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| A screenshot of our local forecast for this week. |
I had to force Ginger to come inside today. She's never liked being in the house, and would stay out in the garage and backyard no matter the weather if we allowed it. I think it's because she grew up in the country, with lots of land to roam on. She actually prefers being an outside dog. I had to put her leash on her to make her come in the house this morning. It's just too hot for her to be outside, and the small portable A/C unit we used in the garage for the last two years isn't very effective, plus it costs a small fortune to run. We've decided that during the worst heat of the day, both the dogs will just have to come in. George loves it. He'd happily stay indoors forever if we let him. I would love it, but it's not possible. Not only is he a destructive chewer and we fear for our furniture, but Marco has to live here and deserves plenty of time out of his cage each day. Neither of the dogs have ever taken much notice of him, but we dare not let him out while they're inside. Marco would boldly go right up to them both if given a chance. The dogs might not pay him any attention, but he loves them. When they're in the house he chatters away, calling them both by name and saying things like "Good dog!" "Ginger, c'mere...George, c'mere!" and "Hey baby!" I think it's exciting for him when the dogs come inside.
The worst part of this heat wave is that it's so hard to go outside and exercise. I did go swimming at a friend's house yesterday, which felt great. If I wasn't trying to save money this summer I'd get a membership at a pool so that I could swim every day. Maybe next summer.
Speaking of exercise....I'd like to brag a little. I'm down 14 pounds as of this morning! I've been seriously working at changing my eating habits and exercising more since early May, and after a slow start, the weight is finally starting to come off. Gregg and I both had appointments with a new family doctor last week, and I really liked her. I discussed the steps I was taking to lose the excess weight (technically I'm classified as obese in the BMI chart so there was no question that I need to make some changes) and she thought I was doing a good job on my own, but offered to help monitor my progress and support me in the process. Of course I said yes! She gave me plenty of literature about good meal planning, made some common sense suggestions about daily calorie targets, and will be doing blood work this week to check my blood sugar, cholesterol, thyroid and liver function, etc. I'm really excited to finally have a doctor I feel comfortable with and supported by. I'll be weighing in with her monthly. I think that with slow, steady progress I should be in the normal BMI range by the end of the year. That's my goal, anyway.
In order to get the exercise I need while it's so hot, I'm going to have to get creative. I have a couple of friends with pools, and also friends who like to go and walk in the air conditioned mall when it's too hot to be outside. I've been invited to join them whenever I like. Of course, Gregg and I will continue to walk the dogs in the late evening after it cools off enough to be tolerable. It won't actually be pleasant again until late September at least, though.
Speaking of the summer, I leave you with these thoughts.....have a great day, everyone!
Same here except I haven't lost any weight because I only exercise and haven't changed my eating habits. I keep thinking that honestly, they're pretty good and so believe that eventually, magically, the weight will just fall off! Haha!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Not only on the changing of habits but also on finding a doctor you like. Sort of a miracle.
Same here on the heat and I can't take it. Right now it's five thirty and I need to go get the clothes off the line and I'm having to gird my loins to do it. It's so damn hot that the idea of putting on a bathing suit and driving to the river is overwhelming. And I have air conditioning in my car. But lycra? On my sweaty body? Ugh. I may just start driving there directly from my walk and just dive in with my walking clothes on. Why not?
I just looked up the weather report here from WTF and it's 95 degrees and it says, "Wicked Fucking Hot and Humid." Yep.
I kept thinking that because I'm fairly active, I would be able to lose some weight by just ramping up my exercise. Wrong. As my friend Karen says, "You can't outrun your fork!" Of course, exercise is great and does HELP with weight loss, but CICO (calories in, calories out) is the bottom line.
DeleteThis heat is NO JOKE. I despise it.
By the time you reach your weight/BMI goals, your eating habits will be so changed it will be an effort to drag them back to what you abandoned. Or, backsliding will be awful, awful hard. Eating too much will no longer be pleasant. Eating unhealthy food will be distasteful. It's like magic. So, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteI surely hope you're right! I've already found that fast food doesn't taste good to me anymore. And now I make sure that when I have a treat (like dessert) it's something really good and worth the extra calories. Bad junk food is just a waste.
DeleteI did not know you had such hot weather ! ! !
ReplyDeleteIn the desert we can get 117 but every year it seems gets hotter and hotter.
Take care and hope Ginger understands.
cheers, parsnip
It's 100F outside today and the heat index is probably around 104 or 105. It's not a dry heat like you experience, though. It feels like a swamp outside with the humidity. Just awful.
DeleteI applaud you for your weight loss. Good job and keep up the good work Jennifer! By the way, when Marco says "Hey baby!" is he mimicking you or Gregg? What does "c'mere" mean? Is it "cashmere"?
ReplyDeleteWe both say, "Hey baby!" to him all the time. And of course, "C'mere" is "Come here!"
DeleteCashmere! LOL
DeleteOur Summer starts today too. Not quite your temperatures, but around 30 C for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky...you have a pool!
DeleteThese are hilarious (especially a whorehouse on nickel night and fat-sucking mosquitoes). 14 pounds is a whole lot of potatoes. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThose were my two favorites, too! :) Thank you.
DeleteI feel for you re the heat. I am very uncomfortable at anything over 25c, even more so since I have been on steroids that make my head sweat!! We are lucky that there is an old railway line , now footpath, that is barely 2 mins away, and is a great cool place for walking the dogs in the heat as it is totally tree lined.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you have a nice cool place to walk! I'll bet the dogs appreciate it!
DeleteYesterday was hot, hot, hot. The four feral cats who like to sit on our deck in the day were nowhere to be seen. They stayed in the coolness of the woods behind my house. The cool wet ground is their A/C.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the weight loss. It is never easy to be on a diet, but having a goal and the good support of a doctor will ensure that you will be successful.
It is hard in this heat for me not to crave ice cream, but I stick to Weight Watcher’s fudge pops for my addiction.
I got some frozen fruit bars at the grocery store yesterday. They're low in calories and so nice on a hot day!
DeleteWell done, you! :-) Now that you have a doctor you like and who will support you, it will get even better, you'll see!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Meike!
DeleteCongrats on your progress! That's awesome! And how great to have a likeable doctor who can support you. This may be a silly question, but if the dogs resist coming indoors and cause so much disruption, do they really need to? If they have a shady spot to rest during the day they'd probably be fine outside. We had outdoor dogs when I was a kid in Florida and they stayed out (in shade, with plenty of water) no matter the weather. Granted, that was before we knew about global warming, but it was surely in the 90s back then too.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've thought more about this, and I must admit I wouldn't want Olga out in that kind of heat. So I totally get it! I guess our standards of pet care have changed in the past few decades, haven't they? :)
DeleteSteve, the dogs have lots of shade in the backyard, and they spend most of their time in the garage where they have their beds. But it's really, really hot today with heat indexes of up to 110F and there are heat advisories in effect all over the state. Ginger is getting older and she has a very thick, heavy coat. She's the main one we worry about.
DeleteThe dogs are now enjoying their afternoons in the house. They curl up at my feet in the office (by an A/C vent) and nap until suppertime, when it's cooler and they go back outside.