Walking Away the Weight

Walking has long been a favorite exercise of mine. It likely all started back when I was a kid. When some new neighbors moved in across the street, my mom and her started to walk in the evenings. I considered myself lucky when I was able to join. My parents have also always (since when, not sure, I was a child - I just remember going to a number and know that they still go today) participated in Volksmarch Walks and 5/10K walks.

The nice thing about walking is you don't need any special gear, equipment or training. A pedometer can help you track your steps all day. Apps for your phone like RunKeeper, can help you track a walk. But, even without those tools, you can still be successful at walking.

I also have found that for me, walking is a great way to help me with my weight loss goals. It burns calories, strengthens and tones muscles and can even thin the waistline when you keep your arms involved. Frequently, walking is that extra boost for me...the addition to my "regular" workout. Sometimes though, it is my workout (and there's nothing wrong with that).

At the very least, even without consideration of the weight loss benefits, a walk is a time for me to unwind and destress - another boost to my overall well-being. Sometimes, when I walk, I just relax and take in the scenery, but frequently while I am walking, my mind is running. I use the alone time to work through things in my head, practice presentations or discussions that I need to have, make mental lists (which sometimes I forget when I have paper to write them down) and such - there is no "organization" to this process, I often find myself jumping from subject to subject. It may not sound like it, but this is very therapeutic and relaxing. I feel so much more refreshed and ready for the rest of the day/week after I have had this chance to allow my mind to work through things that it needs to.

When it is nice out, I love to head outside for a walk. Whether that is before work, at lunch time or in the evening - the time of day doesn't matter. Last summer I would meet a neighbor to walk in the mornings. We started in the neighborhood, but eventually started heading to the track to walk - which was when my walks turned into walk/runs, but that is another story. There are a few people that I walk with routinely at lunchtime. We will either walk around town or on the walking track. It is not only a great way to get in a workout, but it is a great time to catch up. As we gab, the miles pass by in no time. I also find it to be a great mid-day mental break that refreshes me for the day ahead. In the evenings, I will walk around the block with the kids, walk up to my son's baseball games or have the option of heading to the indoor track to do some walking.

Unfortunately, mother nature doesn't always cooperate with my desire to walk outside. I mentioned that we have an indoor track at one of the schools in town, so that is at least one option - but that is very schedule driven as it is only open for a few hours each evening. So, another alternative that I have found is the Walk At Home series of DVDs from Leslie Sansone. I am not sure how many titles there are, I must have 6 or 8 discs (3 are from a set) and constantly see different titles at the store and library. In fact, borrowing the discs from the library is a great way to regularly change up your walk and prevent boredom.

A great thing about the workouts is that they are all broken down into mile segments. I have discs that are 2 mile, 3 mile, 4 mile and 5 mile walks. But, even within them, I can walk just 2 miles of the 5 mile walk easily. I love this flexibility. With the varying walks, there are also varying paces, so if I have only 25 minutes, I could choose a 2 mile walk on a faster pace. If I have more time, perhaps I do a slower pace walk and choose one with more resistance band exercises to increase toning while walking. In my experience, I have found walks on the discs that range from 12 minutes to 17 minutes per mile.

Another thing that I really like is that just like walking outside, I can allow my mind to do it's own thing while I do the workout. Unlike my other workout DVDs, where I am so focused on the form and movement or the routine and sequence, with the Walk At Home disc, even though there are several steps used and even some arm movements worked in, I am able to follow it "absentmindedly" allowing my mind to be free to wander and process.

Walking - outside or At Home - works for me.

Mamavation Monday

It was a good week.

I did pretty good with eating well and tracking what I ate. I used up the balance of my weekly PointsPlus values on Sunday, so my Monday weight was up slightly from yesterday, but I expect that to recover to the full amount of loss that I expected for last week. I was down over a pound on Sunday morning.

I resumed P90X this morning. I had been doing other workouts and decided that I needed a boost in my workout routine. I haven't decided if I will just use the strength training workouts and alternate with assorted cardio or if I will follow the full 90 day program again. I did Chest and Back this morning and I can tell that I worked out - I can feel the pull on my muscles when I stretch. No matter my morning approach, I hope to fit in an evening exercise too. Tonight was crazy, so I didn't get it, but I'm hoping to fit in some of the Walk At Home DVDs in the evening. I'm considering putting them in my laptop and following along while I watch my shows. Most of the shows that I watch don't require full engagement, so I should be able to do it. If not, I might just try remembering the walking workouts and do those. I also would like to get back to doing Ab Ripper a few times a week. I don't have time in the morning, so those I do in the evening.

