Dreamer

Oh but hello dreamers!

As January days go by, I can’t wonder how are you with your goals?

From experience, I know that after the holidays, one thing that crosses the mind is “I need to start exercising, I have to exercise more” and any other forms of the saying.

And yeah, you’ve guessed right, this is another section of my blog, one I’ve talked about at the beginning of the month. One more to go and you’ll find my secrets for the year.

But let’s come back to the topic.

As I was saying, we set the goal to lose weight, to be more lean, fit, and so on! We search for detox routines, for workouts, we buy gym memberships, new gym wardrobes, and so on. 

Do we achieve this goal? Statistics say most of us, don’t!

It can be because of various reasons.

I, for example, blame it on the lack of time, lack of energy, and more important and time-bound responsibilities.

Yet, with time I understood that we and our body, are the biggest responsibility we have.

One thing you should know about me is that for a very long time, I couldn’t find clothes that fit me, because I was so skinny. Over time, with some lifestyle changes, I went up 8 kg in 2 years. During the lockdown, I gained 2-3 more, but that meant that I was coming closer and closer to a healthy 54-55 kg, at 162 cm.

Another important thing to know about me is that I am active forever and that I didn’t pay much attention to my body’s look.

Many asked me over time how I am so skinny without going to the gym and eating the way I’m eating (not dieting). Somehow, a while back, I didn’t know what t answer, but as I started to pay attention to my days more and more, I realized what kept me in pretty good shape: walking.

As I said, I am an active person, and I love to walk. Faith came in handy when it gave me a job involving fieldwork.

My phone registered an average of 8.000 daily steps last year, but as I’m not carrying my phone with me everywhere at home, I think it goes up to a real 9k.

I had indeed days when I would walk 20 k steps, and days when if it registered 1k, it was all for the day.

For me, this is the main exercise I do. At the end of the day, when I get home, I am usually too tired to do anything, or if I’m early, I have many other tasks to complete, so I don’t necessarily find or make time for gym or running.

This is why walking works perfectly for me and it could get you closer to your goals. 

But how can you involve walking in your daily routine? Well, by making a few adjustments to your daily routine. 

• Walk to school, to office, too small shopping. If you don’t commute from another town, city, or you have a 20-30 min walk to get to your appointments, walk. It’s easier, safer for the environment and probably more efficient, because, in the morning, traffic is horrible.
• Take the scenic walk. If you are already practicing walking, level up, by taking a long way or the scenic route (which is usually longer).
• Have park dates or hiking dates. I can’t give you dating advice (yet) but from my own experience the most wonderful dates, or let’s say meeting with new people, were outside, walking. For example, the most recent experience was to meet someone new, and we walked around one of the parks, taking a short hike into the wood. All was so relaxing, the landscape was between fall and winter and we had a lot of things to talk about.
• Adopt a dog/cat. Risking to get a lot of hate for it, I still give this advice. I know pets are a huge responsibility and, I suggest and encourage you to do this only and only if you already wish this.

If you are not sure about it, here are some benefits of walking (according to google):

• Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat.
• Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
• Improve cardiovascular fitness.
• Strengthen your bones and muscles.
• Improve muscle endurance.

According to my own experience:

• Calming effect
• Prevents back pain (in case of spine deformations like scoliosis, lordosis, kyphosis, I won the jackpot and have them all)
• Socializing
• Get rid of mental blocks (creativity, inspiration)
• Helps with anxiety
• Boosts confidence 

Now, why is it the easiest and fastest lifestyle change?

We walk to the bathroom, to the fridge, to the car. We already do this simple thing, it’s just a thing of leveling up the difficulty. If you have an average of 5k/ day, start by walking 6k steps/day, then 7k, and so on.

#adreamerlife

Crissu