365 True Things: 261/30

And so we arrive at the last meal of the last day of the Whole30 diet experiment, which will feature, yes, a hunk of meat (filet mignon), veggies (acorn squash and brussels sprouts), and fruit (apples and pears are getting magically entwined with the squash—don't ask me, I'm not cooking).

Alas, it doesn't mean that tomorrow we can romp out and have eggs Benedict for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and cheesy enchiladas for dinner.

We are instructed to reintroduce the excluded foods gradually: tomorrow it will be beans (dinner: white bean chili; peanut butter and apples for lunch)—then two more days of the diet; Saturday, we reintroduce non-gluten grains (corn, hominy, rice, quinoa), then two days of the diet; Tuesday, gluten (yay bread!!!!!!!); and Friday—Christmas—dairy (oh, beloved cheese!!!!!).

There's been some debate as to whether on Saturday we can have rice and beans; or on Tuesday, corn, beans, and cornbread; or on Christmas, whatever the heck we want. I say yes. I'm not sure David has made up his mind.

In any event, it's a little anticlimactic to have reached our goal only to have to prolong the agony over the next ten days.

Not that it's been especially agonizing. It's just been what we do. A little more mindfulness about what we put in our bodies. Not a bad thing. Not at all.

This made me think of the other long-term goal-oriented projects I've done, specifically my photographic Project 365s: a photo a day for an entire year. Those were part of the impetus behind this wretched blogging project. I did four of them. As I recall, when I got to day 366, it was just another day—only for a change, I didn't have to take a picture.

Kind of anticlimactic there too.

But there was the satisfaction of having fulfilled a serious challenge to myself, one involving at least a modicum of discipline, and done it well. As I expect I will feel in another 104 days when I finish this bloody blog. One hundred and four! It's unfathomable. But hopefully I'll keep finding something to say.

And so, another one down.

Till tomorrow.