Knit. Run. Reap. Eat.

May 20 - Light

2013-05-20T18:32:00.004-04:00

Let there be light ... from the vintage sconces in our guest bathroom.

I was not meant for long hauling

2013-05-20T07:38:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was another day on the road, this time for a West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women board meeting. The board meets quarterly, and I missed the previous meeting because I was … get ready … on the road! This month I've been on an all-day trip an average of once a week.

Pocatalico is my favorite place name

in all of West Virginia. Just say it and

you'll see what I mean.

Driving seems like a non-tiring activity, but it wears. me. OUT. Especially when I have to drive for three or four hours, spend three or four hours doing something and then drive three or four more hours to get home. Which is what each of the May trips have looked like.

I have 10 days to rest up and then I'm off to Nashville. Which is a seven-hour drive and I'll be there long enough to recover before I head back home again.

Does driving make you tired? I could never be an over-the-road driver, and I give them all kinds of courtesy when I travel. I'm never in such a big hurry that I can't let one in front of me. Those drivers are working and probably way more tired than I am.

So the meeting was at a locally owned restaurant in Parkersburg, WV. When I got the notice in the mail, I thought Don Emilio's would most likely be Italian, and I was prepared to order some kind of meat and red sauce with no pasta. I was pretty sure I could figure out an appropriate paleo lunch at an Italian joint.

Turns out this Don was Mexican. Or Tex-Mexican. Or Mexican-American. It was, shall we say, not especially authentic Mexican cuisine, and there was not a single entrée that I could work into the plan. So I had a mug of gazpacho (which was DELICIOUS, if you like gazpacho, which I most definitely DO) and was glad I had brought a homemade Larabar with me. No one even asked what I was nibbling on.

I'd considered stopping for dinner to break up the drive home, but I really just wanted to get out of the car and stay out, so I ate a banana and some cashews on the fly, and kept on driving. I'm pretty sure Ruby Tuesdays wouldn't have set up a cot for me had I stopped there for salmon and spaghetti squash.

The meeting itself was a little discouraging. Membership is going down at all levels. The National Federation of Democratic Women annual convention is next month, here in West Virginia (another road trip!), and only 170 women have registered to date. (It's not too late to register! If you have any interest in Democratic politics and women's issues, this is the convention for you!) Attendance at county meetings is down throughout the state.

I think we're all taking it easy until 2016. In the meantime, Republicans are taking over state legislatures. No rest for the weary.

Also. It's Monday, which means I hop on the scale for the official weekly weigh-in. I've lost another 1.5 pounds, for a total of 23 since December 26 – 16 in the last six weeks (since April 6). With any luck I'll be halfway toward my goal by my birthday. But the official weigh-in won't be recorded until two days later.

I had some time to kill before the meeting yesterday and bought a pair of capris that are a size smaller than the ones I've been wearing this spring. They fit fine, but really? I hope they shrink a little.

That's a nice problem to have for the long haul.

May 19 - My Favorite View

2013-05-19T07:14:00.001-04:00

Hershey, once again surveying her domain. This view from my desk
is definitely a favorite!

What happened to Saturday?

2013-05-19T07:10:00.002-04:00

Today is going to be busier than yesterday, but I just never got around to parking my ass in front of the laptop yesterday. Today's business begins in half an hour and I'll be gone all day, so I'm seizing the opportunity now. I hate missing a day, but it just couldn't be helped. (Yes, I could have blogged on my phone or tablet, but there's just something about a real keyboard. I guess I'm old-school.) I barely managed to post the daily photo.

I'm now 20 days into the Diet Bet. My goal was to lose 7.5 pounds; as of this morning I've lost NINE! Yay, me. I would never have anted up based on my old method of calories in/calories out. That works for some people, but it definitely didn't work for me. (If you're new here, this does. So far.)

