Thanksgiving Damage

I was really worried leading into Thanksgiving about weight gain. My goal was simply to minimize the damage, since I eat such a controled diet there is almost no way to meet or assess my normal caloric goals when I'm eating food cooked by someone else.

It began the Thursday before Thanksgiving with a potluck lunch at work. By some cruel twist of fate, I had finally starting dropping again from the weight loss plateau that I've been at for the past month or so. I went through the line taking small samples of only my favorite stuff: sausage, ham, turkey, mashed potatos, sweet potatos, and a roll. I took only a very small amount of each, making sure no portion touched any other portion. I was given some flack by my colleagues, who I assured I was saving myself for dessert. When dessert rolled around, I went back for one very small piece of the cake I had made (knowing I had used all of the low fat substitutes, etc.). The next few days I was pleasantly surprised to see that I hadn't gained from my foray into Thanksgiving.

I kept dropping weight all week leading up to Thanksgiving. I weighed 129.6 (goal weight is 125) on Thursday morning before the 5 miler. I made a mistake on Thursday, though. I ate a small breakfast before running (Snickers marathon bar and a banana). Then after running I had another banana and a bagel (around 10am). I thought that would hold me 'til lunch at 2, but lunch wasn't ready when we got there at 2, and I felt like my stomach was eating itself by then, so I started grazing on crackers (leaving off the cheese - I was still trying!). Finally lunch was ready, so I ate mashed potatos, turkey, and 3 rolls with butter (love rolls with butter!). For dessert 2 of the yummy white chocolate covered Ritz and PB that I had brought (and estimated at 100 calories each).

Theeeen (oh, no, it doesn't stop there!) on Saturday we went for *another* Thanksgiving with my husband's Dad's family. I made another mistake that day. I had eaten a good breakfast, but hadn't lunched before we went over there. Preston and I were both starving, and his dad and step-mom busted out the crackers with cheese and summer sausage. That stuff is goooooood, let me tell you, and I ate it like I only see it a few times per year (which is true, but not wise) and like I was incredibly hungry when I saw it (also true, also not wise). Then they took us out for Mexican food for dinner, where I had half a chicken quesadilla with guac for dinner. I really fell off the wagon that day.

My best work friend left the company yesterday. It is possible that I took him out to Starbucks for a 400 calorie toffee almond bar (each - one for him and one for me). I'm just sayin'...

So the end result of all this debauchery? 2 pounds gained. 131.6 pounds. (Which is the exact weight, ironically, that I was plateaued at right before I started losing again right before the holiday.)

Lessons learned? Don't go places hungry. Bring your postrace nutrition with you if you aren't going home after a race. Have a plan and stick to it.

I'm back on the plan.