Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2011! After all of the cookies, candy and gifting, I thought it would be nice to talk about walking. Yup, that’s right, walking.
Sounds kinda silly, doesn’t it? Walking? What does that have to do with recipes? Well, for me, walking has been one of the key recipes to recovering my health. Just a few years ago, a walk around the block was less exhilarating than exhausting. Everything was for that matter.
Over the past few years I’ve slowly built up my stamina. I remember being overjoyed one day when I was emptying the dishwasher and found that the process did not induce fatigue, relief surging through my veins, that I could again perform the most simple of chores without feeling tired!
The secret? Walking. I walked everyday. I started out just walking for 10 minutes once per day. Then, a few months later, I added in an additional 5 minute walk. Three months after that, I was walking 10 minutes twice a day. A couple of years later, I am now at the point where I can walk for more than an hour straight and feel great afterward.
Walking to me is like gardening. I walk almost the same path everyday, taking in the changes in various trees, bushes and flowers around me. I mentally garden my way through my neighborhood. It’s oh so peaceful and calming and just one more way that I stay in touch with the outdoors and the seasons.
Walking is free. Walking is healthy. Walking is anti-inflammatory (that’s right, it ultimately decreases inflammation in the body, according to my Dad). Walking calms my mind. Walking allows emptiness to fill me as I move through something much bigger than myself –the world, mother nature.
So, if you’re looking for another New Year’s resolution, here’s one you just might try. It’s free –in so many ways. It’s walking.
What are your New Year’s resolutions? Leave a comment and let’s have a conversation about healthy living to kick off 2011.
Eileen says
My Mom is 96 and on next to nothing when it comes to meds. She always walked …. no other exercise …. just walked … right up until she had to go into a care home at 91 (macular degeneration and some dementia). Even then, the first month she made an escape over the fence!
I love walking too and walk daily with my Dog, a Cairn Terrier named Mingus. He is still under two and positively NEEDS his walk. I lost my husband in June and feel that walking has been highly instrumental in the healing process … walking in the outdoors … breathing outside air … enjoying the beauty of nature.
I’m a huge advocate for walking!
Irene says
I’ve been walking almost daily for
45 mins. or more, and I can vouch for the many health benefits, from reduced stress to leaner physique. See Dr. Andrew Weil, who also advocates daily walking. Thanks for your wonderful blog and happy 2011.
Chloe Marty says
I had a similar “building-up” experience with running … two years ago I started small and ran short distances. Now I am to the point where I run 5-6 miles 6 days a week and I run a half marathon about every two months. Starting to get active can be daunting, but take it one step (pun intended) at a time!
NanaBread says
No resolutions, just one promise I made to myself last year…to always try new things. No more ordering the same old thing off a menu. I’ve tried all kinds of new foods and found some new favorites. No more ordering a vanilla latte by default. Now I’m trying cappucinos and espressos and new brands to brew at home. No more wearing the same old thing. I’ve bought new clothes I would have never worn before, in colors I’ve never owned before. No more sifting through my familiar Netflix categories. I’ve branched out to independent films, foreign films, documentaries, etc. The world is a much bigger place when you watch something other than romance & thrillers! No more staying close to home. I’ve traveled more in the past 3 years than I have in the past 30, and it has been awesome! I never knew I would fall in love with The Netherlands and Germany, or Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii or Paradise Valley in Montana or Bruges in Belgium until I went there. And now I have the travel bug big time. 2010 was so successful on a personal level, I’ve decided to continue my commitment to always trying new things. Even small ones.
Adrienne says
I love walking! A year and a half ago, when my digestive problems took a turn for the worse, I felt awful. I found it difficult to exercise. Going gluten free has helped. I have a beautiful neighborhood to walk. Now that the holidays are done and I’m home again, I can return to my routine of walking, going to the gym and my Denise Austin DVD. My dad recently lost 14 pounds by avoiding grains and starches altogether. His motivation is to lower his blood sugar. He’s an inspiration to me, and so is my sister who went gluten/dairy/sugar free in January of 2009. She lost 40 pounds! I told my dad about the almond flour, as he could bake bread and it’s grainless!! Walking is relaxing, fun and so good for your total well-being! Thanks Elana. Reading everyone’s posts is inspiring, too. :)
Felicia (a taste of health with balance) says
Walking is one of the best forms of exercise- for body mind and spirit!
Vee says
I also enjoy walking, it helps to clear the mind. I walk 3 miles 5 days a week. I walk in addition to strength training and additional cardio.
It’s amazing how I feel afterwards!!
Therapist says
I love that you have included a post about walking. From my perspective, we often forget about how important movement is. We, or should I say I, focus on food and therapy, but movement is the an integral part of mental health. Thanks.
carrie @ gingerlemongirl.com says
I love walking too Elana and I struggle with fatigue, so I am planning on trying to walk just a few minute every day and build up. This is a wonderful post! :-)
Daniela Tanner says
Last year I realized my adrenals were fatigued and that working out harder and longer only made it worse. No wonder I wasn’t losing weight. I started walking and extending the amount of time I walked, and then the pounds began to come off. I couldn’t do anything that would stress my body out too much, and walking was the way to go.
Now that the holidays are over, and I somehow let go of my need to avoid sugar, I am back to walking. I walk for 60 minutes every other day, giving my body a chance to rest and recuperate. I hope to incorporate some yoga back in in a few weeks. And my goal is to go back to weight training in a few months when I have healed the glands I have harmed with sugar.
Elana, it is in great part to your simple and delicious, low-sugar recipes that I am able to stay sane, enjoy food, and find my health again.
Thank you, and best of luck to you in 2011,
daniela
Ann Oliphant says
Daniela,
I have been through the exact same thing. Still going through it as a matter of fact-for the last 15+ mos. Workout fanatic, thinking I’m helping myself—wrong! The day of reckoning does infact come. Walking has been part of my recovery too. I am slowly getting back into running but never again, and it’s with sadness too, because I enjoyed working out at such a high intensity, but never again will I live like that. I literally came face to face with a brick wall and then my bed for 2 months….I could go on but it was so exciting just to see your post-there ARE others out there experiencing the same things…
Ann
Chris Caruso says
I am in the same boat with evere adrenal fatigue and can only walk a few times a week for now.
Brittany says
I also have adrenal fatigue (and lupus) walking is also a Huge part of my healing journey.
April says
I find this to be so true as well. Even though I am overweight and have been working on finding the thin me for some time now, I have always walked. It’s the best for clearing the mind, ridding yourself of frustration or anxiety and just moving your body, even if you can’t do all the fancy cardio moves of someone thinner!