2011 walking thread

Hahaha, never mind starting with "only" one mile or "only" ten minutes a day -- darn right you have to start somewhere. Hey, I had to start with once around the block (in a flat area; no hills where I was living at the time) in the beginning. 

I got derailed from my walk yesterday; was going to actually try walking all the way up the Sisyphus hill of the street I live on. But...after I was already tired from moving the big container-garden containers around on the deck (I do that 2x a day on sunny/mostly sunny days to maximize their direct sunlight), watering them and planting some more carrot and lettuce seeds, my Pack Rat called, then he showed up with painting stuff and we painted the porch -- uhhhh -- AFTER I had to move 9 coleus and 3 begonias off the sills (one at a time) and onto the bedroom dresser top, AFTER first having cleared it of rats. We got a lot done -- all the white first coat (trim, ceiling, beams (and wow, what an arm-raising workout -- my physical therapist would be proud of me I think), and then the wonderful rape-and-pillage thing.  ;-)  So yesterday I ended up totally exhausted which lasted through today (but at least I got a good deal of exercise yesterday, right?). Plus today's on-and-off rain wasn't especially motivating, but tomorrow I get to make it all up by walking what will probably be the whole of the next town over since me and my Pack Rat are going to see fireworks there. We have to drive to the town, but will be parking about 2-3 miles away from where the fireworks will be for both reason of stress/traffic avoidance AND going for a good long walk. TWO good long walks actually: after the fireworks we'll have to walk back to the car (or his truck, dunno yet which we'll go in). So maybe it's not so bad I relaxed today.

Mary, thanks, but I wasn't "determined" when I started my walking; I was DESPERATE. As in desperately depressed and testing the theory "exercise helps depression" (not for me it didn't, but OK I had to TRY it, y'know?), and, desperate to lose 30 pounds because not only could I not stand the sight of myself that overweight, but I couldn't afford to replace my whole wardrobe; very few of my clothes even FIT after I packed 20 more pounds on top of the 10 too many pounds I already had. (At least the exercise WITH dieting theory proved sound.)

Keep walking Helen, you can do it!  :-) Just start real slow. Maybe 10,000 steps per day is a good goal for say a couple months from now, but maybe you should start a little easier and build your way up first?

Thanks Blazer -- good to know us more informal walkers are OK to be here.  :-) 

Ladies: Thanks for this thread. I changed my eating pattern and menu and started walking a month before my DIEP surgery which was May 20th. I had lost 17 lbs in a month. I started making brunch my biggest meal of the day. I would have a boiled egg , a glass of oj, or fruit smoothie by 8am. I  would start my walk and walk for an hour. By 2 pm. I would eat my biggest meal of the day, which would be stir fry and a small pc. of protein if I desired it. I made homemade vegetable soup, very easy recipe.Lots of fruit and water.My salads would have red wine vinegar as the dressing. Because  it is so hot here in the mornings, I walk at dusk for an hour and a half .I love walking and miss it so much if I have to skip it. I love the fact that it is free also.I have gone from a size 18 to a size 12 in a short time. I have lost a lot of inches. I don't want to loose too much weight because I am 6ft tall. My niece and I mostly walk together. If she can't, then I just walk by myself.I also have a little doggie that I take on separate walks sometimes, because he slows me down too much, wanting to stop and sniff every spot that a dog before him has stopped.I am anticpating the sun going down today, so that I can start my walk. It can become like a drug at times, like if you don't do it, you get the jitters, atleast for me, that is how it has become. It used to be so easy for me to lose weight, but now I have to work really hard, being older and taking Femara. Good walking ladies.

Didn't do well today. Struggling with a septic throat so decided to walk indoors at a local mall. Well you know how that goes, I ended up doing a lot of window shopping. Then the battery in my pedometer ran out so I didn't have the incentive to build on my steps. After I left the mall I went to a park but was only able to manage once around (about a mile) because it was still so hot.

Went to urgent care with the nasty sore throat I've had since Tuesday. I thought it might be a Strep throat and need antibiotics but doctor said she'd been seeing cases all day and it seems to be viral. Anyway, while in the waiting room I was reading an article about timing your daily exercise. It came down strongly in favor of exercising first thing in the morning. So Hrf I think you are on the right track. I'm not good about getting up early but I'm going to make a bigger effort to get out early from now on.

Just put a fresh battery in my pedometer for tomorrow.

This is one of the main reasons I have decided to retire because I can't get up early enough to exercise before going to work. I couldn't go this morning because had medical appointment at 8 am but tomorrow because it's summer I don't have to be at work until 11 am which means a walk first thing in the am. I don't have a lot of stamina but from reading some of your posts, it seems that if you stick with it it does get better. When I'm walking tomorrow morning, I'll be thinking about the rest of you walking as well

MaryNY: Atleast you got some walking in.7,500 steps is better than none at all. It will get easier as you go.I am no marathon walker, and I am not planning on being one. I do plan on trying out water aerobics at the local Y when my incisions from my DIEP sx. are all healed up.It cooled off a little bit here and that is a big help.I can get a few blocks in during the day, before I take my hour and a half walk this evening. Do you keep your pedometer on until bed time? If so you are getting in steps just walking aroung in the house.

