Cold December Health Update, or A 21-Pound Salute

It's been so freakin' cold here since Thanksgiving. In fact, it's the second coldest December ever recorded here so far. Because of the high cost of heating oil, this is the first time in my 23 years here that the room temperature settings in buildings I frequent have been cool enough that sweaters are a necessity. I have never understood the peculiar midwestern custom of cranking up the heat to 75-80 degrees, which to me is more appropriate for shorts and t-shirts than winter sweaters and layered ensembles a la L. L. Bean.

Of course we keep our house on the cool side, because we're on the frugal side. If I'm chilly, I just put on another sweater, light jacket, bathrobe, etc. and I'm fine. But even the landlord for the Cleveland School of Dance is being cheap this year, or perhaps merely negligent with heat maintenance. Usually in the past, the building is so stifling we are tempted to open windows in the middle of winter, but now it's noticably cooler. At first, I thought this was great. I could finally wear the cute sweaters I almost never wear and not be uncomfortably hot!

But every day, it's been getting colder and colder there. Today it had to be 60 or below, and my piano is right next to the drafty window. Everyone was commenting/complaining about the cold. The students were even getting silly the way you do during a crisis such as a blizzard or power outage. We felt the radiators--stone cold. It was like the heat wasn't even on! Between every single exercise I got up to jog in place or do lunges to keep warm, which helped a lot.

I have just been feeling cold all the time, and much hungrier. We've been eating things like pork with sauerkraut or barbequed ribs, plus a few Christmas cookies every single day (I made leb kuchens and gingerbread cookies last week). But (here comes the Health Update) being cold really gooses your metabolism, as it takes a lot more energy when your body is trying to keep warm. This is why our wise fellow animals fatten up all summer and fall, and by the spring have lost a third of their body weight.

I am now down a whopping 21.5 pounds in 13 weeks--that's 8.5 in the past 4 weeks alone! One more pound and I will be exactly halfway to my goal! Here are my new stats to date:

48% toward goal
Weight: -21.5 lbs
Bust: -3.25 inches
Waist: -3.75 inches
Hips: -3.25 inches
Thighs: -2.5 inches

Yay me, and still not a single day of relapsing! And cheers to Darcy, who I talked to last night--she's lost 20.5 pounds so far! We are awesome.

Also, after a 5-week rotation of my new FitPrime DVDs, I've started to do the other, more demanding set I got, the KickButts, every other day. Yes, they're harder, and I can't do all the reps yet. I don't think I overdid it today (it was a tough body-sculpting one emphasizing weights), but ask me again tomorrow. I hope I don't wake up feeling like I got run over by a truck.