Do You Walk 10,000 Steps a Day?

How many steps a day do you think you walk?   Go ahead - take a guess.   Remember what you guessed and we'll see how close you are to the daily recommended amount.

I like to think that I'm pretty active - after all, I am constantly running around doing stuff.  Plus we spend a lot of time outside, geocaching.  In the summer, when we're at the lake,  I am always running up and down the hill to the boat dock, walking to the resort down the street, hiking in the woods.  You get the idea.

But winter, well, that's another story.  I work from home, so some days I don't even leave the house.  My activity level pretty much consists of walking to my office, sitting down and working, walking to the kitchen for something to drink, toss in some laundry, walk back to my office, go fix some lunch, fold the laundry, fix dinner, do the dishes, watch tv and write blog posts.  Sound familiar?  Definitely not a lot of walking activity, altho honestly, I never gave it much thought.

Then my son told me that I should be aiming for 10,000 steps a day - yes, you heard that right - 10 THOUSAND steps a day.  Tony downloaded a free app to my phone called Pacer.  It tracks your steps, sort of like a Fitbit, but a lot cheaper since it's free.  I'd love a Fitbit but I can't justify the cost, so Pacer it is.  I wore my phone on my belt around the house for a few days and I was appalled at what I found out.....  Most days, when I stay home, I walk less than 800 steps per day.  OMG!!!  That is horrible!

According to the Fitbit blog site, you should strive for an average of 10,000 steps per day.  That's approximately 5 miles.  And if you're aiming to lose some weight you probably need to do more steps than that.

Now before you faint from that number, let me tell you - it's easier to reach that goal than you think.  For example, yesterday we went geocaching for a few hours and I easily added 2500 steps to my daily total.  Then last night I hopped on the treadmill and added just over 2000 steps by walking just a  mile.  I did that mile in 15 minutes, which isn't a lot of time out of my day, right?

Here's what I do when I'm on the treadmill.   I walk for 2 minutes at a quick walking pace of 3.5 to warm up.  Then I up the pace to 4.5 and run for a minute.  I keep alternating walking with running like this....
Walk at 3.5 for 2 minutes
Run at 5.5 for 1 minute
Walk at 3.5 for 2 minutes
Run at 6.0 for 1 minute
Finish up with a 3.5 walk until I hit the one mile mark.  Done!  Starting this week I'm going to add 1 block more per week in order to increase my steps.  I can afford 15 - 30 minutes per day on the treadmill in order to increase my steps.  Plus I cheat and watch tv while I'm doing it, so it's kind of a no brainer.

If you don't have a treadmill, then get your butt outside.  Walk around your neighborhood, go to the park, hike a trail, or, if it's raining - go walk the mall - just steer clear of the food court.  Start slow and aim for a couple thousand steps per day, increasing it by 1000 steps per week if you're able to do so.  Go check out the Fitbit website for a complete explanation of what you should do.

At any rate - do something.   Get up and start aiming for your 10,000 steps per day.  So, how many steps do you think you walk per day??  Download Pacer or strap on your Fitbit and see how close you are.

30 Day Arm Challenge

I am a fool for punishment.  I'm still working on my running, doing one day on the treadmill running, and then on alternate days I just walk on the treadmill or do 20 minutes of massive leg stretches and sit-ups.

Then the other day I stumbled upon the 30 Day Arm Challenge on Pinterest....  

Hmmm.....  that doesn't look too bad, right?   Wrong!  I may have over estimated my ability a wee bit.  I was in for a very rude awakening when I tried to do the 4 pushups on day 1.  I have to admit that I was shocked that I couldn't do 4 straight push ups.   The triceps dips and the mountain climbers weren't a problem, but the push ups kicked my butt.  And that pissed me off big time.  Today was day 3 of the challenge and I'm happy to say that I'm already on-track and did 5 push ups today.   Yeah me!! 

I was also scheduled to run 2 miles today on the treadmill, but that was a fail too.  I'm not supposed to be eating fried food, but that rule flew out the window the minute my nephew walked in the door with 30 freshly caught bluegill from ice fishing.  Thanks Kyle!  Anyway, one dinner later of home fried potatoes, baked beans and fried fish and my plans for a 2 mile run were sunk.  I made it to 1.8 miles and honestly felt like I was going to pass out or throw up.  So I slowed it to a walk and called it a  night.  Disappointing yes, but still happy I got up off the couch and did something.

