This is a Story About My New Pants

Week: 33
Pounds Lost: 47

Okay, okay. This should be a story about the four pounds I gained on vacation, but in the spirit of keeping to the positive, let’s talk first about my new ski pants.

Take a look:

Nice, eh? I like ’em. Granted, they’re not the same brand as my snazzy new ski jacked (North Face, not Descente) but you all know the sordid story of how I passed up the 50% off matching pants to my new jacket. Anyway, the full retail price of my new pants was actually less than the sale price on the pants that match my jacket, plus I got these on sale for 25% off, so I think I made the wiser purchase in the end, no?

And best of all is the size. These pants, people, are a MEDIUM. Yes, you read that right! After more than six months of (mostly) hard work and dedication, I can proudly say that I fit (comfortably) into a pair of medium ski pants. Woohoo! I optimistically picked up a M and a L when I went to the changeroom, and challenged myself to try the M first. And whaddya know? They fit! Elation! Joy! Wonder! Pride! Oh, and the Hubster really, really likes them too. When I tried them on for him, his first comment was: "aren’t they too tight in the bum?" I denied. He persisted. So I strutted a bit and convinced him that tight in the bum is, in fact, sometimes desireable 😉

But all that silliness aside, I am very happy with them. I am not an entirely coordinated fashion plate on the slopes, but I am keeping my eyes open for end-of-season sales…maybe the matching North Face jacket will be on sale? In the meantime, here’s what I’ll look like schussing down the slopes:

And here’s the silhouette I cut last year:

A vast improvement, wouldn’t you say?

Okay. So. I got all the good stuff out first. That felt nice. Now it’s time to stop lying to myself (and you) and own up to the fact that I was a very, very bad girl last week at Panorama. Why? Well, if you’ve ever been away to a ski resort, I don’t have to tell
you about the temptations that lurk on the mountain. Gone are the days
of the daylodge-as-dingy trailer with its long benches and pots of chili, vats of
fries and pre-wrapped cold-cut sandwiches. These days you’d better
bring your wallet and your self-control to the ski hill cafeteria;
you’ll have to choose from fusion-inspired toasted paninis instead of
ham & processed cheese on wonderbread, and even the ski-hill
staple, the hamburger, has undergone a metamorphosis…no longer the
poor cousin to a fast-food burger, the ski hill lunch is more likely to
be a full 1/2 pound of fresh ground beef, stuffed with stilton and
garnished with grilled vidalia onion strings, fresh chipolte salsa and
avocado mayonnaise on a bakery-fresh half-baguette.

And that’s just in the cafeteria! We stayed at BC’s beautiful
Panorama Mountain Village, owned by Intrawest (most famous for
Whistler-Blackcomb), and no slouch in the nice restaurant department,
either. Our first full night here we ate at one of the restaurants
on-hill and I indulged in a luscious grilled chicken breast sandwich on
panini with fries and cole-slaw on the side. And 2 glasses of wine.
Ulp. I don’t even know how to calculate the points in that meal! The next night my sis’ and her family hosted our family for a chili dinner (two bowls full, for me) and we indulged in a few glasses of wine, followed by a night working in the restaurant (the only location with wireless internet access) where I tossed back a glass of Baileys on ice. On our "quiet" night at home, I did laundry and ate chips. Why? I don’t know. It was stupid. It was not even all that enjoyable. But I did it anyway. Then we had another dinner out, at a different restaurant. I started with baked french onion soup (divine), and then a grilled chicken wrap with garlic mayonnaise on a bed of fries. Granted, I didn’t eat many of the fries, but honestly…I was full after the soup! I could have had them wrap up the sandwich to save for the next day. But I didn’t. I didn’t even eat half and save the rest for later. I ate the whole, delicious thing. And this was after my older daughter had to be taken home by her Dad because she ate her dinner too fast (trying to keep up with her 7 year-old boy-with-a-hollow-leg cousin) and nearly threw up! I should have heeded the lesson…but I didn’t.

And this year, I didn’t ski nearly as much or as hard as usual. Don’t get me wrong…it was a great holiday…it’ll go down in the books as one of the best ever, but I definitely did not get out there burning up the slopes (and the calories) like I usually do on a ski holiday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying enough attention to the ratio of calories in (outrageous) to calories out (moderate).

So Saturday morning when I stepped on the scale at Weight Watchers, I was up 5.8 pounds. OUCH! That was a real shocker. Luckily, after one day of eating well and — more importantly — drinking lots of water, I dropped 2 pounds. But that means I’m still up 3.8 for the week. And the chances of me dropping that before Saturday are, well, slim. No pun intended.

But, whatevs. I had fun, and I learned two valuable lessons:

1. Old habits really DO die hard
2. My body can put weight on FAST!

So, now I need to get my mojo back so I can power my way down to 155 and then get into the maintenance groove. Any words of advice or encouragement are definitely welcome!