Happy walking everyone!

Claire: That is great! Keep up the good work. I told my DH this moring that I need to loose 11 more lbs., and he asked where was it going to come from? I told him from these inner elephant thighs. I also have some back fat that needs to go, which is just an added bonus other than walking just being good for my health.

Claire: I think I will try that.

Did 5,000 steps today. I was going to preface that with "I only did..." but thought better of it. I/we need to stop beating ourselves up when we don't meet our own expectations. Will do more tomorrow. I will compensate by playing some Wii tennis tonight.

Thanks Claire. I did have one of those big exercise balls once, but got rid of it as I had nowhere to store it and it was always looking at me making me feel guilty as I wasn't using it. I'll have to see if I can improvise some other way without a ball.

I hope you got your walk in.

hrf, yes it's amazing how all the little bits add up. My pedometere tracks "aerobic steps" as well as regular steps. If I go for a steady walk without any stopping, the aerobic steps are usually close to the regular steps. But if I'm just pottering around the house, it typically won't register any aerobic steps.

Derailed by what I found out was a kidney infection for the past few days (we didn't go to the fireworks, though we did take an after-dinner walk up the Sisyphus hill at least)....and even though I got NO SLEEP AT ALL last night (had to go to the emergency room), today I'm definitely walking to the pharmacy to get the antibiotic prescription filled. Leaving as soon as I'm done here. Then I come home and pass the f*** out!

Helen, I do "unofficial" walks sometimes too, both in lieu of a walk I had planned, or sometimes, in addition to the planned one -- depends on weather, schedule and how tired I am (I still tire fairly easily). The walking in and out of schools, parking lots and similar that you mentioned doing reminded me that most of the time when I have to go to the medical center for treatment -- it's on a huge campus I should mention -- on good weather days I try to park as far as I can from any of the buildings so it's a long walk to get to and from the doctors' offices, and even if I park in the parking garage (which is close to the buildings), I always take the stairs instead of the elevators, and now that I'm finally learning my way around it more, I also try to take "the long way" from one appointment to the next when I'm there for more than one doctor visit, blood test, scan, therapy session, etc.

Claire -- I'm the one who gets earaches from being outside in the cold. I have earmuffs, which I always wear when I go out anywhere between late fall and mid to late spring, but I feel foolish putting them on when the actual temperature is 50s or 60s -- temperatures which aren't REALLY all that cold, but FEEL that way when it's WINDY. 

Hi all you wonderful ladies... I was invited by my friend, Lola and my mentor Colleen to join them walking.. I actually walked part way around our park maybe a mile.. I am in my last few days of rads and don't have much energy at the moment but thought if I start it, they would encourage me to keep going... they walk 4 mornings a week.. thought I would start with 2 mornings and I work 2 of the mornings they walk.. 

As I said I need all the encouragement I can get ...that is why I am here too!  

Can I join your walking group?  I need someone to hold me accountable and motivate me because I don't have a walking buddy (unless you count my cat).  None of my friends or DH want to walk - too busy, too hot,too lazy or some other excuse.  I did go out this morning for an hour before by my rads (8/33) and I must admit I did feel better afterwards and I did take my cat with me.  I have a pet stroller that she rides in - people think there's a baby inside until they get close enough to look.  The wooded trail that I used to like to walk on is alongside the Missouri River and has been flooded since Memorial Weekend and will be for the rest of the summer.  I live in a very hilly neighborhood and no matter which way I walk, I would have to climb steep hills, so until I get in better shape, my only choice is to get in the car and drive somewhere flat.  There is a trail nearby that runs along a creek behind some shopping centers.  That is where I walked this morning - only problem there are no trees or shade and few other people. I'm hoping that walking will help with my sleep issues and hot flashes from the Arimidex and motivate me to start other exercises too.

Gma, good luck with your last day of rads tomorrow. I didn't keep up regular walking during rads and regret that I didn't make the extra effort as I think it would have helped.

For those that don't have walkable roads nearby, walking in a shopping mall or large store is another option. Alberta, there's a lot to be said for temperature-controlled environments at this time of year. I have a choice of two malls about 20 minutes drive away. Both have walking programs early in the morning before the stores open. I haven't gone there in a while but might start again as the weather gets hots out. In the larger mall, one circuit is half a mile, so it's easy to clock up a couple of miles if you do a couple of those on each floor. Also because the stores are closed, one is not distracted by going in to them. Even if walking there later in the day, I find that using an MP3 player puts me in my own zone.

For those who would like company as they walk, it might be worth checking to see if there are any walking meetup groups in your area.

I did 10,000 sweaty steps today. I went out at 7:45AM this morning and did 5,000 but it was already shaping up to be really hot. I clocked up 2,000 just doing bits and pieces and got the last 3,000 after it got dark. 

Ok Ladies: How is your walking going? When my niece finds out that I have walked in the mornings without her, she tries to make up for lost time and wants to walk for 2 and 1/2 hours in the evening. Next time I will sit for that extra hour until she is done .