Weigh-in: Week 18, +1.8 pounds

No surprise here. This was the week of the party in Virginia, where there is more food than a normal person can possibly imagine. While I may get partial credit for not actually gorging myself, clearly I consumed a lot more calories that I burned. (Note: shoveling gravel does not equal burning massive amounts of calories, not when you only have the stamina and strength to do it for an hour or so.)

Let's see. I ate french fries, onion rings, popcorn chicken, Mongolian beef, Korean beef, salmon, sushi, pasta, brisket, ribs, peppered pork, fudge, Rice Krispies treats ... and I only tried about half of the food that was there. (I mean, really, is there room for all of it?) My friends are excellent cooks, and the ones that host the party grow their own herbs, peppers, and vegetables, at least some types of vegetables. (And by peppers I mean the kind that you have to pick wearing gloves. No, really. Also, detergent is good for removing the oil from your skin.)

And there were donuts on the way out. And McDonald's. And Wendy's. (Although I did bring protein bars with me.)

So it could have been a lot worse, or maybe I'm starting to figure out how to eat bad foods occasionally and not gain as much weight as I would in the past. (That's right. In the past, this would have been more like 3 or 4 pounds, except for the time that we all got food poisoning from something.)

So now it's off to exercise again. Volleyball is moving off the schedule, though. We just don't have enough people with enough free time to make it a regular thing, so I'll have to visit the Y more often. No, really.