I'm going to continue to incorporate the 30 day arm challenge into my work outs for the next month and see if it works.  At the very least I will be able to do some push ups again.

Final Thoughts on Janathon

Final thoughts…..  Well, for my last official night of Janathon it was my intention to walk the hills program on the treadmill for 1 mile.  Except that about 10 minutes before I was ready to start, my son walked in with a back cherry, hot fudge sundae for me.  Plan A went out the window and Plan B kicked in – 1 mile of running instead.  So I did 1 mile in 11.14 to close out Janathon.

Here are my totals for the month of January:

• Run -  19.2 mi - 3.9 hrs
• Walk - 13.5 mi - 4.4 hrs
• Cross training  - 2.4 hrs
• Total -  32.7 mi - 10.7 hrs

This was my first time participating in a Janathon and I didn’t know what to expect.  On the surface, it sounded like a no brainer – commit to working out every day for the month of January and then blog about it.  No big deal, right?  Right…..

Except that I learned really quickly that sometimes life just does tend to get in the way of your best intentions.   Most days I didn’t have a problem getting on the treadmill and putting in a mile or two.  I alternated with floor exercises, stretching, and something new for me, planking.  There were a couple of nights where I didn’t care about working out.  The enthusiasm just wasn’t there.  But I had made a commitment, more to myself than anyone else, and so I would drag myself out of my chair and do some sort of exercise.  And I’ll tell you something – I was always glad that I did afterwards.

I participated in Janathon more for myself than anything else.  I wanted to make the commitment and follow it through to the end.  I wanted the exercise and I wanted to hopefully improve my running a little, which I think I did.  I’m not a marathoner.  Heck, I barely have the aspirations to do a real 5K.  But I do want to be healthy, improve my running and my stamina.  However, most of all, I hope that I can inspire one person to do something positive for their health.  In fact, I got my daughter to commit to the Couch to 5K Program.  Today she said to me, “Mom, I ran 5 minutes straight on the treadmill.  I’ve never done that in my life.”  Now that means more to me than any personal record of my own ever will.

Janathon was great for the inspiration and it was fun because I got to meet some new bloggers in the process.  I really want to thank my regular readers for following along this month and giving me support.  February will bring me back to my normal posts, but I think I will continue my personal quest towards a healthier lifestyle. 

Thanks to all the folks who were a part of Janathon 2014.  It was fun and a real learning experience for me.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a black cherry, hot fudge sundae to go eat.  But don’t worry, I promise to only eat half of it.

What I'm Learning From Janathon

If there's one thing I've learned from doing Janathon, it's that you have to make an honest commitment to exercise.  I started actively working out when I was 19 and I joined our local gym and I started working out with weights.  In the years since, I've joined and quit numerous gyms - usually I'll join, go pretty regularly for a year and then quit and revert to floor exercises, bike riding and hiking in the woods.  Nothing real strenuous, but enough to convince myself, most of the time, that I was working out on a consistent basis. 

But you know how it is - life just gets in the way.   I had 2 kids, my husband and I have always been self employed, we like to fish and hunt.  Sometimes I'd rather sit on the sofa and read a book or flip through blogs than work out.  Or maybe I want to go out back and refinish a piece of furniture, or sit and watch a movie.  And slowly exercise falls off my radar again until one day I look in the mirror or step on the scale and see that a few pounds have crept on and then I decide to start working out again.  It's a vicious cycle.  Does any of this sound familiar?

Janathon has really shown me how difficult it can sometimes be to make that commitment to exercise and keep at it.  But the rewards are so great.  And I feel good when I've completed my workout for the day.  I can honestly say that if I didn't commit to Janathon this month, that I would not have worked out every day.  Have I worked out to my full potential every day?  No, I can honestly say I haven't.  Maybe I need to work on that a little.  So this has been a good thing.

Today I started off with 12 minutes of floor exercises and leg stretches.  Then I walked 1 mile on a 10 incline at 2.7 speed for 22.14 and burned 122 calories.

You can read my Janathon daily journal here.

Keeping Up with Janathon

This starts week 3 of the Janathon pledge.  If you haven't been following along you can go here to access my official Janathon page and catch up with what I've been doing.

