The "Weight-ing" Game

Confession: I've been home from my honeymoon for 4 months...and I've gained 20 pounds.

Yep, it's true. Yep, I'm sure. And yep...it ain't pretty.

I share this information with you now because, in truth, I want to scare you all a teeny bit. I want to get you thinking about a gameplan, preparing for the "ah, to hell with it" attitude that will crawl into your brain and plop down on a beanbag chair with a bag of Fritos and a diet coke, and to get you ready.

In truth, I've had major issues with my weight my whole life..so of course that didn't help matters. But in my own non-scientific research, apparently that doesn't make a lick of a difference. In a recent poll I took (and by "poll" I mean I called 5 friends last night who each were married in the last three years), 100% of my respondents admitted to gaining weight immediately following their weddings.

Don't join our club...cause once you're in, its realllly hard to resign.

Now, of course I'm not speaking to those of you who could use to gain a pound or two...or to anyone else who really doesn't care to focus on their weight at all and is happy with whatever goes down in that arena. To each, her own I say...and I really mean it.

But for anyone out there like me who worked their asses of to lose weight before their weddings...struggled with annoying diets and weird exercise regimes...ripped pictures of skinny models out of magazines and hung them on your wall..I implore you to be really careful and come up with a solid plan of action.

If I had it to do all over again, here's what I'd do:

1. Indulge as much as I can while on my honeymoon, enjoying all of the delicious dinners and tasty treats I deprived myself of while preparing for the wedding (OK, this is actually exactly what I did).
2. Promise myself that the moment I return home, the eating free-for-all will end (nope, didn't do this one).
3. Make sure that our house is immediately stocked with all of the healthy food I was eating and enjoying before said Honeymoon binge (if you can ask a friend or family member to stock you up before you return home, even better) (I did the opposite and stocked up on Devil Dogs, bagels, and all the chocolate I could get my hands on).
4. Weigh myself the day after I return (did this but then didn't get back on for 3 weeks...and by then it was too late).
5. Exercise the day after I return, and commit to 2 more times that week (nope...ignored this one too).
6. Stop saying to myself at every opportunity "eh...I'm still in Honeymoon mode!"

I'm happy to report that I am now, as of 3 days ago, back in charge of my 20 pound situation, and on the way to solving it. I'm prepared for the fact that it could take me 4 more months to lose it, and that's ok. Just don't follow my lead.