Oh my. I just got home from the gym, and it's happened. I know, every magazine and morning show on earth devotes cover stories to it every year, but I just didn't think it would happen to me.

It's less than a week after Thanksgiving -- barely the beginning of the holiday season -- and I've gained (gulp) ten pounds.

OK, so actually, I'm back where I started eight weeks ago, when I started a weight lifting program with a personal trainer and lost ten pounds that I never, ever thought I'd lose. Those ten pounds were more than pre-pregnancy pounds; they put me at a weight I hadn't seen since... well, since I was a smoker in San Francisco and my diet consisted of cocktails and appetizers. And incidentally, no matter what the scale says, I'll never, ever see a size 4 again. And size 6 only in certain brands.

But I digress. We're not even into December yet! I haven't had a single Christmas cookie, or a sip of eggnog, or artichoke dip, , or fondue, or chocolate. No cosmos, or Irish coffee, or champagne. Come on, do I really have to watch it starting now?

Or maybe I should make sure I get my self to the gym every week. What this really tells me is this: investing in a trainer was one of the smarter things I've done. It made me show up every week, cause I was paying good money for her time; it made me work harder, cause somebody was watching me; it made me competitive, cause there were three other ladies sharing our time; and it made me stronger. Leaner. Healthier.

Even if you don't think you have the time or energy for it, there are things you can do:

- Cherry Creek Athletic Club, where we go, has a great drop-in daycare room. Really, there's no excuse not to get to the gym when you've got a built in babysitter. I hear Denver Athletic Club has a similar setup.

- Check out the Stapleton Healthy Moms group. Every Monday, Penny does a fitness walk in the park, meeting at the Westerly Creek trails. Times vary, so check it out.

- Ever see the groups of moms with strollers, doing jumping jacks and calisthenics and push ups? I always want to run and join them when I see them. Stroller Strides has classes Monday, Wednesday and Fridays in Central Park. And if it's cold, they sometimes move inside.

- Core Power Yoga is right in our town center. I know, I know... after 10 years of yoga, even I can't manage to get myself to a 90 minute yoga class. That's why I thank my lucky stars that Core Power provides the best community service ever.... daily yoga classes on Comcast Channel 5 -- at some ungodly hour in the morning, and at 2:00 pm. Right in the blessed middle of your kid's nap time.