Basically I've been doing some sort of work out every day and then blogging about it.  Let me tell you, it's a lot harder to do than you'd think.  I never realized how often I will just blow off a day of exercise because, well you know, life just gets in the way sometimes.  We've been super busy with work this month, which is a good thing financially, but not so great when it comes to working out.  I'm just plain tired and the last thing I feel like doing half the time is running a mile or 2. 

So I've compromised in the name of Janathon and come up with a pretty happy medium, one that has worked for 20 days so far.  I've been trying to run on the treadmill every other day and then walk on the treadmill on the days I don't run.  My walking days also add either planking or floor exercises or some arm weights which I usually just do while I'm walking on the treadmill.  I'm multi-talented that way.  LOL!

I started up on the 1st with a mile run and by tomorrow I will have bumped that up to a 2 mile run.  I've been adding a little more each time I run.  I've also added planking which I've never done before.  My first plank ever was 56 seconds and my latest one was 95 seconds.  Those suckers are hard!  I'm also happy with my floor exercises because I've been doing some badly needed crunches and I've got my legs stretched out pretty good so I can finally do the splits again.  Yeah me!  So participating in Janathon has been a good thing and has kept me in line.

5K - SUCCESS

5K Update - Success!!!!

I did it!  I finally ran the 5K.  If you've been following along, you'll remember that I started this journey as a result of my high cholesterol level of 290 at my last doctors appointment in June.   Tony and I decided to blog about my running experience in an effort to enlighten others and hopefully encourage people to embark on a healthier eating and exercise program.  I posted my first article about it here.

Since then, we've been doing updates on my progress.  I've done the entire Couch to 5K program in the comfort of my own home, on my treadmill.  It was hard.  It was a struggle.  I wanted to give up more times than I can count.  Twice I had to repeat a week's worth of the program because of going out of town and not running while we were gone.  I'm sorry I didn't write down the date that I actually began the program, but I did it in less than 12 weeks.

But last week, I did it - I ran the entire 5K on my treadmill.  I did the entire 3.1 miles in 39.02 minutes.  I know the time isn't the best - it equates to about 13 minute miles, but I don't care.  I did it!  I want to do a cartwheel across the living room.

So, what now?  Well, I'm going to continue running on the treadmill.  I need to bump up my time and I'd like to increase the mileage a little more.  At some point I'd like to run an actual 5K.  I also want to get out and run on some trails a little bit.  I think it would be more fun and definitely more interesting to run outside.

Some added extras to running the program:

• I lost 6 pounds over all.  That's a lot of weight for me because I'm only 5'2" and I weighed 111 to start with.  I actually lost one whole clothes size.
• My legs are more toned and muscular.  I used to have great legs, but age has taken its toll and I lost a lot of muscle.  I was getting flabby and lost muscle tone.  My legs are firming up now and I can really see a difference.
• My breathing has greatly improved.  I can also notice a difference when I'm out walking or hiking.  I don't get as winded.
• My endurance has vastly improved.  When I started running I could barely run 30 seconds.  Now I'm running for 40 minutes.  I have so shocked myself!!
• I'm eating a lot better.  I couldn't tell you the last time I've eaten fried food.  I have a healthy smoothie everyday.  I've added a lot more grains to my diet.

I will continue to fine tune this program for myself.  I hope that after a year of healthier eating and running that my cholesterol levels will have gone down.  I certainly hope they will.  If you're thinking of starting a running program, I can recommend the Couch to 5K Program.  I bought it as an app from I Tunes.  I'm not endorsing I - Tunes or the app.  I've received no compensation from either of them.  I just used the app on the recommendation of someone else and it worked really well for me.  I can honestly say that I would not have been able to do the 5K without the app.  It pushed me and also had me progress at a pace that I wouldn't have known to do myself.  I definitely think I would have quit doing this without the app.  It also helped to blog about it because I felt an obligation to keep at it.  

If anyone is considering doing something similar to this, please, go see your doctor first.  Get a check up and his OK and his advise.  If you feel you need to make some changes, then do it.  The most important step is the first step. Do it for yourself.  Do it for your loved ones.  Go ahead - take a step.

Worked out for the first time in weeks?

Worked out for the first time in weeks?   Little sore?

Anyone who has done demanding physical exercise for the first time in weeks/years knows how painful the day after is. To be honest, a lot of people will stop working out because it hurts so bad. I even know a few people like this.

