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Walk it off.

It had been a couple of days since I got any exercise, so earlier today I decided to go out for a walk in the neighborhood.  At noon, I set out with my trusty bottle of flavored water and just enough determination to make it out the door (49% of me wanted to stay on the La-Z-Boy, 51% knew I'd feel like crap by the end of the day if I didn't go).
Although I live in sort of a dicey neighborhood, at a five minute walk from my doorstep the real estate values go up exponentially.  Five minutes' walk away is literally the best part of town.  There's a huge boulevard lined with historic homes, many Victorian era, set down in perfectly manicured yards.
It was the first time since I've been in this apartment (eight-plus months) that I've actually fulfilled the vision I had of walking that street.  Score one for me!
In this state of (relative) excitement, I walked and walked and walked ... 'til I got sick.  I'd been fooled by the cloudy skies and slight breeze into thinking that the heat wasn't going to be an issue.  At a high seventy-something, the temperature was very different from what we've seen a lot of in these parts this Summer (90's, humid, not my cup of noodles).
The fact that I was wearing a light "hoodie" on top of a short sleeved shirt didn't help.  But I HAD to wear a  hoodie because you know, a bright fuschia hoodie fools people into thinking you are less heavy.
Why, it's downright transformative! image: Ball State University Digital Media Repository
Just like the right bathing suit with matching booties.  It's magic!

The long and short of the story?
Walking back home, up hills I hadn't even realized were there on the outbound, I realized that I didn't give a whit what anybody thought about my weight.  That people weren't driving off the road in horror-stricken reactions at my girth.  That the single most important thing at that point was to get home before I crapped my pants.
Next time I'm not going to OVER DO it.  And I'm leaving the hoodie at home.
Posted by Laurie AE at 6:08 PM This is a Girdle-Free Zone!