I haven't really been missing dairy (well, maybe cheese), but I was flipping through the current issue of Martha Stewart Living and came across an Almond Cinnamon Frappé dessert drink that sounded good. (I love, love, love cinnamon.) The ingredients include homemade almond butter (which is so easy you don't need a recipe – whirl some almonds in a food processor until the oils are released, about 10 minutes) AND homemade almond milk (which takes longer, but is certainly doable. How do I know? I did it!)

Leave it to Martha (although there may be lots of homemade almond milk recipes out there … I've never looked).

The recipe isn't on the website yet, and I really don't have much more time to spend here this morning, but after I make the frappé I'll post the method. If it's good. The milk is quite tasty, as a matter of fact.

Managed to plant more onions, along with some tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers. There's still a LOT of gardening to be done. The herb bed is a mess and I want to redo the beds along the driveway. I plan to plant lots of squash – cushaw, butternut and spaghetti – in the vegetable beds and hope the new fence keeps the deer out. I got brave and touched the tape to make sure it was hot, and it is, but it's not like I got shocked or anything. Just a little nip.

Okay, time to get this party started. Hope your Sunday is good to you. I'll be on the road. Again. Would rather be getting my hands dirty, but that'll have to wait. I need to be a good little Democrat today and go to a board meeting a long way from home. Later!

May 18 - Want

2013-05-18T19:09:00.002-04:00

Peace. In all areas of my life, and yours.

May 17 - Season

2013-05-17T07:27:00.002-04:00

'Tis a misty May morning, indeed. Spring has sprung!

Deep thoughts …

2013-05-17T07:24:00.000-04:00

Not my original ones, but from the little inspirational e-mail I get from Mike Dooley. I read these on the fly and rarely think about them during the day. That would mean memorizing them, and reflecting upon them, and allowing them to sink in. I prefer to be delighted by the idea as I read it. Often I'll say to myself, "Hmmm. Never thought about it like that."

I don't think my life has been dramatically changed by reading these tiny snippets of positivity.

But I know I haven't been harmed by them.

Happy always lasts longer than sad.
Slow never fails to arrive.
And forever has only just begun.

Proving once again, Debbi, that time is always on your side -

and

Sometimes, Debbi, when circumstances or disappointments bump you off track, it's the beginning of an even bigger dream coming true, that could
not have come true on the track you were on.

Yeah, always.

and

Talking a lot about something that bothers you, Debbi, is a pretty good
sign that you've got something huge and profoundly liberating to learn.

These are good things to believe, hard to disprove and they set a good tone for my day.

I hope they do the same for yours.

May 16 - Mailbox

2013-05-16T14:59:00.004-04:00

Guess which one of my neighbors works at the school bus barn?

Could you please pass the bacon? And eggs?

2013-05-16T06:43:00.000-04:00

So the results of my recent bloodwork came back, and I'm amazingly healthy. I was not worried, exactly, but was very curious to see what six weeks of bacon-and-egg breakfasts would do to my cholesterol levels, which were approaching abnormal levels last fall. In a nutshell:

Total cholesterol: 147, down from 189 (normal is 50-200)
HDL (the good stuff): 51, down from 65 (normal is 50-150)
LDL (the bad stuff): 86.6, down from 110.2 (normal is 0-130)
Triglycerides: 47, down from 69 (normal is 50-150)

So, yay, me! Any plan that has me losing weight and lowering my cholesterol while eating bacon and eggs is okay by me.

(I realize the HDL should be going up, not down, but it's still b-a-r-e-l-y within normal limits, and I am therefore sticking my fingers in my ears and going 'lalalalalala.')

I truly think moving one's ass affects the movement of those numbers more than what's on the menu. And I have been committed to moving my ass this year.

All the other major and minor indicators came back normal, normal, normal, as well. I'm not sure I'm going to keep that doctor's appointment I made for Monday. While my insurance does pay for one well-woman visit per year, and it's been three years since I've seen my doctor, the only real issue I have to talk about is those sporadic dizzy spells. I'll consult my in-house physician about this and cancel (or not) tomorrow.