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When people exercise they are actually breaking down muscle tissue and during recovery is when the body repairs the muscle and makes it stronger. Unfortunately, if your muscles are not commonly used to such an extent they will ache for a couple days after the workout. However there is actually a secret to stop the pain from re-occurring. Its actually very simple. Do not stop exercising for an extended period of time. When your muscles are put through agony over and over again they will adapt, become stronger, and be used to being broken down.

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For pain after running- If your legs hurt the day after running, do not run the next day. Instead wait until your legs barely feel sore anymore. Then go for another run. Even though your legs will still be slightly sore, they will not hurt as badly as the day after your first run. By doing this your muscles will become accustomed to exercise and they will gradually no longer hurt the day after. This will only take 1-2 weeks in most cases. One important thing to remember is to try to eat a good amount of protein because the amino acids in protein are the building blocks of muscle and will be the thing your body will need to repair the muscle adequately.

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For strength training- This is slightly more complicated. I suggest only training a muscle group once a week giving that muscle 7 full days to repair. I suggest something like this Monday- back/biceps, Tuesday-off day, Wednesday- triceps/chest/shoulder/traps, Thursday-off, Friday-legs, Saturday/Sunday- off. By training like this you would be working each muscle group directly as well as indirectly ( training back directly train biceps indirectly and vise versa and so on and so forth). This will also allow adequate recovery time.

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If you are looking to lose body fat I also suggest low or high intensity cardio on off days ( whichever ones you wish - it could be all off days or it could be 1 off day). It is also very, very, very important that you eat a meal high in protein and high in complex carbs less than an hour after getting out of the gym otherwise your muscles could break themselves down for energy because so much was used during the workout.  40-50g protein and 50g-70g of carbs. Doing this will also make soreness far less severe. This is only for weight training days or days with high intensity cardio.

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You will also notice that the day after weight lifting you will be extremely sore and it is common to still be sore the next week by the time you are supposed to hit that muscle group again. If this occurs go ahead and do the workout and by the following week you will no longer get sore after lifting.

Protein is very important when it comes to strength training so be sure to eat a lot of it! In my honest opinion weight lifting is the best way to lose body fat because it burns an enormous amount of calories. Also, for every pound of muscle that is on your body you naturally burn 50 more calories a day. This is why body builders who are 200+ pounds can eat literally over 5000 calories a day and stay ripped.

Tip- Try eating 5-7 smaller meals a day instead of 3 big ones. I think you will find that you have more energy throughout the day as well as stay fuller and more satisfied.

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Please, if anyone has any specific questions, email us and I will dedicate an entire post to your question.  I want to write about issues that will relate directly to YOU!  Remember, if you have a question, other people are probably wondering the same thing.  Let's all help each other.

A Life Changing Experience

This is my son, Tony.....

If you had to guess, what do you think he has in common with this kid?

The correct answer is EVERYTHING because they are the same person.  I am going to share a very personal story with you today, one that makes me choke back tears of emotion.  I am doing this with Tony's permission because it was a journey of discovery, perserverance and dedication.  It is Tony's story of TRIUMPH and VICTORY!

This is Tony in March of 2009, on his 16th birthday. 

Tony wasn't always overweight.  When he was born he only weighed 6 and a half pounds.  He was a small and thin kid until 5th grade.  That was not an easy year.  He changed grammar schools, his best friend moved away, and his older brother had cancer.  Tony's response to all the turmoil in his life was to sit on his computer and play Runescape, sit alone in his room and play his playstation and eat a lot.  He drank several cokes per day.  He loved pizza, and nachos and chicken McNuggets.  And cookies.  And chips.  But not fruit or salad - ever.  You get the picture.

As Tony's mom I was frustrated and a nag.  I was constantly after him to stop eating, eat less, eat right, drink water, eat an apple, don't eat after 7 at night, eat a proper breakfast.  Ugh.  I tried everything to help him lose weight.  He tried baseball and basketball, I made him exercise and go bike riding.  But to tell you the truth, Tony was a grazer and every time he walked through the kitchen he was eating.  And the more I bugged him about it, the more he would sneak food into his room and eat in solitude.  It was a vicious and frustrating cycle.  Tony would occasionally try a diet but after a week of starving himself he would step on the scale and see that he hadn't lost a pound for his efforts and it would send him reeling back to the kitchen and back to his bad eating habits. 