With summer fast approaching, I am feeling a little more motivated to eat right and work out. Assuming my work schedule permits it, and the weather, I should be able to get back to walking at lunch too. It is such a nice break and I enjoy being active while catching up with friends.

Hope you are having a good week!

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Orville Redenbacher Popcorn. The question of the week is: How would you like to alter your family’s nutrition and eating habits? Do you have a plan to do this? I would like to include more fresh fruit and vegetables. I do my best to purchase them each week, but depending on how busy I am, I don't always get a chance to clean them and make them an easy to grab snack when we are hungry.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' By linking back to Orville Redenbacher and participating in the blogging carnival, I am entering to win a basket from Orville Redenbacher.

2011 Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge

To me, walking is a great form of exercise. It requires almost no equipment, except a decent pair of shoes. You can walk by yourself (as long as it's safe!) or with one or more friends or family members. It can be enjoyed together by the young and the old. You can walk briskly or simply stroll, either way the important thing is simply being in motion. Walking is also a great way to catch up with friends (have you ever noticed how fast time goes when you are chatting with friends) or to take some time to take in the sites or simply observe nature.

Yesterday, we all had the day off and my mom came over to visit. After we got back from lunch, the kids wanted to go for a walk, so my mom, the two kids and I set out on a walk around the block. The weather is just starting to break and it was nice to get out and get some fresh air and a bit of exercise. We walked just about a mile in total.

When the weather (and my work schedule) allows, I love to be able to take a walk at lunch. We have a path that we walk that is just about 3 miles long. Sometimes, we take a shorter route, but when we have time we walk the whole thing. The walk can be almost therapeutic. It is a great stress reliever and taking the time to catch up with friends feels great. Sometimes we talk about things at work, but never about work. Sometimes it becomes a vent session. Other times, it is just a great way to catch up on what has been going on in our lives. The fresh air and the sunshine provide a sense of renewal and we return energized to finish the work day.

At home, I enjoy walking around the block with the kids. When they were younger, I would push them in the stroller or pull them in the wagon. Sometimes, we would stop and visit with friends playing in their yards. Now that they are older, generally, they like to take their bikes or scooters, which generally means that they are stopping to wait for me or riding back to me after a while, so as not to get too far ahead.

Of course, as of late, my daily exercise has been using assorted workouts from the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home collection of walks. It's a great way to get in a workout, even in my own living room. On one of the walks, her walking team are all people that have lost over 100 pounds through walking. Through out some of the walks, she comments on aerobic exercise and how people don't like to think of walking as exercise, but it really is.

I'm not really sure when I started to enjoy walking, but I feel like I have been doing it for years. When I was a child (5th or 6th grade), I can remember my mom and the neighbor going for walks on a regular basis. I'm not sure it was daily, but it was probably close. They would walk about 2 miles through the neighborhood and they were fast walkers. On rare occasion, I was allowed to join them (they generally walked at night and it seems to me that it frequently was dark, so I'm guessing it was pretty close to my bedtime) and I thought the world of being allowed to join. It took a lot of effort for me to keep up with them, but now, as a result, I am a fast walker.

I can also remember participating in many local Volksmarches as a child. The whole family would go and walk. Sometimes we would be joined by, or catch up with, family and friends. Honestly, I'm not sure how often we went, but there seemed to be all sorts of different walks in both urban and rural type settings, perhaps even a few at the local nature preserves and parks. Looking through the current local walks on their website, there are many coming up in the next few months in my area (being in Ohio, it makes sense that there might be a few more now that it is starting to warm up). It seems that many of the walks include a 5K or 10K option.

Are you a walker? Have you been wanting to get started? Here are some tips from Weight Watchers:

* The first step is getting up and moving – start slow and increase your speed and distance over time. Be sure to set reasonable goals.

* To help motivate you, sign up for a future 5K. Having that date on the calendar is sure to keep you focused.

* Be sure to add strength training to your routine. Before you know it, you will have a new you!

* Finally, listen to your body. If you need to rest, take a day off. And have fun!

Looking for an upcoming 5K that you can train towards? It is once again time for the Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge.

Team up with your friends and family and start training to walk - or run - a 5K (3.1 miles) on Weight Watchers Walk-It Day, May 22! Use our interactive, step-by-step, six-week training plan and fitness tips to prepare for the event. Connect with other walkers in our Community for ideas and encouragement. Read inspiring blog posts. Take part in our Walk-It Challenge Community Challenge or create or join a Walking Group.

