Minus 20.4

I reached a milestone ... 20 pounds! It was all very exciting yesterday morning when I relayed the news to my Jenny Craig weight counselor. And then I did what any normal girl would do ... I treated myself to a non-Jenny chocolate chip cookie at lunch.

Now, I know what you're thinking ... "She fell off the wagon." Well, let me tell you, I did NOT. I was within 20 feet of Great American Cookies and a whole slew of these:


THAT, my friends, is what We In The Industry call an "M&M Double Doozie." It is the Granddaddy of All Cookies, the cookie equivalent of THIS:



... Krispy Kreme's chocolate iced kreme-filled glazed doughnut. THE PINNACLE OF DOUGHNUTS. And, not surprisingly, MY VERY FAVORITE.

And while I was only 20 feet away from the M&M Double-Doozie, I reined myself in and got a plain old chocolate chip cookie from a deli next door. Meh. It definitely WASN'T double-doozie caliber, but it was OK.

I wanted a small treat, one that would be a nice congratulatory gesture for my tummy, but one that wouldn't add 1,400 calories to my daily intake. (I'm guessing here ... I'm sure you're as SHOCKED as I am that Great American Cookies doesn't disclose its nutritional information [and I use that term lightly] on its Web site.)

After all, although I can't tell a HUGE difference when I look in the mirror or pull on my pants, I CAN:

• Jog at a quicker pace than I could three months ago (but I still wouldn't call it a "RUN," per se.)
• Jog farther up hills in my hilly neighborhood than I've been able to in a long time. (Of course, I still can't run past the fourth mailbox on this one hill that my sister runs up every time she's here. I get winded when I DRIVE up that hill in my CAR.)
• Wear Medium maternity shorts instead of Large. (I WISH I were kidding. I guess I could break down and just buy bigger regular shorts, but I don't want to spend the money. I already have the maternity shorts, and they're khaki. Perfect.)

So, you know, fitting in those Medium maternity shorts 18 months post-baby is what's keeping me going. [grin] (I don't like having to spell out my [grin] on my blog, but I can't think of another way to end this on a high note. Oh, yeah ... 20.4 pounds!)