Sunday, March 23, 2008

Unplanned Weight Gain + A New Dog =

... time for some unplanned weight loss. Well, unplanned in that I had not necessarily planned on getting a mutt that needs as much exercise as our new dog Br----- is going to need. Our best guess is that she is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever cross. I don't care what the pound said about her being a Shepard cross. Yeah it could be she has some Shepard of one sort or another in her, but my bet is there is an awful lot of retriever packed into this bloblike slightly flabby pent up ball of energy - you should get a load of the webbed feet. She is a bit overweight at only 11 months old; and I am, at 52, a lot overweight. Her weight is probably due to lack of exercise or overfeeding with her previous owners; my weight gain due to me having recently gained a totally unexpected 10 pounds when I was ill a couple of months ago putting me at an all time high of 2--; oh let's just say I have surpassed pleasingly plump, and the dungarees sure are tight. (Any of you youngsters reading this know what I mean by dungarees?)

So there we were tonight out for a nice leisurely walk. We kept it slow paced since it is obvious that neither one of us has had a good workout in months. As it turned out we walked about 3.1 miles in just about an hour. That included quite a few sniffing stops here and there, a few corrective stops trying to get her to heel, and a short break for us (really for her) because it appears she was favoring one foot (but not as bad as she was two days ago). All in all I figure we will both improve over time. I am none to concerned about speed, but figure 4 or 5 miles per walk would be much better for both of us. For now though, 3 miles is okay by me, especially since we will probably go out walking each evening or night. Even if we only do 2 miles a day, that will be good for the both of us. Br---- will probably get another mile or two in there when my wife walks her in the AM. Who knows, if we keep this up, we may become slim and trim within a few months. I am figuring she needs to lose 10 pounds of flab - and it is okay if it is replaced by toned muscle; and I need to lose about almost as many pounds as I am years old! Yeah, I guess that will take more than a few months; hopefully she can train me right and I will stick with the walks.

All the best,
Glenn B

8 comments:

MightyMom said...

well, I've found the best way to lose 50 pounds is to have 3 toddlers running around and try to keep up with them!! :-)

methinks the doggie is less work though.

Happy Easter....did you find any open "package" (liquor) stores?

MightyMom said...

oh yeah, and yes, I know what dungarees are.....but the only person I've ever heard use that word is Subvet......(he's 55)

Rita Loca said...

MM, I always blame my kids for my weight! 4 pregnancies left me with a lot of extra weight. of course, the baby will be 14 soon so I need a new excuse!
Glenn,
I hope this is not too personal, but I am wondering of you consider yourself an agnostic or an atheist? No malice intended, just curious from some of your remarks.

Glenn B said...

Rita,

I am for all practical purposes an atheist nowadays. Used to be a bekliever, then agnostic, now an atheist. I kind of lean toward being a beleiver in a universal force or greater than me/us kind of power, but not a God per se. Since I was brought up believeing in God, in times of weakness I sometimes turn to those teachings, but I attribute that only to my weakness and having had God hammered into my brain for 12 years of school and even before. If I was drowning and desperate I would grasp for any straw on which to float as would we all.

Somethings I like about religion are the moral lessons taught, but those same lessons all too often seem to cause most of the strife in the world. You know in that my religion is better than your religion sort of thing, or my faith is right yours is wrong - much like Islam today. When I look back over history, most of the major strife in the world seemingly has centered on, or at least been intertwined with, religion. The weird holymen out there sure seem to cause lots of trouble for the rest of us.

I beleive more in science, though I will admit, that science does not hold all the answers. Even if the big bang thory (just an example) is correct, well how did it start in the first palce? no one can tell you for sure, except of course a fithful believer in God, and that tells me nothing for sure. I am curious, and skeptical, and espcially leery of thsoe who tell me it has to be this way because they believe it so and nothing more. My faith in anything is a commodity that is earned hard. I guess most of all I am a sceptic.

All the best,
Glenn B

Glenn B said...

sorry about the spelling...

Rita Loca said...

Thanks for the answer, and my spelling is much better than my typing!LOL!
I am wondering if it is organized religion you dislike or the fact of God's existence?
I agree about the Science not having all the answers. It seems at time to be just another religion requiring as much faith to accept some of the 'answers'.
I have regular comments from a few atheist who are mean spirited, I appreciate that I have never sensed that from you.

Glenn B said...

I don't dislike organized religion or God (if there really is one or more), what I dislike is the outcome so far, of every attempt at organized religion - distrust, strife, hatred, war and so forth. I truly think with religion put aside - at least not the controling binding force in aperson's life - peoplpe would find it easier to get along with one another. I don't see it as the excuse people use because they fight, I beleive it (or orrganized faith in God) to be one of the root causes as to why they fight, why they hate, why they distrust. I do not imagine for a moment that things would get better overnight without religion, but as the Pope recently said - we need to start believing more in science. I think we need to realize that thousands of years ago people needed something to explain the universe and how it worked. They used religion to do that, and religious leaders then used that to their advantage and took control. Still that way today as far as I can see. If there realy is a God or Gods, well then, I feel the same way about him/she/them as I do about any other religious leader.

All the best,
Glenn B

Rita Loca said...

Thanks for sharing. I hope I was not too curious. Having always lived among a Christian family, I try and learn from others who do not share my faith. I always learn something. Not that I doubt my faith at all, but I want to know why others feel and think differently. It all sheds color on the vast differences among the human race.