How my grown-up kiddie pool has helped me lose 30 pounds

This is kind of a long post so grab some iced tea and sit a spell. Also, I want to make sure to say I didn’t lose the weight by using ONLY the pool. It is just an aid in my program. [Kelly Kazek]

After confessing last week to have succumbed to the adult coloring book craze, I’m ready to make another admission: I am the owner of an adult grown-up kiddie pool (somehow using the word “adult” makes it sound dirty.)

The reason I am telling you about it is so I can explain how it has helped me lose 30 pounds so far.

In early June, about three weeks after I’d started walking every day in an effort to lose weight, Sweetums and I were in Big Lots when I saw a row of boxes of backyard swimming pools. I’d told him a few days earlier I missed being able to plunge into a pool like I did when I was a kid, hearing and feeling the bubbling water, especially when temperatures reach 90 degrees and up. I suppose we could join a club pool but the problem is that I don’t want to swim in public. Plus, it’s difficult to go to a club pool for 30 minutes on your lunch hour.

It was because of that childish longing that I went up to a box and pretended to hug the photo of the pool on the box. (Yeah, you don’t want to go shopping with us. Seriously.) I was kidding but Sweetums noticed the “sale” sign and we ended up taking home a pool for about $90 and a cover for $25.

It’s 14 feet in diameter and three feet deep, which isn’t much but it’s enough room for floating and having a cool dip. It has an inflatable ring around the top and the sides are held up by the pressure of the water when it’s filled. It uses chlorine and has a small filter so the water wouldn’t get disgusting like a kiddie pool would. Plus, I didn’t plan to pee in it.

It wasn’t long before we realized even grown-up kiddie pools require complicated installation. The instructions said the site must be completely level, with not even a 2-inch variance. It must not be near trees or electrical outlets. We found a spot that would get some sun and require the least work but it still took Sweetums a couple of days to dig and level the site. And we thought we could just plop it on the grass! Then it took a day to fill the pool with about $100 worth of water.

NOTE: Rules for pools in the yard vary depending on where you live. We have a fence around our yard for safety.

Back in late May, I’d begun taking a new weight-loss drug that works by not only suppressing appetite but by curbing cravings, which has always been my downfall. And it really works, at least for me. I won’t name it because I don’t feel comfortable endorsing drugs but your doctor could tell you what it is. I would never recommend anyone take a weight-loss drug without consulting a doctor.

Any-hoo, then Sweetums bought me new tennis shoes and a Fitbit so I could begin walking 10,000 steps a day, or trying to. I actually set my goal at 8,500 and I surpass that goal five or six days out of seven.

But it had gotten so hot it was almost unbearable to walk, even in the mornings. I knew it would do no good to join an indoor gym because I am not the gym type and it is always money wasted. I am a walker and can stick to walking every day.

So we decided I could use the pool two ways: to cool off after walks and for additional exercise.

Y’all, it has been the most fun. Sometimes I just float around in my kiddie pool and, with eyes closed behind my sunglasses, I imagine can hear a deep voice singing “swimming pools, movie stars.” But more often than not, I walk or swim laps in the pool or otherwise create exercising games.

Plus, it turns out the skimmer has turned me into some sort of warrior princess. I like to keep any debris out of the pool and make sure the water is clean and clear (you do have to buy chlorine tabs and pool shock). Despite the instructions, the pool is beneath the canopies of two massive pine trees but since the canopies are about 30 feet in the air, I still get sunlight. It’s the pine straw that’s annoying.

The first thing I do when I get in is walk around to create a whirlpool then scoop whatever tiny debris floats up with the skimmer, which has a 4-foot pole. I have a feeling I look like I am holding a trident and trying to spear fish as I walk around looking at the bottom of my pool. Fortunately, no one but Google Earth can see me but if you happen to see me on Google Earth, I’m sorry.

Since May, I have lost 30 pounds and I am still going strong. I usually get in the pool for about an hour and gain about 1,000 to 2,000 steps toward my goal. Using the pool didn’t do it alone, of course, but it is certainly incentive when I am walking and sweat is pouring from me. Also, I like floating around like a movie star. In my blow-up kiddie pool. In my backyard. In Huntsville, Alabama.

That’s not redneck at all…