After losing 100+ pounds, today’s scorcher doesn’t bother me. In fact I’m looking forward to my 1.5 mile run!

I have to admit, I worried that once Virginia’s heat and humidity kicked into full swing, my walking and running would come to a complete stop. Sure I love summer, but I hate the oppressive humidity. What a difference dropping 100+ pounds makes.

The heat and humidity arrived two weeks ago, yet I’m spending the bulk of my time outside. For some reason the hot, sticky weather isn’t that big of a deal when I go for runs or walks. I’m also finding myself sitting on our back deck mid day reading a book and just enjoying the day. Sure I get sweaty, but I’m not fidgeting or dying to get back into our air-conditioned house.

What gives?

I’m 100+ pounds lighter. When I weighed 325, I dreaded going outside during the summer. The heat and humidity in Virginia can be unbearable. Just walking to my mailbox I felt like I’d spontaneously combust. Not to mention the intense friction my thunder thighs caused…I swear I smelled smoke one time!

Clearly my extra insulation just trapped my body heat, not a great thing in the summer. Since the body cools itself by circulating blood to dissipate heat through the skin, my heart was pumping a lot harder to circulate blood. But my additional 100 pounds made it difficult for my body to dissipate heat. So I ended up sweating a lot, losing more water and body salt, and dehydrating faster. Yep, I was the perfect candidate for a heat stroke.

My added layer of fat just made it too hard to regulate my body temperature so I hid indoors. Too many summers wasted. Well not anymore!

My light-weight, bright yellow jacket is perfect for keeping me dry and cool on those hot, rainy days this summer.

Now I’m outside for 1-3 hours a day and I love it. With the weight loss, I can’t use the weather as an excuse for not going on my walks or runs anymore. Oh, except when it rains, right? Wrong. I took care of that the other day with a trip to REI. I picked up a thin, water-proof jacket. Thankfully there’s been no need to test it out the last couple of days. But now I really have no excuses for not hitting the great outdoors this summer!