Your comments yesterday made my day! Thank you all for your continued encouragement. It just feels So. Damned. Good. to be doing something different and actually seeing results. Heck, I might even add some HIIT to my schedule. Maybe. Sunday's New York Times Magazine had an article about the effectiveness of it, along with the following graphic for a suggested routine which can be done in seven minutes. (No, not that seven minutes.)

My front porch step is a better height and probably safer for me than a chair for the step-up move, and my fireplace hearth works well for tricep dips. In both exercises, I think it's better to use an immoveable object rather than a chair, which could slip or tip over. I seriously doubt if I can do the last two moves – the push-up and rotation and the side plank. That said, I can see myself doing the first 10 moves two or three times a week once I lose a little more weight.

Being obese seriously limits one's ability to move. I'm finding it easier to do some things which had been beginning to concern me. For instance, while I hadn't actually shopped for Velcro sneakers, I was starting to appreciate the concept. I can almost … a-l-m-o-s-t … see myself running again, just for the fun of it.

What else ... something has gotten into the garden already, and I have to start over with kale and cabbage. Grrr. The recent rains prevented me from planting too much, so it's not a big deal. I need to take a couple days and just concentrate on tilling and plowing and mulching, oh my. (Days have been hard to come by lately.) Right now I'm an allium gardener – the only things thriving are chives, onions and garlic. The asparagus is done (SOB!); we ate the last of it last night.

Two of the apple trees are loaded with fruit; the third (the Honeycrisp, sadly) remains barren. But with any luck we'll have a crop o'Granny Smiths and Yellow Transparents this year. The branches will break if all the fruit ripens, so I have some major thinning to do.

I guess major thinning has been the topic du jour for the last few weeks around here. I thank you for your indulgence and support. One of these days I might actually pick up a knitting needle again. With all the grocery shopping I've been doing, I could use another one of these.

May 15 - 7:00

2013-05-15T17:44:00.001-04:00

7 a.m. Getting ready to take the walk that put me over 400 miles for the year.

Wasted time.

2013-05-15T06:49:00.000-04:00

Or waisted time, maybe.

I just found the program I used in 2012 to track my food and weight-loss progress. I weighed essentially the same in January 2012 as I did this January. By July 2012 I'd lost 11 pounds. By December I'd gained 12.

After several months of beating my head against a brick wall, I obviously quit whatever I was doing (South Beach, I think) and ate whatever I wanted, reversing the s-l-o-w downward trend and eventually reaching a new high. (My stopping also coincided with the derecho and the nine days without electricity after it hit. Nothing like a little comfort food to get you through a crisis.)

No time is wasted, really, as long as you're willing to learn from the experience.

What have I learned so far? Some of the same stuff I've heard (and said) so many times in AA:

I must remain teachable.
I don't know it all.
When the student is ready, the teacher appears.

The difference this year is that instead of quitting, I tried something new. My teachers (three altogether) showed up at precisely the moment I was ready to learn. Two of them had been there, waiting patiently, for quite a while. The third came much later. And just in time.

Another thing we talk a lot about in AA is gratitude. Wow, am I grateful for an open mind and lots of support.

And a freezer full of grass-fed beef. Heh.

P.S. Heading out for a walk. As of today, I'm averaging 3.02 miles per day and am well on my way to hitting my 1000-mile goal for the year. YAY, ME!

May 14 - Need

2013-05-14T08:46:00.002-04:00

Gotta. Have. Coffee.

Commenting on the comments

2013-05-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

Because my brain is dead this morning, I'm going to fall back on a good old blog-fodder stand-by. You've got comments? I respond.

•••

VickieMay 13, 2013 at 1:36 PM

Wouldn't you know I have a question when you are gone for the day. If you happen to see this please respond when you can, we are making summer plans (can't book their rental car until they have white water reservations). Two of my kids (23 and 19) are going to be driving through WV (on way from Indiana to east coast) and want to go White Water Rafting somewhere along the way. Do you or your husband know the good companies/rivers?

