Most job assignments recently have my rear parked in a chair all day.
Here's how I get from 8,000-10,000 steps a day.
I eat a quick lunch and head out to walk 30 mins.
I grab my camera and photograph whatever strikes my fancy.
I check my pedometer when arriving home, then head out for an evening walk, as needed.
What works
1. Routine- I always go
2. Walking shoes at my desk
3. pedometer keeps my mind honest about my movement
4. I get Vitamin D most days
5. I get to take fantastic photos. I call these "Lunch time finds".
What Didn't work
1. Not walking for 45 mins when I was overweight
2. Not bringing walking shoes
3. Thinking I had done "a lot of walking" 4000-5000 used to be a lot for me.
4. Working through lunch. What??? This made me less productive.
5. Letting bad weather get in my way- I walk inside the buildings on some days.
Does anyone else take a walking lunch?
Walking lunch?
ReplyDeleteYep. Surely do, and I'm so grateful for it!
It keeps me sane and gives me a break, in what can be a stressful job.
It keeps me away from temptation and mindless eating - a problem if I stayed at my desk every day.
It gets me out into the fresh air... a.k.a. traffic fumes... and occasionally into the sunshine :-)
It keeps me fit (OK, fit-ish), at least it makes sure I 'move' (I never was much of a one for 'organised' exercise - especially where it involves other people. Guess I'm too much of a lone-bird).
It keeps the weight from plopping back on (OK, partly - as much of that, if not more, is sensible food choices).
It gives me chance to go to the market and small ethnic shops to buy 'real' food.
It gives me some space to think things though - a real bonus in a hectic life.
Downsides?
Hmmm, can't think of many, except maybe I go through shoes faster than other people... but I guess not as fast as I did when I weighed an extra 7.5 stone.
Love that you bring your camera!
ReplyDeleteI work on a highway, so no walking at lunch for me. :(
I work behind a glass wall (my wittle fish bowl) and for security I cannot leave my bowl. I would love to be able to walk at lunch. My good walking days are only like 3k LOL
ReplyDeleteLoved every word - very true. I have a post popping up on Thursday or Friday about setting things up so they just happen automatically. I am going to link back to your post as this is a really good example. I just bought a second pair of athletic shoes (and the metal plates and the inserts) so one pair lives in the trunk of my car and another pair lives at my house. No danger of getting somewhere and not having the right shoes with me.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a walking lunch since I am not currently working outside the home. I do find that I do much better when I plan a class for my exercise than when I leave it to my own devices. I want to walk outside but it hasn't been warm enough and it's also been very windy lately. I keep wishing I had a walking buddy. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE you daily pics.
ReplyDeleteI got a fitbit for Christmas, and it has been very eye-opening. :-) I'm not at 10,000 a day yet, but that is the goal. :-) My pups is right there ready to help me meet it. When I walk with my son, he loves to snap a picture with the cell phone even, somehow it just makes the walk more fun, like combining "show and tell" with the walk. :-) At some point I may think about how to wrap it all together into a math or science project for home school - calculating distance we have covered, and using his pictures for illustrations. He'd love that.
There is a neat website that lets you figure out how to "webwalk" across the United States - you can track how far you have gone along the trail, and it can be motivational to get to the next state, etc! http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/a/webwalkingusa.htm
Thanks all, for stopping in a commenting on my walking post. It's become a huge, really helpful habit. I'll have to check out that web site- Cheri.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Swan- I used to work in more of an inner city area- and I would have gotten mugged if I had walked out doors much. Totally understand.
Caron- I sometimes walk with co-workers or with friends on the weekends. It makes the time fly by. It's been windy here, too. I like that less.
Deniz- love all of your reasons that you walk. Ditto on not having to replace shoes as often now that I'm at the lower weight. I walked a half marathon once- at 60+ pounds overweight. I didn't replace my shoes soon after the marathon and got some plantar fascitis that was really painful. Tough lesson to learn!
Norma- The camera is a huge motivator for me. Never do I say "I don't really want to walk today". I might skip if I have a migraine and am light sensitive.
Vickie- I keep my shoes at my desk. I used to keep them in the car, and sometimes do, but I had a pair that melted (inside the car) in the 100+ hot days in the summer!!! LOL. Okay on the coast, not okay in the inland valley. :0
I am retired but when I worked and was not on the road or on an "assignment", I absolutely did walk, not only at lunch but between appointments, during my office hours in the afternoons. That is how I found my dream house, in which, moved 18 years later. :)
ReplyDelete