Days Eight and Nine DONE!

Oh, my, where did the time go?

Wednesday was SUPER busy. We had overnight guests and I had a meeting in the afternoon. And the meeting was about an hours' drive away.

So between cleaning, meal prepping, driving, and meeting, I didn't have a moment to catch my breath. Or to catch up on the blog yesterday morning.

But … all is well. I managed a two-mile walk Wednesday and four miles yesterday. Food has been on-plan the entire time, despite preparing a yummy baked French toast casserole for breakfast yesterday.

While I've been walking a few miles a day, one of our guests has been averaging 15? 18? I'm not quite sure. My son met up with "Lucky" on the Appalachian Trail (AT) Wednesday afternoon and brought him to our house for a hot shower, comfortable bed, laundry services and all the home-cooked food he could devour.

Lucky was my son's mentor during an internship at the Raleigh News and Observer. He's since retired, after doing some amazing journalistic work, and has been training to thru-hike the AT for quite some time.

This is his year.

He's 72.

Now here's the sad part. I had a busy day Wednesday and I've walked a few miles on a paved road every day this month. I collapsed yesterday. Literally. Took a shower, laid down at 2 p.m., and didn't get up until 6 this morning.

Lucky walks many miles over rough terrain in all kinds of weather, and has been doing it since February! He hikes from early in the morning until dinner time, stopping briefly – 15 minutes max – for a noontime snack. He was ready to hit the trail with enthusiasm yesterday morning.

Oh. Well. There's no comparison. No need for it. He was a most pleasant and entertaining guest, he and my son are great friends, and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the company.

I wanted to offer our "hostel" on his way home, but I think he's finding motorized transportation back to North Carolina.

Week One DONE

On the whole, this Whole 30 is going really well this time. So far. You're supposed to eat enough at each meal so that between-meal snacks aren't necessary, and for the most part that's what I've done. However … when I'm too busy for lunch (my protein-packed breakfasts keep me satiated well past a normal lunch hour), I'm ravenous for dinner and I find myself picking at things after dinner, as well.

Fortunately there's nothing off-plan in my refrigerator or pantry at which to pick.

Miles per day, April.

I managed a four-mile walk yesterday during a lull in the rain. It sprinkled a couple times, but I don't melt in the rain. I'm already up to 36 miles for April, which is fairly unbelievable, but I double-checked and it's true! And 313 for the year so far, which is just the teensiest bit over the 100-mile-per-month goal.

Awesomesauce.

Our door order is complete and they will be delivered Saturday. Installation begins Monday, and we're also replacing the carpet in our tiny den with laminate flooring. I bought paint while I was arranging for the door delivery and soon – well, maybe not soon, but eventually – all our rooms will be builder beige (or a variation thereof) with white woodwork. And six-panel doors. And a front door that works.

All at the same time.

More awesomesauce.

The garden is, necessarily, being terribly neglected this spring. One can only do so much with the time one has available. Once this house project is finished, I can get to work outdoors. The weeds in the perennial beds are massive, and it's been too wet to even begin to think of working in the vegetable garden.

I'm doing tomatoes and peppers in tubs on the back porch and the garden plot is going to be cucumbers, onions, and squash, which the deer don't eat. I plan to visit the farmer's market a lot this summer, as well. It's just too heartbreaking to put all the work into a vegetable garden only to have it ravaged in one night by critters. I've gone as far with fencing as I'm willing to go. At some point, the cost-per-vegetable goes beyond reasonable when you keep buying preventive materials and products.

Okay, so we've covered running walking, eating, and reaping. I'm knitting a Wonderful Wallaby, sans pouch and hood, for myself, and have been for a couple months. I'm using a textured grey-and-white blended yarn that I've had in stock for decades. Time to use this stuff up, I'm not going to live forever! The sleeves (which I like to call swatches) were done first. I've been knitting round and round and round on the body since the Super Bowl. I might finish during the MLB playoffs.

And that, my friends, covers all the blog bases (ahem).

Day Six DONE

Walked in the morning, a total of 5.5 miles with no pain. The earlier I walk, the less pain I experience. Earlier this year, though, four miles was my limit, so I'm either getting better (as in, the condition – if there is one – is healing) or I'm losing a little weight and taking some pressure off the affected areas.

I'll take it, and I really don't need an explanation or reason.

Food was good, as well. (For those who don't know or who may be new here, I'm six days into another Whole 30. So far, so good!) My walk ran into lunch time, and I had to be someplace in the afternoon, so no lunch, and my calorie intake was less than normal. I was hungry. I didn't die.

So there's that. Heh.

I wore a pair of jeans yesterday. When my weight began creeping back up again, I had to put the little skinny jeans I'd been wearing out of sight. Way too depressing. I bought a couple pairs during the winter but never wore them at all. They were two sizes bigger and felt about a half-size too small. I have lived in yoga pants and skirts All. Winter. Long. Jeans! Just in time for warmer weather!

But knowing they finally fit comfortably gives me hope and motivation to stick with the plan.

Busy day coming up. I need to go to Lowes to arrange for delivery of the last of our new interior doors and a new front door, as well. We're replacing a sliding glass patio door with a French door, the kind that has the blinds tucked in between the exterior and interior glass.

The slider has been broken for a long, long time, but as long as we could still get in and out, no matter how hard we had to push, we procrastinated. Replacing the interior bifolds with six-panels was all it took to make us realize we deserved an attractive entrance door that works properly.

Then I need to get groceries.

It's raining-raining-raining today, and this might have to be a rest-from-intentional walking day. Depends on what the skies are doing when I return from this shopping trip. It's not looking good.

Today, right now. I am a bit southeast of Charleston.

This week. Grrr.

Day Five DONE

As my friend and fellow blogger Gingerzingi noted this morning, Easter is candy-centric, despite its religious meaning. Because nothing says He Is Risen like a chocolate cross, right? I knew Easter would be part of my Whole 30 challenge, and while I was tempted by the candy displays every time I went to the market, I resisted.

Gingerzingi went the extra mile, coloring hard-cooked eggs. I merely deviled mine. My children are grown and creating their own Easter traditions with their youngsters. So I was the Easter Grinch, and didn't do anything except send cards. WITH MONEY!

(Sometimes – most of the time, actually – I reallyreally hate being the long-distance Grandma. And Easter, being more of a hands-on holiday, is one of those times. Sending a gift of colored eggs? I don't think so.)

At any rate … another Whole 30 day done, and done pretty darned perfectly. I volunteered to cook dinner here and take it to my mother-in-law's to devour. My husband is very active in his church so while he attended morning services, I put a pork tenderloin in the oven and took a morning walk.

Which turned into A MORNING JOG! Of those three miles on the road, half of them were at a picked-up pace. Felt really good to be doing more than plodding along.

Got home, threw a couple sweet potatoes into the oven, showered and dressed for dinner and finished up the meal. Here's what we ate:

• Roast Pork Tenderloin
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Steamed Fresh Asparagus
• Hollandaise Sauce
• Deviled Eggs
• Green and Ripe Olives
• Sliced Fresh Strawberries

We didn't need much more, and there were only three of us, so I didn't go all-out, as I might have if the guest list were longer. Been there, done that, and I always end up throwing food away after a couple of days.

Notice anything about the menu?

It's perfectly paleo! Perfectly Whole 30, as well. And I'm no longer a Hollandaise sauce virgin. My, my, my, was it ever yummy.

My husband and I took another walk later in the afternoon – I did two more miles, while he did four. I'm now at 25 miles for the month, and beginning to get obsessed with the idea of averaging five miles a day for April. That was never my plan, but that's how it's working out so far.

My obsession is being fueled by a FitBit friend – you know who you are – who is just as committed (or commitable?) as I am. We check the leaderboard frequently and text each other to SIT DOWN! and STOP WALKING! when one or the other surges ahead.

Right now, that would be me.

However, the 10-day forecast promises a lot o'rain. A weather slowdown might be just the slap-in-the-face I need to get back to more reasonable walking expectations.

Thanks, again, for reading. I'm glad you're here.

I'm glad I'm here.

Day Four DONE

Well done, actually!

The only hitch yesterday was a lot of pain in my right leg/hip again while I was walking (five miles again – woo hoo!). I was surprised, by the discomfort, but chalked it up to the previous day's difficult trek. And I'm fine this morning. I'd love to not have this pain atalleveragain, but maybe it's just part of the whole aging process.

Although I'm sure the entire paleo community would be telling me RIGHT NOW that it doesn't have to be that way.

I'm sure you all have better things to do today than read a blog post, so I'll leave you with my favorite, traditional Easter greeting and wish you a very happy Sunday:

Day Three DONE

In addition to taking on a Whole 30 this month, I'm making every effort to walk every day. Yesterday truly was an effort, as it rained nearly all day.

I started out during a lull in the precipitation action, but before I'd gone even half a mile it started back up again. And it rained off and on for the entire five miles. I wore a waterproof hooded jacket, but was still pretty soaked by the time I got back home.

HOWEVER – I've already logged 15 miles for the month. In three days. [Patting myself on the back here.] It would be way cool to get 150 miles for April, but I doubt if that happens.

Anyway … walking in the rain is, in my opinion, more tiring and takes more energy than walking in good weather. I had tuna salad (this one made more traditionally with mayonnaise, rather than yesterday's version with avocado) when I got home and rested for a bit.

Paleo plan followers are supposed to eat enough at each meal to not need between-meal snacks. And generally that holds true for me. I eat a lot of protein and fat, both of which fill you up. But I guess the combination of a long and somewhat difficult walk combined with a light lunch resulted in X-treme hunger. At about 2 p.m. I was stomach-growling hungry.

I don't eat enough vegetables. I really don't. When I went to the grocery earlier this week, I bought a wide variety of them, more than would fit in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. So – pushing the
season more than a little bit – I pulled out this, that, and the other and made gazpacho. Two quarts of it. Enough so that when I get stomach-growling hungry again, There Will Be Food.

This was super-simple to make. I roughly chopped three large tomatoes, a red pepper, a peeled cucumber, an unpeeled zucchini, a seeded jalapeño, and an onion. Working in batches, and adding a peeled garlic clove, the juice of half a lime, and about a cup of V-8 juice to each batch, I pulsed the mixture in the food processor until it was, um, slushy-looking. Not smooth, not chunky.

It turned out great – took care of the hunger in a most tasty way. The jalapeño added just enough fire to make it interesting without being overwhelming.

While I was in a chopping-vegetables mood, I made a chicken stir-fry for dinner. I do believe yesterday's vegetable quota was achieved.

Today we're having my absolute favorite entrée for dinner: chicken strips wrapped in bacon, dusted with chili and garlic powders and baked in the oven. Along with a combination of roasted cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, I think I'm on my way to a well-done Day Four.

Day Two DONE

Did you know you were going to get a blow-by-blow description of every day of this Whole 30 when you started reading again? HAH! Maybe you will, maybe you won't – I doubt I can come up with something new to say about paleo food and long walks for the next month.

But yesterday offered a bit of a challenge, and had I not been blogging again, I might have blown it this early in the game. SO THANK YOU. Because you are reading again, I stayed on plan.

I had to put together a cheese-and-cracker tray for a get-together last night. No one was in the house with me when I was slicing cheddar and dumping crackers in a basket. I quick-quick covered

everything as soon as I was done. Hershey got to eat the too-thin slivers of cheese – in the past, those would have been MINE.

Cheese and crackers were requested; that wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's done now, and none of the leftovers came home. TAKE THAT, CHEESE AND CRACKERS! I own you!

Hah!

Food was great yesterday – completely on plan. (I didn't go to the event last night, just provided food.) I had a bacon-and-egg breakfast, a tuna salad (made with mashed avocado instead of mayo) for lunch and leftover paleo chili for dinner.

Took two walks – four miles in the morning and two in the late afternoon. Along with my normal everyday walking around the house and garage and yard, I hit 20,000 steps for the day – only the second time I've done that since I got the FitBit in December.

So there you have it. Two days done, 28 to go, feeling terrific, lots of energy, accomplishing things and oh, I'll probably have to walk in the rain today. I remember running in the rain during training for my first half-marathon oh-so-many years ago. I didn't melt. And I won't melt today, either.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading. And I really mean that.