Latkes and Hiking

I guess I'll mention the latkes first. I had a lot of great Paleo, healthy meals this weekend, buuuuut..  I ate a lot of latkes, too (though some were made with sweet potato instead of regular white potato - they were still, you know, potatoes fried up in oil). One day was the Hanukkah party and the next our friend, who is Jewish, came to stay they night and brought us latkes. I love latkes and am very glad they are a once a year food! No more latkes till December 2015 :)

Well, anyway, that's pretty much the reason my weight is trending closer to 125 than 123 >.<

But this past weekend was my big holiday celebration weekend. It's pretty much done now, other than Christmas dinner with Chris' parents (but that's not going to be a big crazy over-the-top  feast - just a normal, nice dinner with dessert). I do also have my work potluck today - but I am not partaking. There are going to be a ton of desserts and fried food, so I am abstaining. I have my priorities (eg. I want to eat delicious latkes with all my friends, not random stuff all day with coworkers).

So holiday indulgences are over, which feels good! I know I can reduce my bloating/inflammation and lose a pound or two before New Years, so that I will be closer to my normal weight to ring in the new year :)

I credit no massive weight gain over the weekend, however, to how active we were!

I walked a ton on Saturday (about 15,000 steps - we walked the dog AND walked to the party) and went on a 12 mile hike on Sunday. Snowshoes all day for obvious reasons once you see the pictures. It is a little more exhausting to hike on snowshoes than regular boots, so my legs are good and worked out!

We didn't have any epic views as we were in the clouds on the summit, but it was a gorgeous winter wonderland hike, nonetheless:

Koda looks a little frosty on the summit! Don't worry about him, though, he was happy as a clam. Or maybe happy as a penguin? He LOVES the snow and the cold. His coat is so thick and he is tough as all get out.

We did the 12 miles in about 7 hours, which is awesome for us - we generally average about 2 miles an hour on the flats and about 1 mile an hour once we start climbing the mountains/dealing with elevation. And in the High Peaks, there is not a lot of walking on flat :) In the end, after a normal summer hike, we average around 1.5 miles per hour. So averaging almost 2 miles per hour in the winter is great! I felt really strong.

Walking around 18 flights of stairs or more every day at work is really paying off. Climbing was not as hard as it usually feels on the mountain.

I had a great weekend - hard work and indulgences, all. I like all those parts of life, but understand that hard work has to outweigh the indulgences, haha.

Just one more day of work before Christmas! Really looking forward to the day off - I get to hang out with my family and Chris' family during my time off, which I am also really looking forward to. Then back to work on Friday (boo!). But then New Years is right around the corner, which is more exciting than Christmas, for me (the holidays are still a little sad without my dad - I can't seem to get into the spirit. But NYE was always a friend holiday, not a family one, so I don't have that lingering ennui about that time of the year).

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves - and maybe putting a little hard work in with the holiday indulgences :)

Namaste <3