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Wednesday 30 July 2014

Day 30 Why Walk? 10 Reasons
I wanted to share this great article with everyone ... more reasons to walk ... thank you to medicinenet.com
       
There are so many reasons to walk30 in August ... Come walking with me on Friday August First!

What are the top 10 reasons to walk?

1. Walking prevents type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program showed that walking 150 minutes per week and losing just 7% of your body weight (12-15 pounds) can reduce your risk of diabetes by 58%.
2. Walking strengthens your heart if you're male. In one study, mortality rates among retired men who walked less than one mile per day were nearly twice that among those who walked more than two miles per day.
3. Walking strengthens your heart if you're female. Women in the Nurse's Health Study (72,488 female nurses) who walked three hours or more per week reduced their risk of a heart attack or other coronary event by 35% compared with women who did not walk.
4. Walking is good for your brain. In a study on walking and cognitive function, researchers found that women who walked the equivalent of an easy pace at least 1.5 hours per week had significantly better cognitive function and less cognitive decline than women who walked less than 40 minutes per week. Think about that!
5. Walking is good for your bones. Research shows that postmenopausal women who walk approximately one mile each day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter distances, and walking is also effective in slowing the rate of bone loss from the legs.
6. Walking helps alleviate symptoms of depression. Walking for 30 minutes, three to five times per week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms of depression as measured with a standard depression questionnaire by 47%.
7. Walking reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer. Women who performed the equivalent of one hour and 15 minutes to two and a half hours per week of brisk walking had an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer compared with inactive women. Many studies have shown that exercise can prevent colon cancer, and even if an individual person develops colon cancer, the benefits of exercise appear to continue both by increasing quality of life and reducing mortality.
8. Walking improves fitness. Walking just three times a week for 30 minutes can significantly increase cardio-respiratory fitness.
9. Walking in short bouts improves fitness, too! A study of sedentary women showed that short bouts of brisk walking (three 10-minute walks per day) resulted in similar improvements in fitness and were at least as effective in decreasing body fatness as long bouts (one 30-minute walk per day).
10. Walking improves physical function. Research shows that walking improves fitness and physical function and prevents physical disability in older persons.
Source: http://www.medicinenet.com


Walk On Strong!
Sue

Saturday 19 July 2014

Day 19 Walking 30 minutes a day ... simple? Not always ...

Our first grand Baby Lucia! Born June 16, 2014
Day 19 I am back and walking30!
I have been away from my walk30 blog for a long time now and I have missed it. When I am blogging I am even more motivated to challenge myself to get out there with out fail every day and even drag my camera along occasionally.

I don't know about you but for me there have been many ups and downs on the road of life lately.   I left home, Ontario, to travel to Calgary ( hence the hat ) on May 31st  so that I could attend my sister's 50th birthday ... as a surprise! Then I spent time with my daughter in the final days of her pregnancy and was there for the birth of our lovely and very first grandchild ... Lucia.  I was blessed with 2 more weeks of baby time and had the opportunity to visit my Dad in the nursing home quite often and he even came for a visit to my sister's home.

Here we are with all four generations represented ... in the last week of June.
My Dad really enjoyed seeing the baby and we all were happy to have a get together to celebrate my Mom and Dad's 68th wedding anniversary at the same time!  On June 30th I was off on the plane again and home to Ontario after a long time away from home and looking forward to my reestablishing my usual healthy routines. 
On July 2nd I got the call that my dear Dad had passed away and I headed back out west again to say good-bye one last time.


I tell this story because I think that there will always be times that it will be more difficult to take care of ourselves the way we want to.  It is tough getting out the door when you are on vacation or visiting someone else. It is tough to stay on track with you healthy diet when you are sad, happy, anxious or even when you aren't in charge of the kitchen or eating out.
While I was away I made an effort to get out every day and walk ... sometimes it was 5K and another times further but no matter what I made an effort to walk ... even though I might have missed a day or two.  I am emotional eater ... I know this about myself ... so I didn't worry too much about meals while I was away. But I always had a plan in the back of my mind that I would get back on track when I go home. I was away for 2 more weeks and finally arrived back home a few days ago.

So ... I am writing in my food journal, tracking my steps and teaching a summer fitness class 2 days a week in the local park. 
I am also going to blog at least once a week and let you know how I am doing.

If you have some bumps in the your road don't let it change your healthy life forever but at the same time you need to give yourself a break and then get back on track as soon as possible. 

My Dad was an inspiration to me ... he went to the gym 2 or 3 time a week until he was 90 years old ... wow! I am going to miss him;(

Walk On Strong,
Sue