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.

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.

It’s been a crazy day. I’m just hanging on (Just Today, just today).g How about you?

Also, I’ve had 2 liters of water, I’m just about to take my 2nd fiber supplement and I didn’t walk at all.

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.

I’m in a countdown to fall — hanging on as best I can until the temperatures stabilize in the 80s again. Supposedly it’ll only get to 92 degrees today (yesterday in the shade of our patio the temperature got up to 103) but it’ll also be raining so I don’t know if I’ll get to walk outside today or not. Our extreme temperatures are the main reason I’m looking forward to the gym/community center they’re building in my my neighborhood.e The center will have a pretty large indoor walking track and I plan to use it on the days that the high school track isn’t accessible (any day now the high school track team will start using it again.)

Well, that new center won’t open for over a year. So I’ve still got to manage my exercise responsibilities myself.] Looking at just today, I can pace the halls of our building (what I’d rather do) or join some of my co-workers walking in the lower levels of the parking garage (what I hate to do, but the company is nice.) It’s hard to say what’ll I’ll decide.I Maybe the weather will break and I can walk outdoors.

I know from past experience that thinking about my options makes it more likely that I’ll get my exercise. It’s supposed to be 104 on Thursday./ If this trend continues and I don’t watch out I could lose all my momentum this month.

I wonder how many calories I’d burn if I just stayed on the couch and read a book?