money on clothing I will only be able to wear once and then give away. I suppose I will have to do a little shopping before Thanksgiving and Christmas - I can't imagine Lor will allow me to attend family functions in tank tops and baggy sweats. Which brings me to my weight-loss goal for the end of the year...

Though it becomes less and less likely I will hit 200 pounds before the end of the year (darn it), it does look like I might be able to hit another one of my weight-loss goals: I may be able to get myself into a set of 38-inch waist pants by Christmas. This is a BIG one for me, folks - it was the final item on my original weight loss bucket list from 10 years ago. For those that don't remember, the other two were to get below 225 pounds (rear-view mirror) and to be able to walk 5K in the yearly Run For The Zoo (next May.) 38 inches means quite a bit for someone who was at a 50-inch waistline in January. I am just now able to get into some 40s, so here's hoping!

Though if I have to choose between tamales and a 38-inch waistline by Christmas, I must confess I will still choose tamales.

Just Sayin',

- Hawkwind