New Unit of Measure

New Unit of Measure

My dog’s name is Kuro. No, this isn’t one of those boring blogs about how cute someone’s dog is. Admittedly, Kuro is unbelievably cute, to the point that I tell people that’s his superpower. Kuro uses the power of cute to get everyone he meets to do his bidding, like a little evil dictator. Kuro was the inspiration for Peanut the Wonderdog and his human counterpart the Amazing Ashley in the Damson Dragon diary. However, it is not Kuro’s cuteness that I’ve been thinking about lately, but his weight. Kuro is large for a Pomeranian, about 11 pounds.

When I flew back to Austin after working in Raleigh, NC for a couple of weeks, I hadn’t weighed myself in quite a while. According to my home bathroom scale, since I started my new job 4 months ago, I have now lost about 11 pounds. When I told my husband that, with an espression of frustration about how slow the process has been, he picked up Kuro and handed him to me. “You’ve lost a whole Kuro,” he said.

Hmmm. I hefted my dog, got my face slurped, and thought about carrying him around everywhere, all day long, no matter what I was doing. Wow. That really puts the whole weight loss thing in perspective.

I haven’t been dieting exactly, just eating better and exercising a lot more. I’ve got a lot more energy these days, too. Considering I’m not hauling around a whole dog’s worth of weight everywhere, that’s not too surprising I suppose.

I have to keep telling myself that about one pound a week isn’t too bad for weight loss.  I am a deeply impatient and somewhat obsessive person. When it comes to getting in better physical condition, I can be a bit … focused. However, I have had problems in the past with going on diets, being very strict about it, losing 4 – 6 pounds a week for a few weeks, then getting dog sick. Like, antibiotic resistant bronchitis that lasts for a month kind of sick.

This is a lot better for me in the long run. The trick is going to be making it through the holidays without putting that Kuro back on my hips and waist. I like that I’ve dropped a pants size. I like that I was looking all curvy in new, one size smaller jeans, when I got my pic taken with Christian Kane. I like that I can swim a mile if I feel like it. I like that I’m over 30 situps a minute in my boxing class. Mostly, I like feeling better, lighter, and stronger.

If I stick with it for another six months and drop another Kuro or two, I’ll be wearing my sexy leather skirts from college again.

Must learn patience.

And skip the pie.

Paige