Paying the piper

My plan to walk eight miles yesterday fell through. I managed it Saturday, but in order to finish the week at 35 miles I would have had to repeat the feat yesterday. Did. Not. Happen. (Actually I ended the week at 31 miles, so I "only" would have had to go seven. Hah!)

My husband and I met some of the family on their way out of town at the Dairy Queen, where absolutely nothing on the menu is paleo-friendly and I absolutely didn't even try. It was my birthday, after all, and I'd decided ahead of time to have ice cream. Real ice cream, not that fake banana soft-serve we paleo folks pretend is ice cream. (Although it is a fine substitute!)

I also had a hot dog. With the bun. And onion rings. That's about as crazy as I get, lemme tell ya.

I paid the price with general fatigue for the remainder of the afternoon. I walked two very slow miles after I rested. A lot.

You know what, though? It's fine. I enjoyed that ice cream cone. A LOT!

I just hope I remember how lethargic and sluggish I felt the next time I decide to have one. It's okay (with me) to stray from the plan as long as I'm willing to pay the price. And it's good information to have, reinforcing my belief that this way of eating is the best possible one for me.

I weighed a lot more at the last reunion two years ago, and thus had to answer a lot of questions about how I'd managed to shed the extra poundage. I was careful to say that it's more than just weight loss – and yesterday was an excellent reminder that it truly is. My energy levels plummeted after just one off-plan meal. I was stuffy and uncomfortable during the night, waking frequently.

I was also careful to say that going full-on paleo is very restrictive, but that I was able to adapt and stick with it because the rewards are so worth it.

And with that … I'm going to begin my 64th trip around the sun with a plate of bacon and eggs.