Sticking to a Diet & Exercise Plan

    It's not easy, you know.... sticking to a plan. I mean, you spend a long time getting fat. I didn't get fat overnight. It was progressive, gaining a little weight here and there over the last 4 years until suddenly.... POOF! I'm fat....

    Now, granted, I'm not morbidly obese. I can walk up and down the stairs, sit, lay down, etc. without much trouble. I'm just uncomfortable, and I feel the extra weight hurting my legs, hips, shoulders and back.

    So how do you stick to it? How do you get up every day and convince yourself you MUST exercise and you MUST eat right?  I don't know.... it's only day 6! But I'm doing okay, I think.

Day 5 - Recap
    Yesterday was Day 5 of Week 1. Mom and Dad had plans to go out so in the morning Dad took me for my walk. We went for about 15 to 20 minutes. Dad didn't take any accountability pictures yesterday so you'll just have to trust me.

    I was really hungry yesterday! I don't know if it's the extra exercise or what, but I ate a whole 1 3/4 cups of my mixed food in the morning, and then I ate another 3/4 cup in the afternoon.  Mom said that's better, but a little bit more than I'm supposed to have to reach my first goal.

Day 6
    This morning, Mom took me and Zoya for a walk. We went for 25 to 30 minutes. It was technically like 27 minutes if you want to be exact. It's real humid even though it's not too hot yet. We went early, but Mom said we should be careful because there is a "heat advisory" today for the afternoon and early evening. I'm not really sure what a "heat advisory" is... but it can't be good.

    I remember when we lived in Georgia. We actually lived in Georgia twice. The first time, it was before we got Zoya. Right when we moved there, Dad had to go away for a bit, but he's in the Army so that's sort of normal. Then we got Zoya. We found her, actually.... she was at a pet store but it was a special event with other dogs from different places. Zoya was a year older than me at the time... well, she's still a year older than me, but at that time I was almost 1 and Zoya was 2.

   It would get SO HOT and HUMID in Georgia that we seriously thought we might just die being outside even for a minute! Mom would keep the air conditioner on in the apartment and keep curtains and blinds closed so the sun would stay out most of the day. It wasn't fun.... and it made Hawaii seem even greater when we moved there from Georgia :-)

   Anyway.... so this morning we went for almost 30 minutes and Mom took lots of accountability pictures!

Here Zoya was waiting for me while I sniffed some stuff...

Since Zoya doesn't smell everything like I do, and she's not a Beagle, she really doesn't understand...

Walking around... Zoya confused because I wanted to smell the ground a bit closer.

ALWAYS look both ways before crossing the street!

I like to get right up close to the plants and flowers to smell them!

I like to walk ahead sometimes...

After the walk I was very thirsty.

In the bottom picture, that's my little brother Atom watching me... and Zoya in the far background.

Walking Dogs Responsibly
    Even though there are convenient waste receptacles ALL OVER this property, people still refuse to clean up after their dogs. I don't get it... I mean, the bags are RIGHT THERE and there's even a trash can with a bag to put the pooh in once you clean it up... but people instead just leave it.

   This drives me nuts!!!  My Mom and Dad always pick up after us. They say, "There are little kids that like to run through the grass and pooh has germs in it that can make little kids sick. It's important to clean up when you take your dogs out so that the property stays nice. But even if you don't care about how the property looks, you should do it because it's unsanitary to leave it, and it's irresponsible to take your dogs out and not clean up after them."

    Our property has these receptacles all over so it's relatively convenient. But not every property does. You can get the doggy pooh bags at pet stores and the pet aisle in grocery stores too. Sometimes they come with a little container and a clip to secure the bags to a leash for easy access. And you can get refills to put more bags in the container. You can also find these on the internet for real cheap prices, so really, there's no excuse not to clean up after your dogs.

    Another thing that really bugs me is the dogs that aren't kept safe on leashes. I'm not always comfortable with other dogs and I don't want them freely running up to me. It makes me nervous! I also prefer to be on a leash. I don't feel safe when I'm freely walking around, it makes me afraid that something bad might happen.

   My Mom and Dad understand this and they keep me and Zoya (and Atom) safe... but a lot of people let their dogs run around without a leash. They say "Oh, she's good she listens" but that's not the LAW. The LAW says that the dogs must be on a leash unless in a designated, enclosed dog park or yard. It's not just for other people's safety, it's for the safety of the dogs and other animals around. I don't know why this is so difficult for people to understand... but if you refuse to be responsible and keep your dog on a leash, then I can't make promises that I won't nip at them if they approach me and make me nervous. I'm on a leash.... what's your excuse?

    Oh, for the record, we didn't see any dogs off-leash today or recently, but there are a few people that always seem to "accidentally" let their dogs out without a leash, or they walk their dogs without a leash regularly. It's not cool... it's irresponsible.

Video from Today's Walk