The Lighter Side of Weight Loss: Chapter Fifty-nine

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The Lighter Side of Weight Loss: Chapter Fifty-nine

Baby Steps

I recently completed my first Conqueror Challenge where I virtually (on my treadmill) walked the 64.4 mile Road To Hana, an actual road on Maui. My 76 year old body is starting to "get with the program!" It's no longer screaming in protest. Now it just kind of whimpers. 

I started in January and survived about 10 minutes on the treadmill. I am now walking at least 3 miles a day, and it takes me about 90 minutes to do this. While walking, I had an epiphany (I'm a slow learner). It doesn't matter how fast I go, it matters that I'm going. 

Who would have thought that I would actually look forward to walking? Certainly not moi (I'm being grammatically incorrect on purpose because I like to say "moi"). In fact, I'm now working on completing my second challenge which is "walking" the 21 miles of the English Channel from England to France. I'm choosing challenges based on distance and the design of the medal I'll receive in the mail at the end of each journey.

In order to accumulate even more activity every day, I've been amusing myself by incorporating Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks into my daily routine. For example, I might silly walk during commercial breaks when watching TV. Not only am I walking more, but I'm also laughing more (sometimes as hard as I did while under the influence of laughing gas at my dentist's office, only without the gas - much cheaper and less painful). Four-legged Zeus thinks I'm hilarious and does his own version of walking (jumping) along with me. As an added bonus, according to research, published in British Medical Journal, a "silly walk" would take about 2.5 times as much energy as a normal walk. 

I happen to love drinking ice cold water, but here's some advice for those of you who don't. Make yourself thirsty. I'm talking about 90 minutes of sweat inducing walking at two miles per hour. You will gladly drink those ounces which will help with weight loss.

In conclusion, I'll leave you with these thoughts: take baby steps on your weight loss journey and make every step (thought) count! We can all conqueror our challenges. And remember to have fun in the process. 

Sandra Warholic Seeley - All my life, and half of someone else's, I have lived in a humorous place called Earth. My muse is a tiny menehune from the island of Oahu in Hawaii where I lived for a year. Ernest Hemingway once sat under the exact same coconut tree where I did most of my writing. I'm also a sensitive to criticism Virgo who loves to get paid for writing and speaking funny stuff. Even though my mind is filled with volcanic ash residue and I'm still finding sand in my shorts, I will continue to write until my muse retires or I run out of pretty blue drinks, whichever comes first. Don't be bashful, email the author.