This is Tony on his 17th birthday and this is the one picture that totally breaks my heart.  Does this look like a happy kid to you? 

About 2 months later Tony came to me and told me he wanted to go back on a diet.  He said he wanted to do it HIS way with no interference from me and he said he was determined to lose some weight this time.   Frankly, I was at the end of my rope and I was ready for him to try just about anything.  Honestly, he had tried losing weight so many times that I wasn't holding out much hope for this attempt either.  I told him to do what he had to do as long as he didn't starve himself.  Silently I said a prayer to God to PLEASE just let this kid lose some damn weight this time.

Day 1  Middle of May 2010  Weight 215 lbs

When Tony started this diet he was close to wearing XXL shirts and size 40 pants.  He was wearing larger clothes than his father.  At this time he had about 2 weeks left of his Junior year in high school. 

At first his diet consisted of cutting out ALL junk food like candy, cookies, chips, coke and fast food. He mainly ate fruit for breakfast, small lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and dinner was pasta, steak, chicken or pork chops.

At the end of 2 weeks he had lost 11 pounds.  He went to his Junior Prom with a girl "friend" but this was actually the girl he really wanted to date.  Remember this because we'll come back to this later.  This is Tony in his first tux.  Nobody had noticed yet that he had lost any weight.

By the end of June 2010 he was starting to see some small results.  His tee shirts were actually starting to sag on him a little.  I also noticed that he was beginning to get out of the house more and doing things like fishing  and going for long walks.

Fourth of July weekend found him out on a jet ski with a smile on his face and down to size large shirts and 36 pants.

His meals by now were consisting of basically the same as before, no junk food at all, but he was doing a lot more exercise.  Any time he wanted a snack he ate an apple.  He ate a LOT of apples.

I think the real turning point for Tony came when he started his Senior year of high school.  When school started back up at the end of August kids were coming up to him and asking him how much weight he had lost.  One teacher actually asked him if he was sick.  Tony started going to the gym every day after school and working out for an hour to an hour and a half.  By this time he weighed 175 pounds and his old jeans no longer stayed up around his waist.



Around this time I started to notice a huge difference in Tony's outlook and attitude.  He started researching nutritional values of the food he was eating, looking at protein powders and taking vitamins.  He expanded his workout methods to include a punching bag and doing sit ups.   And suddenly he started dating.  Remember that girl I told you about?  The one he took to the prom as a friend?  The 2 of them were starting to spend more time together.

By Christmas Tony had lost 70 pounds and weighed 145 pounds.

Slowly, but surely, Tony was taking control of his life.  And he was smiling a whole lot more.  Kids at school were asking his advice in the gym and telling him how good he looked.  By January 2011 he had lost a total of 80 pounds and weighed 135.  By his 18th birthday in March 2011, he was wearing a size small shirt and size 32 pants.  By then Tony and Alex had been dating 6 months.

Tony's diet consisted of oatmeal, egg whites and natural peanut butter for breakfast.  Lunch is whole grain bread with turkey and fresh spinach OR a peanut butter sandwich, some almonds, veggies like broccoli, celery or a salad.  And dinner is usually chicken, pork chops, steak, tilapia or salmon with whole wheat tortilla's, whole wheat pasta or oatmeal.  This diet new eating habits for life really works for him.

By the beginning of April 2011, Tony had maintained his weight of 135 for over 3 months and had started building up some muscle mass.  Here's Tony in a pair of his old jeans.... No shit - can you believe this kid????

Remember last year when Tony went to his Junior Prom?  He weighed 215.  This year, for his Senior Prom, he weighed 135 pounds and went with the girl he always wanted! 

Now doesn't that smile on his face just sum it all up?

So here he is at his graduation, 80 pounds lighter and so much happier.

He and Alex have been dating for 11 months.  He has maintained his current weight successfully for 7 months.  He has learned how to eat properly and how to incorperate exercise into his life.  He lives by a few basic rules..... Be active every day.  Eat healthy when possible.  Have an occassional cheat meal on a day when you are overly active.  Find a strong motive to keep you on course.  Always believe in yourself.

I can't begin to tell you how proud of him I am.  He did it all himself.  He is happier and healthier than he has ever been.