Walking your way to health

Although the past few years of my life could be described as the worst of my life,  I have done the most healing and gained the most understanding on who I am and what I want out of life. Many people say that you have to focus on whether the glass is half full rather than half empty… what I’ve realised is its refillable.

Much of the way we feel is held in our bodies and simply changing our physiology is the fastest way to change our state of mind. Walking is a fast safe way of changing our state.

 Try to feel low if you are smiling and waving your arms around. Try to feel happy looking down and slumping your shoulders. Most of the time our state of mind is within our control. Yes, we may want to actually enjoy a pity party and think about what has happened in our lives, but the key is to limit that time and move on.

Many people use food, drink, drugs, sex and other things to change their state, but this is because they haven’t discovered that other ways also work and are less damaging. So before you eat that chocolate bar or have just another glass of wine weigh up the benefits against the long term impact.

Sweeping things under the carpet and ignoring your problems won’t make them go away and although it’s often fears that make us do this, tackling problems head on can often lead us to solutions we had never even thought about and frequently stops things from getting progressively worse.

So move your body and get happier by faking it til you make it, as your mind will start to follow your body.

Its free and simple and its one of the easiest ways to start moving and become active again. Its ideal for all ages and most fitness levels. According to the NHS its been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, asthma and some cancers.

All you need is a comfortable pair of shoes or trainers that are supportive and don’t cause blisters. Loose fitting clothes are best, to allow you to move freely and thinner layers rather than a heavy cost or jumper. Personally because I walk faster now I prefer to be cool at the beginning rather than get all sweaty and irritated near the end.

You can start by adding little walks into your day, walking to work, or park further away if you drive. Walking “around the block” at lunchtime or after work. If you are an early bird, you can do this by getting up a little earlier and doing your activity at the start of the day.

If you are doing longer walks you’ll want a small backpack. I have one that takes the basics, small bottle of water, hanky keys and purse and phone, but you may want a bigger one if you are doing a longer walk, sunscreen, hat in summer and gloves in winter. I like to take photos so I normally have my small compact camera in there as well.

You can vary your walks and if you have an iPhone there are plenty of apps that will monitor and track your journey such as  “map my walk” if you have GPS on it will give you where you walked all the time you are getting a signal, how fast you are going etc. You can even post it to social media afterwards if you like!

I also use a apps called pacer and steps   , both tell you how many steps you have taken during the day pacer gives you feedback and tips along the way. I try for 10,000 which is easy on some days (I do 22,000) and harder on others, when I’m at the desk.

why 10,000 steps?

• 1 Mile = 2,000 steps and 100 calories burned
• 1 Pound – 3,500 calories
• 1 Pound weight loss per week = 500 calorie deficit per day
• To lose 1 pound per week you need to add 10,000 steps to your day.

You don’t need to rush, but it gives you a boost mentally and if you pick nice areas to walk, it really is lovely and energising. As you get better you can walk faster, so you find it hard to talk when walking.

If you cant do say 30-60 minutes in one go (lets face it not many of us have that amount of time), you can do three lots of 10 minutes, just make sure you keep a good pace once you are able to.

When you are getting to the end cool down by going slower, I stretch my legs now as I had a couple of achilles injuries from not stretching out after exercising.

If you make it  habit you will come to love it!

There are a lot of walking groups that you can google in your own areas if you prefer group walking, if you are in the uk this is a great site, https://www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/walkfinder

If you are in other countries google “walking groups near me” and things like that and you are sure to find some.

Happy Walking and hope it helps lighten your mind and body!