Just today, I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. And I’ll weigh myself & use the tools and guidance from The Hacker’s Diet to help me reach (and keep) my goal.
August is my least favorite month. And this heat wave is making it so much worse than usual. Everyday feels like a threat and just getting through it feels like an accomplishment. Actually doing anything more than surviving is almost impossible to imagine. It’s supposedly going to be in the 100s again today. I don’t think I’ll even pretend I’m going to walk — at least not outside.
These aren’t unusual August thoughts — I’m not a summer person. It’s my least favorite season (I don’t even like spring as much as I should just because it leads to summer.) And it’s more than the heat of summer. There’s a lack of routine during summertime that makes me nervous and edgy. And this year, when I’m trying to radically change my behaviour it’s especially hard.
Everyday for weeks things have been odd. Last night was the first evening in weeks that one of the kids didn’t drop by. But instead of taking the opportunity to go for my evening walk, I fell asleep on the couch (which I haven’t even been able to sit on most evenings lately.) It didn’t occur to me until hours later that I could have gone to the track.
I’m not writing about this to complain, that would be silly (oh, poor me — my kids won’t stop visiting!) The point is that when we’re working on longterm goals there will be times when it’s easy and times when it’s work. And when we’re working on improving our health — changing eating and exercise habits — weather and vacations and visitors add complexity to something that’s already a challenge. Of course we want to have fun, but when it goes on for weeks it’s hard to stay focused.
And for me, it’s very hard to stay focused in August.
Luckily I have responsibilities here at Eat4Today to drag me back to reality. Even though things have been a little more hit-and-miss (like yesterday) I do poke my head in here to stay in touch. Thanks to that I’ve continued to lose (a little) weight. And most days I’ve walked at least 3 miles.
Is it only me who is affected by summer like this? How do you stay focused on your goals when routines and schedules are disrupted? Are you affected by seasons? Is any particular season a challenge for you? How will you prepare for it?
Stay cool if you can.
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Me, I don’t like winter. Planet Georgia is a sauna this time of year, but I spend most of my day in an air-conditioned office… or an air-conditioned house. In between, my car’s A/C isn’t working, so I get a taste of reality on my commute. But I can handle the heat if I have to; I just drink more water or pour it over my head.
Winter is worse — not for the cold, which isn’t the kind of real cold I grew up with in Michigan, but for the lack of sun.
Isn’t it funny how different people can be? I could live in a world without sun and never even notice. If anything, I don’t like too much sun (which is one of the things I don’t like about Kansas — even in the middle of winter, we have a lot of sunny days here).
I saw your update about M.A.E. — I’m glad she found a doctor who recognized the problem. And I hope she has a speedy recovery.