Wednesday, January 23, 2008

12 Minute Walk

You can walk a few extra minutes when you get the mail or go out to find something in the car or when you knock on a neighbor's door. Stay outside and walk 10 or 12 more minutes or even 5 or 6. I saw that I had a little time before the phone call to my honey in Florida and took the dog out for about 12 minutes. I walked about half a mile. Even a quarter of a mile extra per day adds up over 365 or 366 days. If you walk just a little bit over a quarter of a mile extra per day, during the course of a year, you will have walked an extra 100 miles.

My trainer friend, Christine Burke, tells me that 1 mile burns 100 calories on average and 3500 calories burned is what it takes to lose one pound. So, for a little effort beyond whatever you're currently doing, you can lose approximately three EXTRA pounds per year. Doesn't seem like much, you say? Well, if you think of it the opposite way...that you UNDERexercised that much per year. That would mean you GAINED an extra three pounds per year and that's how you can put on an extra 30 pounds over 10 years. Plus, if you actually lost the extra weight instead of gaining it, the difference between what you could have gained and what you actually lost over 10 years adds up to 60 pounds!

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

I Feel Better

There's a buzz in my body. My guess is that I'm feeling improved circulation. Whatever it is, I definitely feel better. It seems like my mind is clearer. You can benefit, too.

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Click on Health Benefits of Walking or the title of this post to see the About.com article.

Health Benefits of Walking

OK, I'm Up

I have a bunch of stuff to do the first few hours this morning, but I'm up. I just have to let the dog find a defenseless stationary object. I WILL walk in a few hours.

I will walk. I will.

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In the meantime, click on the title of this post to visit Walkable.org, the website of Walkable Communities, a non-profit corporation helping North America develop walkable communities.