Neither my husband (a West Virginia native) nor myself (a 16-year resident) have ever been whitewater rafting. I know, a travesty, right? Our travels yesterday took us right over the New River Gorge and quite near the Gauley River, which are THE rivers to raft here. If I were you I'd just Google and look for good reviews.

•••

MadAnneMay 13, 2013 at 9:06 AM

Do you count calories?

I do, using the LoseIt! app. Most folks following a paleo plan don't count calories, or at least I don't think they do, considering that none of the paleo recipes I've tried include nutritional information, meaning I have to enter each ingredient one by one (either in LoseIt's recipe creator or just as a meal component) to come up with the numbers. (Wow, that was a long sentence.)

LoseIt sends me a handy-dandy e-mail every week, giving me a rundown of the calorie deficit and the macronutrient percentages. If I'd been smart when I started I'd have downloaded them as spreadsheets – an option offered – but I wasn't smart, so I just now added everything up and averaged everything out and here's what I've come up with:

From December 26 to April 6:

Average calorie deficit per week: -1791

Average calorie output (exercise) per week: 1783

Percentage of calories from fat: 33

Percentage of calories from carbs: 51

Percentage of calories from protein: 16

Since April 6, here's what the numbers look like:

Average calorie deficit per week: -3314

Average calorie output (exercise) per week: 2112

Percentage of calories from fat: 46

Percentage of calories from carbs: 28

Percentage of calories from protein: 26

I'm clearly creating a greater deficit on the paleo plan. Part of the reason is that I began working again in April, and thus the calories burned by activity are greater. Part of the reason is that I'm appropriately hungry when it's time to eat a meal, and I'm not eating between meals. I will sometimes eat a piece of fruit a couple hours after dinner, but that's the extent of my snacking. Usually.

I am not eating when I'm bored or "just because" or when my emotions take over. Why? I have NO IDEA. Perhaps the additional fat and protein calories are squashing those impulses, because I surely do have a history of emotional eating. In fact, I would have offered myself up as the poster child for it.

•••

wendyMay 12, 2013 at 5:02 PM

The great thing about maintenance is that I get to enjoy the result of all of my hard work. And, if my mindset is focused, I can go to any restaurant, buffet or party without any concern about the other food being served. I would never exert so much energy exercising and eating well if I still felt like I was trapped with a body or mind that missed out on joyful experiences because my brain was overly concerned with the food available to be eaten.

From a post in which I briefly mentioned maintenance (that's still a long way off), Wendy's comment was in response to Vickie's, who described how she navigated a carry-in dinner. I completely agree with Wendy, and will further add that we each have to find our own way. My maintenance isn't going to look like Vickie's or Wendy's or yours or anybody else's. That's part of the science experiment, right, G?

I've eaten a lot of restaurant meals lately, way more than are normal for me. In each restaurant I was able to find something that satisfied my hunger and fit in the plan. I have not ONCE felt deprived. I think part of that lack of deprivation is because this is still new, but part of it is because it's working so very well FOR ME. I'm no expert, and what works here might not work there.

•••

VickieMay 13, 2013 at 7:54 AM

Are you thinking that when you get to the other end of the scale you are going to go back to your former eating/stop what you are doing now . . . ?

To which I respond: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING? Hell to the no! I've been working on weight loss for more than 50 years, with only two periods where I was reasonably normal. As I said in the post, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

However … the theory (as I understand it) behind Whole30 is that you cut legumes, dairy, sugar and grains for 30 days and then reintroduce them, one at a time over a period of a few weeks, and reassess. For me, adding those foods back will happen later rather than sooner because I'm not quite willing to give up feeling this good for the possibility of feeling not-so-good. Do I want that right hip to start hurting again? Or those swollen ankles (especially the left one)? Do I really need that fat belly? (Seriously, the way my midsection has changed is quite remarkable.) No, I do not. I'm happy as I can be trying on clothes that didn't fit a month ago, walking four, five or six miles without pain and watching the number on the scale go down, down, down.

