project RACE monthly update

I wish I had one or two more days before I had to write this post. I almost convinced myself to just skip it for the month, or at least postpone my accounting until a time I would be much happier to fill in the ledger. Not that things are going badly - they're not; it's just that this is a bit of a transitioning period for me, and I need to figure out a way to make the adjustment work. (Also, I didn't go for a run yesterday, and my weigh-in for the record this morning wasn't after a good sweaty workout as I usually like to make it. It was all me this time, baby. All me.)

This month's less than overwhelming weight loss can be attributed to a number of factors, all of which are instructive and offer insight into what I need to do to continue to make being healthy a part of my life. First up on the list: my trip early this month with the Babe to visit Grandma and Gido and their Big Drawer Full of Tempting, Luscious Chocolate and Irregular Eating Patterns Writ Large. Lesson #1: Simple avoidance is easier than will power. I personally cannot have a Big Drawer Full of Tempting, Luscious Chocolate in my house. I can have a couple reasonably portioned chocolate treats, but nothing that would easily let me over-indulge, such as the gluttony six extra large Hershey's chocolate almond bars inspire in me. Lesson #2: For me, eating healthily is all about routine. I don't know how their blood sugar levels do it, but my parents can eat supper at totally different hours one night to the next, and even skip a meal now and then. I cannot do this lest I become a ravenous lunatic who greedily eyes the Big Drawer Full of Tempting, Luscious Chocolate and snaps like a timber wolf at anyone who comes between it and my chops. I need structure, in terms of both what I eat and when I eat it. This helps me control my desire to binge on less than healthy food choices, and keeps my portions at reasonable sizes.

A second reason to account for my slowing weight loss is that I am no longer breastfeeding the Babe. He is weaned, which means all his calories come from formula and the goopy mess-in-a-jars the Heinz people like to call "solids", and not the fat stores off my rather rotund arse. Which sucks. I don't want to sound all preachy on the Boob Juice, because to each Mamasita her own, but breastfeeding was good for at least 15 pounds, I'm sure. It accelerated my early weight loss, making it easier to keep up with my running, and seeing such big changes early on kept me motivated. Lesson #3: I can't get complacent. I need to constantly reevaluate my strategy to stay successful.

Finally, a third excuse I'm going to use to explain why I only lost one pound this last month is because it's Christmas. How can I expect to report another five pound loss or something crazy like that when yesterday's menu consisted of six small gingerbread cookies complete with neon icing on top, two pan-fried blueberry perogies, and one rather large piece of H.'s to-die-for chocolate ice cream cake, consumed while doing a little holiday baking with the girls? I guess the question is, would I want to? Lesson #4: Sometimes living life is worth the pound or two you gain doing it.

All in all, I'm happy with the course Project RACE is running. I've kept up with my exercise, and Adoring and Wonderful Husband and I generally continue to eat well. And, hey, a one pound weight LOSS is better than a one pound weight GAIN, right? Still, the coming snow is sure to let my running slip if I don't do anything to ensure I maintain my output levels. And just because it's Christmas doesn't mean I can throw all caution to the wind and eat and drink like a 230 pound man. And nor do I want to, really. Fitting into a size 10 for the first time since high school is much, much sweeter.