Yesterday was amazing.
I ate cheese. I ate chips. I ate salsa. I ate crackers. I ate artichoke dip. I ate turkey. I ate stuffing. I ate mashed potatoes. I ate rice. I ate bread. I ate salad. I ate green bean casserole. I ate cheesecake. I ate peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars.
I have no fear or regrets about any of that.
Before the meal (in the early morning), I took myself on a 4-mile walk around my parents' incredibly hilly neighborhood and through a nearby park. In the park, I twice passed a VERY good-looking guy in an orange shirt who was jogging. The first time we passed each other, we gave each other a polite-stranger smile. The second time, I was power-walking up a steep hill and he was jogging down it. He was smiling already when he saw me, and I involuntarily gave him a MASSIVE grin when I saw him smiling, which made him smile bigger and laugh, which made me laugh. I couldn't tell if it was silly or flirtatious, or maybe both, but I kept hoping to run into him again. I didn't. Maybe I will some other time I'm getting in my outdoor cardio at my parents' house.
I spent the rest of the day cooking.
I ate my meal wearing an outfit composed of entirely new clothes, which wouldn't have had a chance of fitting me last Thanksgiving.
I ate one moderate serving of everything, because I've taught myself when -- and how -- to stop. No seconds. No hunger.
I gave my family the public version of what I'm thankful for. This is the private version:
I'm thankful that the beach towel I used to have to use to dry off after showering at their house is now comically large for that purpose, and I'll have to ask my mom for a different towel.
I'm thankful that the toilet on the main floor of the house isn't working properly, and I have to either go upstairs or downstairs every time I need to use the bathroom.
I'm thankful that I no longer have to pause 2 or 3 times on my way back up the stairs from the basement to secretly catch my breath, so as not to arrive at the top of the steps all winded and embarrassed.
I'm thankful that my parents live in the middle of nothing but steep hills of various heights that I can walk around. I can feel the effects of that in my legs and butt, and it hurts so good.
I'm thankful that I could wake up this morning and eat cereal when everyone else was eating the traditional leftover pie for breakfast.
Even if I don't lose any weight this week, I'm thankful for all of the above, because it proves to me that I've passed this test of will at a challenging moment of my mission that coincides with a challenging moment on the calendar.
Being mentally back in the saddle is by far the most important thing. The weight loss will come. I believe that again.