Escape the heat

Here we are at the last week of July, and it is sweating time. The heat index is back at 105-106, give or take a degree, so how to cool off? Go north for a while I thought. We are back at Lake of the Ozarks with our dear friends the Levisay’s for one final summer week of vacation. I had boasted about how much cooler Missouri would be than north Texas. A little advice here, don’t ever tempt mother nature.

After a 10 hour drive, I expected to open my car door and step into relatively cooler temps in the mid 80’s. Surprise! No only is the temp in the mid to high 90’s under a bright afternoon sun, the humidity around the lake comes close to matching the temp. How do you say sweltering? The only saving grace was to get out on the lake quickly and get some air moving, because there is no breeze otherwise right now.

There is no avoiding the summer heat, no matter where you go right now in the lower 48, just go with it. Our little dog Sophie seems to be handling it well, fur coat, life jacket and all. You can tell who “thinks” she is captain of the boat.

There is hope for cooler weather tonight, however. At sunset, and they are beautiful here, clouds started gathering to our north, and as night fell flashes of lightning started dancing across the sky. I tuned in the National Weather Service radio (we’ve got no Finfrock up here) and heard a message from heaven in the form of a computer generated voice; “possible rain tomorrow and temperatures in the upper 70’s. You are listening to the voice of the National Weather Service.” Yea, right. It is the Lake, “don’t wish for rain” I say to myself, no matter how hot it gets! That is what jumping in the lake is for, a big splash to cool off.

Anchor weight check: I am down 11 pounds.

Patience! That’s what I tell myself.

I got a nasty email message this week from a man who wrote me back in 2004.   He is a retired Marine who calls himself ZZ who warned me 4 years ago I was looking “thick” and better watch my weight.    4 years ago I wrote him and said I was consistently in the gym and I wouldn’t get fat.   

He wrote me this time to say I apparently did not keep up my exercise routine or promise not to get fat.   Well, while I didn’t appreciate getting called out, he was right.   I stay on the straight and narrow over the past 4 years.   I am resolved to do better on this attempt.

Since beginning my trek last month to lose 66 pounds, and keep it off, I have lost a grand total of 9 pounds.   Not as fast as I would like, but probably faster than I should expect.   I am at the gym on the tread mill daily, I am drinking tankards full of water daily and measuring all my food.   Not the most fun in the world, but I didn’t get this heavy overnight and had a heck of a lot of fun putting that food in my mouth, so paybacks are hell.

To my friend ZZ, thanks for the kick in the rear!

Whoopie! Pain and no gain!

Blisters under the balls of both feet were made all the sweeter this morning, when I stepped on the scale (after not weighing for a day) and found out I lost another 2 pounds!  That’s 8 down so far on this trek to lose 66 pounds.    My good doctor friend says I am probably seeing a lot of water loss through the alteration of my food intake and the exercise, and he cautions I should expect the pace of the loss to decrease.   I am hoping for consistency.

While more than cutting my food intake in half and adding the treadmill to the mix, I think my water consumption is a big part of this progress.   I think the constant walks to the boy’s room are increasing the effects of my exercise program.    I don’t know if you can tell, but I can notice a bit of difference in my face.    Not seeing anything noticeable in my waist band yet, but I am looking forward to my clothes getting a little looser.

Thanks for the encouraging words!   I am enjoying the coaching I am getting from many of you.

Snaggle tooth and happy about it.

The day before we came home from the lake, I was getting ready for bed and suddenly a scream came ripping out of the the kitchen.   Not a terror type scream, one of those giggly happy screams of joy.   Gracie, my 6 year old, had just lost her first tooth!    Actually, her grandfather encouraged the tooth to come out.    She had been working on two loose teeth the whole vacation, and she finally got up enough courage to let Pa pull the one that had twisted sideways.

Snaggle tooth

I just love the age 6.  Gracie is so thrilled with simple things, like being able to stick a straw through the hole where her lower tooth once stood.   She also likes talking funny, not out of necessity but because it is fun to push air through the hole.    I wish we could all be so thrilled by the simple things in life.   

BTW, she is working on the second lower tooth and has discovered 2 more loose ones.     The tooth fairy is going to have to take out a loan.

Truth and Consequences. Tie your shoes better.

My feet are hurting!   I was dragging on the treadmill today, it took me an hour and 15 minutes to do my 5 miles.   I apparently did not lace up my running shoes tight enough, because I now have blisters under the balls of both feet!  Can you believe that.   I am going to get some thicker “padded” running socks and maybe a jell insole for my workout tomorrow.   But I will be back at the gym, blisters or not.

I did not weigh today, sorry.   I will update the poundage tomorrow.  But, the eating behavior is making progress, no blisters there.   I added “Slim Fast” to the mix today.   A strawberry can for breakfast with a banana, another can for lunch, a cup of yogurt for a mid afternoon snack and then a Subway 6 fat gram 6 inch chicken sub for dinner.    I am a bit hungry sitting here now, but a chug of a full bottle of water will fix that.   Drinking lots of water,  and you know what goes in….   But, water is a magic elixir in this process.

Scale in the morning and then a report.

It’s fixed! Anchor Weight Update.

I got back to work after 2 weeks at Lake of the Ozarks and my computer here at NBC-5 had been updated. Well, as the best laid plans sometimes go, my computer didn’t take too well to the changes and I could not get on to write my blog until this evening. Here now begins my Anchor Weight updates

I want to thank the many people who have written encouragement for my mission to lose 66 pounds in 66 days. When I left on vacation I knew that goal was a bit optimistic, okay it was overly optimistic, but I needed some motivation and pressure to get serious. After 16 days I have lost 6 pounds, not a pound a day, but progress. 6 down, 60 to go. By the way, my doctor also thinks it is unrealistic to do a pound a day, make that unlikely. I am not really sure what the good number for weekly weight loss will be, but I will track it for you here.

The magic is more calorie output than I imput. I can tell you my eating habits have changed considerably, and I am drinking what feels like tankers full of water. The water really helps. I learned from my father-in-law to measure my Cherrios in the morning, 3/4 cup and not a morsel more. I used to really heap up my bowl with the Cherrios because of the “heart healthy” markings on the box, but you can have too much of a good thing. I did.

Now comes the gym. Oh boy! Walking at the lake was a beating in the humidity, air conditioning at LifeTime sports is a joy by comparison. For those of you joining me on this trek, here we go. Update tomorrow.