ok. I'm finally going to do it. I start walking each morning on Monday

[lavenderdiva]

I've talked and talked to myself about this. And Monday is D-Day. I've already made a great CD with good up-tempo music, so I'll be suitably entertained with something to keep my mind off what my feet will be doing. The hardest part will be getting up early enough to where its still cool. I have trouble sleeping, so I see this as my hardest challenge.

I have to get moving and I thought walking would be the lowest impact on my feet. If I can do it, I'm going to include water-walking in the pool at our complex. But the fear of putting on a bathing suit and going outside in it is still looming large. No pun intended.

[lavenderdiva]

1. I've been walking the last two days!

I'm very proud of myself so far. I slept SO good last night, and that is really saying something for me-- notorious insomniac! I've done really well on my intake as well.

[Longhorn]

3. Me, too, LD!

Today was my third day and I'm also walking in the evenings, so it adds up to about 3.5 miles a day. It feels great! I know what you mean about sleeping well. I fall asleep almost instantly and stay asleep all night. I feel energetic during the day, too. I hope I can keep this going. Good luck!

Let's be virtual walking buddies! :hug:

[lavenderdiva]

5. That's fantastic, Longhorn!!!

3.5 miles a day! Whew! Are you walking twice a day? That is herculean! I'm going to have to drive along where I walk to get a distance. I went too far yesterday-- I walked for an hour and a half, and today I have really bad shin splints. I've never figured out what causes those, but I've heard its your shoes. So today I will go check out some better walking shoes.

I know what you mean about having more energy and sleeping better. The past 2 nights I've slept better than I have in a long time! It may sound silly, but when you've been dealing with severe insomnia as I have, sleep is a wonderful thing!!!

I'd LOVE to be virtual walking buddies! What a great idea- :bounce:

[Longhorn]

12. Yes, every day so far, twice a day!

Yesterday I had less time so I did the elliptical instead. We're having unusually cool and dry mornings up here and I hated not to be out in it but my elliptical is right next to a sliding door so I opened it and could feel the cool air as I worked out. I did two miles on the elliptical, which is a little less than I usually do and it went faster since there were no hills. ;)

Then with my co-worker (who had heart surgery in January) I walked another 1.86 miles (according to his pedometer.) I like splitting it up into two parts like that. Each segment takes less time and I don't get so worn out.

How's it going for you, Buddy? :hi:

[Lex]

4. Congrats on the walking!

:thumbsup:

I've starting walking too and I'm convinced walking hard for more than 20 or so minutes causes great hormones to be released that give me more energy, tamp down my hunger, and allow me to sleep soundly at night.

[lavenderdiva]

6. Thank you Lex!

and Congratulations to YOU too! You may be right about those hormones-- Longhorn says she also has noticed more energy, and I can second that!

I have noticed that I am more aware of my portion-size, and I am trying to drink more water than I was before. At this point, even these little changes are dramatic for me!!

[Broken_Hero]

2. good job

I also started walking yesterday...just got back from my walk today about an hour ago, I was a bit slower today, the heat kills me big time...:( But, no pain no gain...;)

[lavenderdiva]

7. Congratulations petersond on your walking too!

Somedays are easier than others, you are right about that. But the main thing is to just keep plugging along. I am going to try water walking. Our townhome complex has a pool that is not too far from our home, and on some very hot days, I was thinking it would certainly be more comfortable, AND enjoyable to hop into the pool and go water walking. The resistance from the water actually provides more of a workout, than just regular walking. And being in the water helps provide support to your joints. Do you have a pool nearby that you could try that once in awhile?

Also, I noticed that you posted at 2:15pm, and state that you finished your walk an hour earlier, which would be 1:15pm. That is the hottest part of the day right now. I am worried about you, walking at that time of the day. The heat can certainly be oppressive, and quite dangerous. Can you try to walk early in the morning? I set my alarm at 7am, and try to get out there walking at 7:15, so it will be cooler than at any other time of the day. I live in Houston, so its humid AND hot! Even in the evenings, it is not as cool as it is in the mornings. I'm a night person, so getting up this early is certainly no easy feat! Please take care of yourself, and be kind to you. See if you can walk early in the mornings, ok? :hi:

[Broken_Hero]

9. well, dont' worry

I walk at the warmest part of the day, to sweat more...I'm one of those people, who if I don't sweat my ass off, I don't think i'm working hard enough...:) I stay hydrated, trust me...temps are rising though, today it was 91, and it was rough...but I endure.