•••

We stopped at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner yesterday. My husband loves the fresh salad bar there, and he looked forward to it all the way from Morgantown to Beckley. I didn't know what would be available for me to eat, but I figured there would be something on the menu I could order.

And there was. Hidden among the cheesy, saucy, entrées was a simple salmon filet with grilled zucchini and roasted SPAGHETTI SQUASH! How cool is it to find my favorite vegetable on a restaurant menu? I almost ordered two servings of the spagetti squash instead of the zucchini, but "they" say variety is the spice of life. Heh. The entire meal was cooked perfectly and I left the restaurant quite satisfied. So did my husband. And the friend we visited in the hospital was markedly improved.

All in all, a VERY good day. I even walked the perimeter of the hospital property a few times while the patient napped. Way off in the distance (probably in Pennsylvania), beyond a cattle farm in a little valley, I saw a wind farm. I took a picture but you can't see a darned thing except clouds and mountains.

I also took this picture:

How cool is that?

And I think I'm done commenting on the comments.

For now.

May 13 - Sunset

2013-05-13T20:35:00.000-04:00

Yay! Made it home for sunset, the other half of today's prompt.
Now it's time to sleep, perchance to dream. Nighty-night!

May 13 - Sunrise/Sunset

2013-05-13T06:49:00.002-04:00

Traveling all day today, don't know where I'll be for sunset so here you go:
another beautiful sunrise from the Middle of Nowhere!

What if it's dairy?

2013-05-13T06:42:00.003-04:00

My daughter called yesterday afternoon to wish me a happy mother's day. We chitchatted for a bit and then she asked how The Project was going. I had hoped to be non-commital, but apparently I am four and can't keep a secret. I'm going to see her in a couple weeks. The last time I saw her was in mid-January, at the beginning of the mission, when I hadn't yet lost a single damned pound. In the back of my narcissistic little mind I wanted to see a dramatic reaction to her mom being 20 pounds lighter (21.5 as of this morning, actually).

Now that she knows, the reaction will probably be underwhelming. OH, WELL. It can't always be all about me, right? EXCEPT HERE ON THE BLOG. Heh.

She knows how I've struggled to lose weight. I was at my lowest adult weight about the time she got married in the early '90s, and she's seen me bounce up and down ever since. She has her dad's body type – tall and lithe – and she stops eating when she's under a lot of stress.

Can you imagine?

She loves to cook and eat, though, and when she puts on a few she low-carbs it to get them back off. In fact, she mostly low-carbs it anyway, and it works for her quite well. She knows I've tried it with no success, and during our conversation she tossed this out:

What if it's the cheese?

I was horrified at the thought. Of the four major foods I've cut (dairy, legumes, sugar, grains) since April 6, dairy is the one I miss most. I am SO looking forward to Greek yogurt in my smoothies, or a slice of good cheddar melted on a burger.

I guess the only way to know is to experiment, and I'm not ready to do that yet. I don't think a sensitivity to dairy makes one gain weight, or even prevents one from losing. What I do know, looking back at my December 26-to-April 6 food logs, is that I was eating dairy and grains and legumes and sugar almost daily. And even though I was eating below my calorie goals nearly every day, and my weekly averages were always below the target, I was not dropping the lard like I am now.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

May 12 - Mother

2013-05-12T17:37:00.001-04:00

A portrait of my mother when she was a baby. Mother's Day is difficult
for me, since my mother died more than 20 years ago when she was younger
than I am now. But the memories are sweet, and both my kids called.
Happy Mother's Day!

I'd give it two thumbs up …

2013-05-12T08:20:00.001-04:00

but my other hand is busy stuffing banana bread into my mouth!

