Time for Leather Alterations?

My brother-from-another-mother, AZ, was half-kidding and half-serious with me the other day when I was describing that on Thanksgiving, I actually lost more weight.  He said, "is it time to have your leathers altered?" 

I was so busy rushing around and working the crowd that day, that I didn't eat much.  But that was by design.  I know I have a weakness that when good food and, especially, desserts are around, I can get "snacky."  Nibbling all day doesn't help with the weight-loss goals that I have for myself.

This year, instead of being tempted, I asked others in my family to help my senior pals through the buffet and desert line, and I stayed away.  I scurried around from helping people get out of their cars and into our home, doing many "stair climbs" to stash coats, as well as to run to the basement to check on visitors down there, and lots more.  When you're entertaining 100 friends over 14 hours, it can be quite a lot of exercise.

I actually measured the exercise I got on Thanksgiving by placing a pedometer on my belt when I got up at 4am, and set it to zero.  When I finally collapsed into bed at 9pm, I casually looked at the pedometer, and it registered 65,042 steps!  By using a steps-to-miles calculator, using an average man's stride length of 1.5 feet, I figured that I walked 17.5 miles (28.1km) on Thanksgiving Day!  Whew!  No wonder I was so sore and tired at the end of the day!

Because I successfully avoided my weaknesses and did not snack, despite many pies, cakes, and a million cookies and other treats being around, I found that I lost seven more pounds since the day before Thanksgiving.  Gosh, this beats a gym membership for sure -- and is cheaper, too!

How I really noticed my more recent weight-loss was that I put on a pair of favorite leather jeans to wear yesterday, and the jeans were riding so low on my waist that I realized they were falling down because my waist had shrunk.  I took them off and weighed myself.  Much to my delight and surprise, I had lost another seven pounds from the last "milestone measurement" taken two weeks ago.

I tried notching my belt a little tighter, only to realize that I had no more notch to tighten it to!  I went to my dresser and found a belt that I used to wear ten years ago, when my waist was 6" narrower, and it fit.  I put the old belt on those leather jeans and they're now riding on my waist where I want them to be, though they now look a big baggy.

Hmmm... is it time to have my leathers altered?  So suggests my brother-in-heart.  This isn't such a bad situation, as I now can wear (or re-wear) some of my older leathers that I haven't been able to wear in a decade.

Now, if I can only keep this up through Christmas....

Life is short:  celebrate self-set goals!