Could have been worse!

I hate having to report that progress photos will be delayed yet again. But here's the report:

PROGRESS PHOTOS ARE ON HOLD!

I only gained half a pound (for a total loss now of 49), so that's not bad. I made good choices with what was available to eat, and I didn't fall into the cheese-and-cracker tray, or indulge in some blackberry cobbler. But I didn't eat a single vegetable all day Saturday, and I overslept yesterday and missed my walk. I'm not saying that's why I gained half a pound. That could have happened no matter how careful I'd been this week.

The weekend was great – restorative and inspiring and grounding. AA conferences are like that. The woman who spoke yesterday morning had known my late sponsor, and they had both had the same sponsor for many years.

I reconnected with old friends and made new ones, watched football, talked, laughed, reminisced and heard messages of hope and recovery and miracles.

Oh, and yes, people really noticed those missing 49 pounds! I felt very comfortable. Normal, even. I've been feeling very self-conscious about my appearance the past few years at this event. It was good not to feel like I was taking up too much space, and it was especially good to be able to run there again.

I only wish I'd gotten up in time for the second run of the weekend. I tried to do another 30-minute 5K, but the hills were longer and steeper than I'd remembered. I ended up running five miles before the first Saturday meeting in exactly one hour.

Life is about more than shedding lard, and this conference, especially, brings that home to me. This space, where I write (nearly) every morning, is focused on (mostly) one thing. The title indicates it's four things, but lately? Not so much. I need it to be about one thing right now.

I've continued with the bodyweight strength training – three times again last week – and I've logged every bite every day since the month began. Missing yesterday's run pretty much guarantees I won't hit 1000 miles for the year by September 30, but I hadn't planned to hit that number until December 31 anyway, so that goal is still more than achievable.

I have another weekend away coming up. I'm leaving Thursday afternoon and won't be back until next Sunday afternoon. I'll be at a hotel chef's mercy for most meals, but the continental breakfast includes eggs and fruit so at least that one's covered. And I learned at a convention this summer that all I need to do is request a gluten-free option and they'll serve a salad instead of a sandwich.

AND the hotel has a gym.

NO EXCUSES! I'm not silly enough to promise photos next week, but I'm hopeful. Very hopeful.

History doesn't repeat itself!

At least not this week.

I was a little better prepared foodwise for this trip than I'd been for the previous one. I took some raw cashews, a banana and leftovers from Thursday's dinner for Friday's travel food. We were so busy all weekend there really wasn't much time to think about meals.

Seriously.

Friday evening was my granddaughter's dress rehearsal, which began at 5 and lasted until 8:30. I think. My son brought fast food for us – fresh fruit cups for all of us, chicken nuggets for them and a cut-up piece of grilled chicken for me, which he must have asked them to do because it wasn't on the online menu. It was just what I needed, just when I needed it.

Saturday morning – eggs. Followed by a Li'l Chef birthday party, where the children cooked their own lunch and the adults were offered … cupcakes. No, thank you. My daughter-in-law and I walked around outside (I wouldn't call it exercise, but we'd already walked two miles earlier) while the party was going on.

We had to be at the theatre at 4 for the 5 o'clock performance, which ended at 8-ish. So no dinner (I had some of the cashews at intermission), followed by banana splits. My banana was topped with sunflower butter and I passed on the ice cream, syrup and whipped cream.

More eggs before I hit the road yesterday morning. I had some cold roast beef from a deli for lunch – not the best choice, but the best choice available, and certainly not the worst.

All of this is leading up to the Monday weigh-in, of course. I was low on calories, obviously, but also low on exercise calories burned. Which was probably a good thing, because I might have found myself in one of those no-energy situations where I couldn't have finished comfortably. I made an effort to drink more water throughout the weekend – North Carolina is HOT, y'all – and did what I could with what I had.

And lost 1.5 pounds. I'm now at a total loss of 28.5 since Christmas and 21.5 since my first Whole30 began on April 6.

And I couldn't be more pleased with how things are going. Onward. And DOWNWARD!