Seriously, the bread was moist and delicious, and something I'll definitely make again. Glad I'm not allergic to coconut. And wishing I could grow them (of course)! But then I'd have to learn how to make flour and oil out of them and seriously? Some things are better left to others. Coconut processors gotta make a living, too, right?

However, I don't plan on making it often. In AA, when one of our triggers smacks us in the face (a whiff of wine, an image of a foam-covered beer stein), we call the feeling we get "euphoric recall." It's not a good thing, and chowing down on banana bread gives me a little bit of that feeling. I would love for food to be fuel, without any feelings attached to it. Does banana bread taste better than bacon and eggs? Yeah, sure. Is it as beneficial for my body? I would say probably not. And I can almost guarantee I'm going to be very hungry when lunchtime rolls around.

So Happy Mother's Day (here in the U.S.), whether your children have two legs or four. Or fins, for that matter. We're taking my husband's mother out for lunch today, to a big buffet at a nearby state park which is famous for its big buffets. The menu includes many good choices for me, and I don't anticipate having to make any tough decisions going through the line.

My first DietBet weigh-in was on a Sunday, and I've logged my progress on the game website each Sunday since. As of this morning I have half a pound to go to get my money back. Seven pounds GONE in two weeks. That. Is. The. BOMB! My non-DietBet weigh-in day is tomorrow. This morning the total was 21. I hope it stays the same for one more day. And then continues to go down, week after week, until I need to learn some maintenance techniques.

Because THAT is always the issue. If you've ever lost and gained and lost and gained and lost and gained, you know losing is possible and gaining is inevitable. Or at least I do. What I don't know is how to make it stay lost.

My guess is it has something to do with continuing to do what works. Heh. For me, that would be almost-daily intentional activity and a reasonable amount of whole, healthful food. It would also mean eliminating sugar, probably eliminating wheat and possibly eliminating legumes and dairy. The jury is out, of course, until I begin adding those items back into my meals.

But with just a half a pound to go on the bet, I don't think this is the time to experiment.

May 11 - Smile

2013-05-11T11:05:00.002-04:00

Let's see, fancy filter? Check! Blurred? Check! Black-and-white? Check!
The better to not expose myself to you, my pretties. Heh.

Baking. What a concept.

2013-05-11T08:43:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've busted out the hand mixer here in the cave. Anything I've had to smoosh together since April 6 has been mixed with a spoon or a whisk. But since I didn't wake up FAMISHED this morning and since I had everything I needed to make this … well, let's just say the oven is on and there's a loaf pan full of a banana breadlike substance in it.

(I crack myself up. I guess "banana breadlike" is better than "foodlike," right?)

It comes out of the oven 25 minutes from now. Ten minutes to cool, then breakfast!

The finished loaf, which somewhat
resembles a breakfast bread.

It's not exactly a nutritional powerhouse of a morning meal, with five times as much fat and four times as many carbs as protein. (Yes, I'm a geek and entered the entire recipe into my LoseIt! app. I'm still logging every morsel that passes my lips, a practice I began in earnest – again – December 26.) The recipe doesn't say how many servings it yields, so I picked six out of the air, knowing that a loaf pan usually makes 12 slices and if it's good I'll eat a couple. It comes out to 247 calories per serving, not slice. I'll add some bacon to significantly reduce the carb count and slightly increase the protein.

I don't think most folks following a primal/paleo eating plan count calories or worry too much about macronutrients. Since I am, at this time, using this way of eating for weight loss – with some great unexpected side benefits – I think it's important FOR ME to keep journaling my food and tweaking the numbers.

For someone who naively wanted to just eat less and move more and watch the weight drop off last December, without turning the whole process into A Job, I've pretty much done a 180 and turned this paleo stuff into a JOB. But, like I said, the benefits are good, and the weight is finally dropping off. While eating like this goes against the grain (cracking myself up AGAIN!) sometimes, it does seem to be working.

Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess, right?

May 10 - Stars

2013-05-11T07:21:00.004-04:00

Some seriously gaudy patriotic shopping bags for sale at Tiny Kroger.

Aaaaaand … we're off

2013-05-10T07:05:00.001-04:00

Skipped the bloodwork yesterday morning in favor of breakfast before work. I'd planned to go when I got off work at 1 p.m., but after Wednesday's crash-and-burn, decided I wouldn't be able to fast AND work AND drive.

(I probably could have, but it was no problem to rearrange things.) The nurses at the clinic begin sticking at 7:30 a.m., and I plan to be first in line. I'll have a banana in my purse and look forward to eggs AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Which might mean following a short trip to Tiny Kroger.

When you live in the Middle of Nowhere, you don't just go to town. You do go, of course, to take care of whatever pressing business takes you there. But you also run an errand or two because you don't drive 12 miles one way and NOT run an additional errand or two.

In the same vein, I'm heading to the Nash later this month and will most definitely hit Trader Joe's while I'm there. And maybe even a Target!

You guys who live in urban sprawl don't know how good you have it. Heh.

Then again, you guys who live in urban sprawl don't have the neighbor's horses lining your walking route, either. Not sure which route I'll be walking today, but THERE WILL BE A WALK. A long one, since I'm a couple miles short of the weekly target.

Have a great Friday, y'all. Plan the plan, not the results. Life always works out better that way.

May 9 - Snack

2013-05-09T17:54:00.003-04:00

Bananas hit the spot when chocolate or pretzels are no longer options.

Breakfast of Champions

2013-05-09T17:50:00.001-04:00

Well, breakfast of this champion, anyway:

Yesterday morning I had a GINORMOUS fruit bowl for breakfast. Tiny Kroger had pineapples for a buck, so I had two of those cut up and ready to eat, along with a couple quarts of sliced strawberries, a bunch of bananas, some kiwis and some oranges. I peeled and sliced and diced and got my five servings of fruits or vegetables all in one swell foop. (I know it kind of sounds like I had two pineapples and two quarts of strawberries for breakfast. I didn't. Half a cup of each.)

Then I went to work, where I dragged around all morning. I came home, ate and rested. A lot. Fixed dinner and took a short walk afterward, then ate a little more. Then went to bed. EXHAUSTED. And HUNGRY.

My normal breakfast looks like that photo: two or three slices of bacon and two eggs, sunny side up. The difference in protein between the two days' morning meals is night and day, and I learned a lesson from it.

I. Need. Protein. Especially in the morning.

It's been a month since I went paleo-crazy, and I've noted a few things:

I've taken maybe two Aleve this month. I had previously taken two or three each day.
The right hip pain I thought was IT Band Syndrome or arthritis is almost completely gone.
I don't (usually) get hungry between meals and I'm appropriately hungry at mealtime.
I'm especially hungry when I wake up, which I think is a good thing.

And, of course, from January to April I'd lost seven pounds, and since then have lost 11.

A couple other animals showed up
on this morning's walk, as well.

I went walking this morning instead of writing a post for the blog. My intention was to go three miles, but I stopped to visit with a neighbor whose dog had surgery recently. He (the dog) used to come visit us and play with Hershey and we've really been missing him, so it was worth a half-mile shorter walk to play with Toby and find out how he's doing. His left rear leg is held in place with pins – he looks like a bionic dog – and he was sporting a cone of shame. I felt bad for him, but he seemed happy to see me.

Work this week has been very physical, and yesterday was especially difficult, as it was cold and poured down rain the whole time I was there. We unloaded a truckload of new stock. The flood we expected didn't happen, and today was bright and sunny and the customers just kept on coming! That's just how we like it in early May.

May 8 - Shape

2013-05-08T17:53:00.001-04:00

Redbud trees have heart-shaped leaves.