Day 80: 12,274

All caught up! I've walked 800,747 steps in the last 80 days. Only 20 more days 'til I meet my goal!

Day 79: 11,855

Only 1527 step away from being caught up!

Day 78: 2427

Yikes! What a horrible day! But it was a good day-- I was working hard on my super-mega post for my other blog and spent most of Sunday with my butt in a seat. Now I'm 3382 steps behind. Time to MOVE.

Day 77: 10,372

Ginger is getting better and better on the leash. I've trained her almost completely to come to me for a treat when she sees another dog. Almost completely.

Day 76: 9878

Just missed it!

Day 75: 8903

I've hardly said anything about the No-S diet in a long time and perhaps you (whoever "you" are. I don't think I have a lot of readers over here and that's just fine) assumed I gave it up. No way, chief. I started, what? 15 days ago? It seems like a lot longer than that because the hard part is out of the way. (Grr, I'm trying to figure out the math on this a f.a.i.l.i.n.g.) I am finding I have a lot more time and energy since starting this and I'm working on about 5 creative projects right now-- I'm cooking, I'm sewing (wish I was doing more than that), I got a great idea for a BOOK and outlined it and wrote a couple pages. Feels great!

Day 74: 11,532

Back in the saddle again... though I was tired as heck and sore. Even when I don't feel well, I keep moving and it's not a forced thing at all. It's just how I'm living now. If an errand is walkable, it's done on foot and my definition of "walkable" gets bigger and bigger.

Sick Day

I've caught that head cold that's been going around, so I took the pedometer off and forced myself into bed. It's funny, in the past I would glom onto any excuse not to exercise and now I am reluctant to avoid it, even when I know it would do more hard than good.

Day 73: 13,857

I didn't feel great but I managed to move a lot. The sky was beautiful and the dog behaved. 3506 steps ahead!

Day 71 & 72: 8402

Patrick and I had an excellent weekend and I slept a lot. I think I needed a recharge. I'm 351 steps behind, which is just fine by me. I don't like being too far ahead, though I think I would be less sleepy today if I'd been a little more active this weekend!

Day 70: 12,034

I'm now a full day ahead!

Day 69: 10,011

Patrick laughed when he saw the total on my pedometer on my nightstand. Not nice, Patrick!

Day 68: 12,331

This was Ginger's golden day-- two walks! It's gotten hot, so I took her for two thirty minute jaunts. I'm nearly a full day ahead!

Day 67: 10,924

I felt so good yesterday and the gorgeous weather felts like a reflection of what was inside me. Now that the time has changed, maybe Patrick and I will be able to go for walks together after he gets home from work. It's too bad Ginger is such a buttface when she runs into other dogs. Currently 6882 steps ahead.

Day 66: 11,473

This was a great weekend for walking around. We had the orange deliveries on Saturday, and then on Sunday, I walked to and from the grocery store to get the ingredients to make dinner for my friend Nora and her family. She just had the most perfect little baby and we've brought them dinner on some Sunday nights. She was one of the people I brought oranges on Saturday and by Sunday, they needed a refill! I love being friends with people in the neighborhood and I love being able to feed people when they need it. Great weekend.

Day 65: 9345

Our orange tree is ready for harvest! I spent most of Saturday picking oranges, packing them into brown paper bag and then delivering them all over the neighborhood.

In the past, I have to admit that I probably would have driven from stop to stop, pointing to the black clouds overhead and then heavy bags of fruit. Now, those excuses seem to be just that-- excuses. Who cares if a little rain falls on my head or my arms have to actually bear some weight?

Day 64: 10,578

I didn't feel like walking but it really didn't take much for me to get out the door. Habits are so powerful. It was also my fifth successful day on No S. I have some anxiety surrounding this diet-- I realized I'm not used to eat full meals at all-- but this plan seems like sanity to me, so I'm going to keep following it, even if it scares me.

Day 63: 12,883

I was at work when Patrick called to say his car had been broken into. What's the deal? We both decided this will be the last bad thing that happens this year.

In other news, I've been on the No-S diet since Monday and it's awesome. I haven't stuck with a diet for this many days without feeling like I was about to lose my mind. It's so easy, I sometimes doubt if it works, but what do I have to lose by trying? I'll know in a few weeks. Even if I don't lose an ounce, at least I'm less obsessed with good foods and bad foods and eating this or that. We'll see!

Day 62: 10,001

I was so close to 10,000 steps right before bed. In the past, I probably would have just let it go but I've wanted to be more consistent about making it all the way to the 10k count. So, I matched around the bedroom while Patrick watched with amusement.

Day 61: 11,530

One of the things I really like about my pedometer is it keeps track of overall steps and aerobic steps. Aerobic steps, according to the pedometer, are 10 minutes of continuous walking with more than 60 steps a minute.

Why is this valuable? It lets me see when I'm working out versus when I am running around. There are times when I feel like I am doing more than I really am and times when I don't realize how much I'm exerting myself.

I earned most of my steps yesterday running around-- walking to and from class, hanging out with my mom, cleaning the house, and so on. I took Ginger for a little walk but the wind was really intense. Because I didn't get a ton of aerobic steps yesterday, I'll make it a point to get them today.