Funny, my friend Tom is from Houston, he is staying with my wife and I through the summer, go Astros! To bad they can't score for Clemens, and choke like no other, when they play against the White Sox. Three grand slams for pete's sake!

I dont' have a pool around here...This week, i'm walking 3.2 miles a day, for five days, and on MWF i'm riding 15.3 miles on my bike(40 minutes usually)...I am going to stick with this for a month at least, and then walk/ride five days a week...

[lavenderdiva]

10. you take care of yourself, and drink lots of water, ok?

The Astros are ridiculous. The manager says he brought Clemens back so that the morale of the team would be lifted and they would play better; isn't that the manager's job?

:hi:

[AlCzervik]

8. Good for you!!! Hopefully your walking will help you sleep better

it helped me with that a lot.

[flordehinojos]

11. did you start your daily walking already?

I sort of did not walk this week and right now i am struggling (pushing myself to get up from this computer and go out walking)...so i am going to turn off the computer...and hopefully the next time i turn it on, i will have already walked (8 blocks, hopefully).

[Longhorn]

13. I'll look forward to hearing about it when you get back!

To me, the hardest part is getting out there to take the first step. Once I've started, I always enjoy it and wonder why I resist it so much! :shrug:

So now it's time for me to "push away" from the laptop and head out. See ya later! :hi:

[flordehinojos]

14. o, i hope you were more successful in taking your walk today than i was in

attempting to take mine. i did get out of the front door ready to do the walk, then i just sat on the lawn chair and went no where--although i do have some arm exercise cords tied to the post outside and i did get up and did a total of about 15 minutes of arm exercises (it would have been better if i had done the walk and the exercises... i have to push myself again to try for the walk, later today or most likely tomorrow morning).

[lavenderdiva]

15. you at least got out the door and did some arm exercises!

I could not sleep last night at all. I finally got some sleep this morning starting at 6:30am. Because of that, I missed my walk this morning. I know what caused my insomnia, I had iced tea that had caffein in it at dinner. We went out to dinner with Mr. LD's parents, and I wasn't thinking about the tea being a problem. I should have been more aware. So that screwed me up today with my walking. If its not too hot this evening, I will try to get out and get moving.

[flordehinojos]

16. lavenderdiva ..tea has always been more of an insomniac for me than coffee

so i stopped drinking tea ages ago.

about three weeks ago when i went in for my weigh in and i had totally messed up the week prior, the nutritionist who was talking to me and said, "we are all entitled to a bad day or a bad week sometime;" then she said, "do you know what we do with a bad week?" and before i could answer, and right in front of my eyes, she took a piece of paper from the tablet she had in front of her, she crumpled it up and threw it, over her shoulders, on to the floor, and said, "this is what we do with it, we let it go, and we go on."

Sooo, tomorrow (or this evening) will be a continuing to move forward with the added enlightenment for you that tea is an insomniac and that water instead of tea, on an evening out to dinner might be a better choice...you know in Cuba and other Latin American countries water is the drink with lunch and dinner...i know it sounds like a horrendous choice to many people here ...but, it is not so bad.

anyhow, be good to you. you needed the rest, you had your rest, and now, as the nutritionist says, let it go and move forward.

:)

[lavenderdiva]

17. thank you flordehinojos, for those encouraging words!

In my head, I knew that drinking tea at dinner was going to cause me problems, however when the waitress asked my drink order, I asked for tea! Whoosh! Out of my mind was the problems that that order was going to cause! I do drink decaffeinated tea at home, and it doesn't cause me problems. In restaurants, I'm sure they just use regular tea that has caffeine.

Its always good to remember that we should just let our failures go... :hi:

[Longhorn]

18. I'm sorry it didn't work out but I'm glad you made the best of it!

I had a great walk -- took two dogs today. Then I walked again this evening -- two miles, so a total of 4.5 miles all together. I'll only be able to walk once tomorrow -- I hope -- so I'm glad I got so much in today.

