Ten Extra Pounds, Part 2

Last week, I confessed to gaining ten pounds. Mom suggested the extra weight was muscle from working out so much. Isn’t she sweet?

Exercise did play a role. Working out explains maybe one or two pounds – and that’s being generous. Running is to blame for the remaining eight or nine extra pounds.

Ironic, I know. Running three miles several times a week has kept the forty pounds I lost a couple of years ago from coming back. Eventually, to get the same result takes more effort.

So I stepped up my game and ran six miles. Running twice my usual distance made me feel invincible. For the next week, I ate like I was seventeen again.

Grocery shopping a few hours after the run was a mistake. A lingering runner’s high preempted my usual care with my selections. Resisting temptation never works for me. Avoidance is far more effective. I can’t eat what I don’t buy, right?

I picked up a few extra treats to reward myself for the long run. A dozen cake doughnuts only survived a few hours. A box of ginger snaps didn’t make it through the night.

The next day, a pack of chocolate breakfast bars disappeared. In three short days, I polished off a half-gallon of ice cream, a jar of hot fudge, a can of whip cream, a package of chopped nuts and several bananas.

Come Monday (Sunday too), my weight had jumped five pounds. No worries. We all have a bad week now and then. Right?

Continued next week.