The Leftovers

I'm down another pound, y'all. Normally, that wouldn't be too exciting, but since my last post there was freakin' THANKSGIVING, followed by The Week of Leftovers. So I'm counting it as a major win.

But seriously, you've never seen so much food:

Two turkeys
Three baking dishes full of mac n' cheese
Two trays of regular stuffing
One tray of cornbread stuffing
Multiple muffin tins full of stuffing in ball form
Three different types of cranberry sauce
A rice dish
Salad, for some reason
Sweet potatoes and marshmallow
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Cauliflower mashers
Brussels sprouts
Spinach lasagna (one of the Pilgrims' little known favorites)
Rolls
More rolls
Corn casserole
Roughly twenty pies
Pumpkin roll
Pumpkin loaf
Chocolate-covered peanut butter balls
And, oh, I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

So, even though we had 25 people at our place on Turkey Day, there were still plenty of leftovers to tease and tempt me for the remainder of the week. And it didn't help that one of our friends - THANKS, HOLLY - decided that what the world really needed was for there to be a day after Thanksgiving where we all get together and EAT MORE FOOD. Just for that, I'm instituting a new holiday immediately following Valentine's Day where we all have to love people for an extra 24 hours. Karma's a b-word.

But, while I certainly didn't eat like a bird, I behaved as well as can reasonably be imagined. I took small portions of everything, and only helped myself to seconds of a few items (not the Brussels sprouts, in case you were wondering). I did a pretty decent job of not filling up before dinner, nor mindlessly snacking afterward. In the days since, I've controlled my leftover intake, and actually ended up tossing quite a bit of it for the first time in recorded history.

My plan was to get to the gym a couple times over the long weekend, and...that didn't happen. It was honestly because of a packed schedule more than a lack of motivation, as evidenced by the fact that I've gone every day so far this week. And I've been kicking my butt more than usual. I keep forgetting to bring a towel, though, so my apologies to whoever used that rowing machine after me.

In other lard-discarding news, I got myself an editor for my novel, and she's already on the job. Should have a final, submission-ready draft ready by the second week of January. In the meantime, I'm meeting with a writer friend to pick his brain about query letters, synopses, etc., and welcome any other advice (preferably from someone who knows what they're talking about). I'm not writing anything new until I've sold this son-of-a-gun. It's gonna happen.

Fortunately, there is nothing else coming around the bend to tempt me food-wise, so - GOOD GOD, IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS. Well, shit. Fingers crossed I spend more time this month dreaming about sugarplums than eating them.


Starting weight: x lbs
Day 14 weight: x - 4.3 lbs
Total loss: 4.3 lbs