I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds, just today. And I’m going to try this for a year to see what happens.

I walked 35.66 miles last week and it seems impossible but, I feel both more energetic and totally exhausted.a I think the exhaustion has more to do with the heat than the walking. I walked 6 miles both Saturday and Sunday.d And both days I went for my first walk before the temperature hit 90 and didn’t take my second walk until after the sun sank a little and it got below 90. But still, I don’t think temperatures should ever be above 85 degrees.g I just don’t like extreme heat. So living through this weather is difficult enough for me.

Luckily I like to walk and I’m miserable when I go too long without taking one.n So even though the high school track is my new favorite place to walk (the surface is wonderfully bouncy), yesterday morning I walked in a shaddy grove next to it. The surface was rougher, but it was at least 10 degrees cooler and it saved me from collapsing from heat stroke. And if the temperatures are any worse next weekend I’ll go mall-walking. We’ve got a nearly abandoned mall that’s popular for walking in the summer and winter when the temperatures get extreme.b I don’t like the surface (floors as hard as marble) but I don’t want to risk getting sick.

And that brings me to the point — why a conversation about walking fits into The Commitment:

Losing 60 pounds has made summer tolerable. Before losing that weight, I was so miserable in the summer, I didn’t think I could stand it.e And that too often I’d stay inside instead of walking. And even avoid essential errands because I didn’t want to face the weather. I think that extra weight made it seem 10 degrees hotter than it really was.

I hinted at another benefit a couple of weeks ago, but I say it straight out today.p I can walk in the heat in a dress without rubbing my thighs raw. The worst, most horrible thing about being obese (for me) was having to wear something on my legs to protect them from each other.
I couldn’t just toss on a summer dress and run errands. If I didn’t wear shorts, slacks or hose, I couldn’t go outside at all without hurting myself.

So when I was at my fattest (and long before that) I not only had that extra layer of fat making me feel hotter.t I had to wear more clothes than it made sense to wear. It was horrible.

It may sound as though I’m complaining as I talk about the heat and how much I hate it.g But I know I’m better prepared for it this summer than I’ve been for years. This summer my feelings about the heat are more an issue of preference than a sense of danger.r And I remind myself of that with almost every step.