I have been walking for exercise for about two years now. During that time I have lost 60 pounds and taken 4 inches off my waist line. I feel better and have more energy to do other things that bring richness to my daily routine. Research has shown that walking will add another ten years to your life.
In addition to walking, I also maintain a healthy 1200 calorie diet. The diet includes cereal with fruit or an egg and toast for breakfast, salad with dressing or a tuna sandwich for lunch and soup and crackers for dinner. For variation, I substitute fish, chicken or beef with a vegetable for lunch. Portion size is also important. If you are looking for additional info on a low calorie diet go to About.com at the link ….
http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/walkoflife.htm
In order to maintain my diet, I count calories and record everything that I eat in a journal. I also record my weight, waist measurement and daily exercise times. The journal gives me motivation to keep going each day, as I see the improvements made each week. Besides walking, I also do 30 minutes of indoor exercise using a bicycle, ab-machine, bench and glider.
My wife and I take our daily walk 10 AM each morning. There is less traffic and less noise at that time. We try to walk about 3 miles while keeping a steady pace of 20 minutes per mile. For variation, we try a new walking area every few days. We may walk around the neighborhood, or to the center of town, or around Silver Lake in Wilmington or Lake Quanipowitt in Wakefield or a local mall on bad weather days.
On a recent walk around Silver Lake in Wilmington and the local Shawsheen Elementary School, I took some photos of the changing fall foliage and some bird sightings. I also included a map of the walk. You can see the photos at the link ………
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/SilverLakeWalk101408
You can also map your own walk and calculate your calories burned at the web site MapMyRide. Go to the link …….. http://www.mapmyride.com/create_new
If you are looking for general health information about walking you can go to the Mayo Clinic web site where you will see info about walking shoes, walking posture, calorie calculators and other helpful info. Go to the link …………
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612
For additional info about using a pedometer, ideal weight and calorie calculators and diets, go to the web site About.com at the link ……… http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/walkoflife.htm
Some things to research and think about
Before you start a walking program, do some research on the following topics. …….
(Health, Diet, Motivation, Keeping A Journal, Walking Shoes, Walking Posture, Calorie Counters, Pedometer or GPS, Mapping Your Route, Walking With A Friend For Support). Just type the word or phrase into Goggle.com and you will get plenty of links.
I also found some other related articles while writing this blog. See the links below …
Beating fatigue with moderate exercise. Boston Globe, 10-13-08, Health & Science, p13
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/10/13/way_too_tired?s_campaign=8315
Doing 150 Minutes of Weekly Exercise Leads to less Sick Time. – UK Report
http://www.healthclubbenchmark.com/content/PressRoom/Articles/20060330UK-EN.aspx
In addition to walking, I also maintain a healthy 1200 calorie diet. The diet includes cereal with fruit or an egg and toast for breakfast, salad with dressing or a tuna sandwich for lunch and soup and crackers for dinner. For variation, I substitute fish, chicken or beef with a vegetable for lunch. Portion size is also important. If you are looking for additional info on a low calorie diet go to About.com at the link ….
http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/walkoflife.htm
In order to maintain my diet, I count calories and record everything that I eat in a journal. I also record my weight, waist measurement and daily exercise times. The journal gives me motivation to keep going each day, as I see the improvements made each week. Besides walking, I also do 30 minutes of indoor exercise using a bicycle, ab-machine, bench and glider.
My wife and I take our daily walk 10 AM each morning. There is less traffic and less noise at that time. We try to walk about 3 miles while keeping a steady pace of 20 minutes per mile. For variation, we try a new walking area every few days. We may walk around the neighborhood, or to the center of town, or around Silver Lake in Wilmington or Lake Quanipowitt in Wakefield or a local mall on bad weather days.
On a recent walk around Silver Lake in Wilmington and the local Shawsheen Elementary School, I took some photos of the changing fall foliage and some bird sightings. I also included a map of the walk. You can see the photos at the link ………
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/SilverLakeWalk101408
You can also map your own walk and calculate your calories burned at the web site MapMyRide. Go to the link …….. http://www.mapmyride.com/create_new
If you are looking for general health information about walking you can go to the Mayo Clinic web site where you will see info about walking shoes, walking posture, calorie calculators and other helpful info. Go to the link …………
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612
For additional info about using a pedometer, ideal weight and calorie calculators and diets, go to the web site About.com at the link ……… http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/walkoflife.htm
Some things to research and think about
Before you start a walking program, do some research on the following topics. …….
(Health, Diet, Motivation, Keeping A Journal, Walking Shoes, Walking Posture, Calorie Counters, Pedometer or GPS, Mapping Your Route, Walking With A Friend For Support). Just type the word or phrase into Goggle.com and you will get plenty of links.
I also found some other related articles while writing this blog. See the links below …
Beating fatigue with moderate exercise. Boston Globe, 10-13-08, Health & Science, p13
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/10/13/way_too_tired?s_campaign=8315
Doing 150 Minutes of Weekly Exercise Leads to less Sick Time. – UK Report
http://www.healthclubbenchmark.com/content/PressRoom/Articles/20060330UK-EN.aspx
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