Moving on

I was up most of the day yesterday, and then collapsed at 7. Could not keep my eyes open any longer. I slept from 7:30 pm until 5:30 am, and I feel pretty good today.

Really ready for the Whole 30 to begin.

Yesterday I filled one kitchen trash bag with Things I Don't Need from the pantry. I moved all the non-paleo baking items and all the crackers to an upper shelf. Coconut oil, canned tomatoes, ghee, pickles, olives, coconut milk, tuna – all are front and center and easy to reach. Paleo flours are also accessible, but I won't be doing any paleo baking during the Whole 30. Clean and simple for the first month.

Okay, are you ready for some news? You might want to sit down first, and make sure you're not mid-sip.

I lifted weights yesterday.

Three sets of 10 curl/squat combo, with eight-pound dumbbells. Baby steps!

I weigh more this morning than I have in many, many years. I've decided I need to begin like those morbidly obese people on My 600-Pound Life. To me, three sets of 10 is probably like someone who has 400 pounds to lose making it from the front door to the mailbox and back. (If the mailbox isn't attached to the house.)

I haven't had breakfast yet, but will soon have some scrambled eggs and an avocado. Lunch is a chicken soup that is just chicken and broth with vegetables. Dinner will be this.

Walking will be on the treadmill because, while the temperature is a bit warmer than it has been, there's some freezing rain/sleet/wintry mix headed our way.

Tonight is the NCAA football championship game. I'll watch as long as I can stay awake. I really don't have a dog in that hunt. And as much as I hope Trump gets booed at the game, that thinking really doesn't square well with my daily message to …

be kind.

Good day for a reboot

The first day of any month is a good day to start over, yes? And so today's the day for me. Enough nibbling, enough poking around the edges of paleo, time to get back on board and work it, baby!

Because it really does work. FOR ME.

Jen's comment about a plan being defined by what isn't has a ring of truth to it. When I describe paleo, I don't say enthusiastically that you can eat all the vegetables you want. Maybe I should, as that frames it in a more user-friendly way.

Maybe.

No, I say paleo means no, no, no, no: no sugar, no grains, no legumes and no dairy. But honestly? I don't miss it much at all. Especially when I stay away from it. Just one Hershey's Kiss has been enough to make me want more.

Jen also says it must be hard to climb back on, and she's oh-so-right about that. Which proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that grains and sugar, especially, are like crack for me. (Strangely, I've not missed peanuts or beans at all, and I'm able to tolerate dairy in limited amounts.)

The other thing I'm really missing is that daily walk. I got five miles in yesterday, and am hoping for four/five/six today. Rain is approaching and my walking date is at 1 p.m., so we'll see what happens.

I still have the elliptical. Maybe THAT will happen. That's how committed I am.

Or maybe I need to be committed? Heh.

Anyway … taking a break from daily writing has been a good thing for both of us, probably. The 20-week abortion ban bill is still working its way through the legislature and that's all I can think about. Instead of railing about it here, I've been writing to Delegates and Senators and TV station managers and anyone else who has a say in the issue. Some of our Delegates have been real champions for women's rights.

Mine? Not so much.

I'm going to try my darndest not to bring it up here again until it's resolved – either killed in committee (which is what I hope happens) or voted on (which almost certainly means it will pass). Film at 11 on Tuesday (that's when Health and Human Services is taking it up).

In other news: If you appreciate good writing and satire (in a Jonathan Swift-esque style), do not waste any more time. Go read this.

Mañana!