You can find more information about the Official Weight Watchers Walk-It Day 5K in your state here.

No compensation was received for this post. As a Weight Watchers Insider, I was provided with information about the Walk-It Challenge and will be receiving a Walk-It Toolkit. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mamavation Monday

Lately, I seem to be suffering from a deplorable lack of motivation. It doesn't seem to be any one thing and it hasn't completely derailed me (perhaps that is part of the reason it is perpetuated), but I find myself with a rather blah attitude on the eating and exercising front. The good news is that I am ready to start fresh...tomorrow. I know, I should do it today, but that just isn't going to happen.

A little bit of back story....

As I mentioned, it hasn't been any one thing that seems to have me feeling unmotivated, but rather a series of things, that together have gotten me completely off sync.

My week away - I did really good that week maintaining a focus on exercising. I got up each morning and walked. One day, we walked over 5 miles. We even walked home after some evening activities - driven more so by our desire to avoid the questionable cab than a desire to exercise at 10 pm. Unfortunately, try as I might, the eating thing just got out of control. I had two snacks a day, and reasonably healthy at that - cheese, cut veggies, fresh fruit. Now, normally, this might be considered a good thing, except, I didn't change the way I was eating at the meals and there was a dessert with each meal. Of course, we can't forget cocktail hour - I didn't have much, but even a glass of wine a day is more than I would normally consume. In then end, my calorie consumption was up and when I returned home, my one foot was sore.

My flooded basement - My bad eating was perpetuated that following weekend by a flooded basement. Since we were preoccupied with rescuing the basement and since there were no meals planned (we were supposed to have been at my brother's house for my niece's birthday that afternoon/evening), we ate not the best meals and I brilliantly added soda to each of my meals, which was regular full calorie soda, since I can't drink the diet stuff. The secondary effect of a flooded basement was the loss of my workout area where I do many of my workouts since we had everything torn apart for a solid week. That whole next week, after a week away with increased eating and a bad food habit weekend, I found myself craving snacks at random times - even if I wasn't hungry, I wanted the flavor.

Daylight savings - My foot was feeling better, my basement was back together and my alarm was set for 5 am on Monday so that I could resume my workout routine. Only thing is, on Monday, when my alarm went off, the clock said 5 am, but my body said 4 am. I hit snooze and rolled over. Not a good way to start the week! Then, a week of early morning meetings left me with not a full hour to work out. When I was in the routine, I was very good at adapting and just shortening my work out to fit the time that I had. Somehow, having been off routine for a couple of weeks made it easy for me to excuse myself from exercise because I didn't have a full hour.

Swimming Lessons - For the most recent session of swim lessons, we had to change nights. That night now coincides with when I should be at my Weight Watchers meetings. I am still monitoring what I eat, but somehow between the week away (where I failed to track!) and the inability to attend my regular meeting, I have stopped tracking everything. I have the good habits still around, but without tracking, I tend to forget about the little nibbles that happen.

As a result, I have lost some of the weight that I gained that week away, but it has been a really slow process. I am confident (Sound of Music song playing in my head) that when I return to exercising and tracking what I eat that the weight will continue to come off at a better pace.

I recently received the Walk Eat Lose! 21-Day Challenge! DVD set from Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home Series. I am thinking that since I am completely out of habit, that I will start with that and then work in some of the strength training from P90X. Eventually, I'd like to get back to full rotation on all of my DVDs, but you have to start somewhere.

I logged back onto Weight Watchers eTools and fully intend to start tracking again. The awareness created in tracking will help me to continue to make smart food choices and to have more willpower against the nibbles that put me over the top.

Yesterday was the first day of spring, I'd like to be well on my way to my goal when summer arrives.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The weekly blogging carnival is sponsored by Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn. The question is: Are you a sweet or savory snacker? What do you look for in a healthy snack? My answer, unfortunately, is Yes. I am both. It can become a challenge as I enjoy both sweet and savory snacks and sometimes I find that if I eat one, I "need" the other. When it comes to a healthy snack, one that is full of flavor and texture generally goes the furthest in making me feel satisfied.


No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' This Mamavation Monday post is sponsored by Orville Rednbacher's Gourment Popping Corn and by participating in the blogging carnival, I'm entering to win a an Orville Redenbacher’s Very Important Blogger (VIB) Gift Basket which includes popcorn, exercise kit including clip n step meter, exercise bands, healthy recipe mix-ins, yoga kit with yoga mat, blocks, strap, and beginner DVD ($100 value).