I like your nutritionist's attitude!

[flordehinojos]

20. wow! 4.5 miles !!!! i can only dream of the day when i talk myself into

walking as many miles. (how many dogs do you have? we have two. a little mini pinscher who is now getting really old; and a l 1/2 year old (and large) yorkie.) and, i did, today, Friday, 6/30 walk my eight blocks this morning and a little later on will go out to the yard and do my arm exercises.

[Longhorn]

21. Congratulations!

Each time you get out and walk, it will get a little easier, both physically and mentally. I used to get out of breath so easily and have to stop and rest a lot (which is perfectly okay! :)) I think walking is a sport in which you can show improvement fairly quickly. You might consider getting a pedometer. They're cheap and then you can count steps instead of blocks. You could set a goal of say, an extra ten or 20 steps -- whatever feels doable. You can even wear it all day and give yourself credit for the rest of the steps you take.

We have three dogs: Sparky, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Buddy, a white Lab, and Paco, a black lab. All are mixes. Sparky weighs about 110 pounds and used to be a pain to walk but I've been applying techniques that I learned while watching The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel and he is much easier to walk now. He is so funny -- he's the only one of the dogs who will get in the pool. As soon as we get home from walking, he runs to the back yard and gets in and lays down in the shallow "beach" area. I keep wondering how long he's been thinking about doing that on the way home. ;)

Do you take your dogs with you when you walk?

[flordehinojos]

23. i did have a pedometer but it fell to the floor and stopped working. (i

need to replace it). No. I don't take the dogs when i go out walking. (I used to when my mini pinscher was younger and did not seem to mind the walk. His legs are not holding him as well these days, so i take him out to the yard where he takes a few little steps and then just finds a shaded place to sit and watch people and cars go by, or birds chasing some neighbor's cat which is always trying to get to the birds' nest up in some tree). The yorkie is frisky and just a puppy, so he chases after anything on the yard and runs a lot. My husband takes him out for a short walk in the mornings before he goes to work and then again in the evening for a longer walk when he comes back.
He also takes the mini pinscher for a very short, short walk both in the morning and the afternoon.

I like the idea of adding 10 or 20 steps a day to whatever walk i take. in my younger days i used to love to walk, even before walking was fashionable, and i used to be the instigator of getting a whole group of neighbors, young like me (teenagers that we were then)to go out walking...but then something changed, i don't know what and i lost my zest for walking. now years, and years, and years later, i have to find it again...and i have to say, writing about it here helps. i thank you for the encouragement and support.

:-)

[Rowdyboy]

19. Congratulations! It really works if you keep with it! I started walking

in January and built up to 3 miles a day (I joined a cheap local gym so I use a treadmill). Then I added on 3 miles on a bike, some very light weight training machines, and-a couple of times a week-a few laps in the pool.

When I started, I was 5'9" and weighed 221lb. Now I'm 5'9" and weight about 188lb. I'm 52 years old and feel better than I have since college.

Take it slow any easy. Don't hurt yourself, learn your limits. Then, be consistent whenever possible. I'm going to Florida this weekend and for the first time since my senior year in high school, I don't dread putting on a bathing suit. If I can do it, anyone can!

[Longhorn]

22. This is so encouraging!

Is that the only change you made, the exercise?

I refuse to "diet" any more. I don't mind making good decisions about what I eat and even refraining from overeating but I'm not going to go on any more diets that restrict what I can eat. I believe if I had never dieted in the first place and exercised instead, I never would have gained as much weight as I have. The first time I went on a diet, I weighed all of 145 pounds and wanted to lose five! I've been dieting my entire adult life and every time I lost weight, I gained all of it back, and more, without significantly overeating! So now I'm walking and keeping my fingers crossed. ;)

I'm leaving for Germany next week and hoping I'll have plenty of opportunities to walk. We're traveling with a group so I have to go where the bus goes but I'm going to sneak it in whenever I can.

By the way, I'll be 51 in August and despite the fact that I'm about 45 pounds overweight, I feel like physically, I'm in the best shape of my life due to exercise.

Thanks for sharing your story and keeping me inspired! :yourock: