So, the big news for me is that when I went to Alaska for a month, I lost 10 pounds. Without doing ANYTHING. I did not conciously change a single aspect of my life. But I think it says so much about my struggles. So, here are the 3 things I think made the biggest difference:
1. In Alaska, I was constantly surrounded by people. In Phoenix, I spend most of my day alone.
I can not emphasize this problem enough, and I'm still feeling too shy to fix it. Being around people, for me, is energizing and frankly, not boring. When I'm around people, I don't feel the need to snack. When I'm around them, the conversation becomes my "treat," and I feel less of a pull to eat a thousand cupcakes. I'm just too busy to eat. Which is extremely effective, let me tell you.
2. Not to hot to function outside.
I went to Alaska from July-August, the hottest two months in Phoenix. Since I got back to Arizona, for about 2 weeks strait, there was an "Excessive Heat Warning" in effect, because temperatures were above 110 degrees. LAME. Alaska had the perfect weather... even with the rain, I didn't care. I went outside and just DID stuff outside. Yesterday, since things seemed to be cooling down I went for a 3 mile walk with Clara from 8am-9am, and I"m fairly certain I was on the road to heat stroke when I finally made it home. Even when it's not super hot here, it's still really hot.
Now, there's some good news to this: In Alaska, you have 3 or 4 really temperate months, and then 7 months of not so awesome weather. In Arizona, you have 4 pretty miserable months, but then 8 months of awesome weather. Really, I just came at a bad time, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to spend most of the winter outside doing something.
3. Built-in Babysitters
Ahhhh.... the joys of just leaving to go to the gym while Clara naps. I'd just say to a Grandma, "Clara's napping, she should be out for about 2 hours. Do you mind if I go to a Zumba class for an hour?" Yeah, they always said yes. Serious luxury, people... serious luxury....
Anyway, so, I think the moral of this story is I seriously need to make an effort to make some friends. If I felt like I had someone to talk to and do something with, I think even the heat would cease to matter. What's holding me back? Really (and no one believes me when I say this), I'm naturally pretty shy. It just takes me a while to warm up to people, I guess. Or to feel confident enough to invite them to something. But you know what? This week I'm going to make a goal to invite this nice young family at church over for dinner and games. Wish me luck!
