HOW'RE YOU DOING?

For those beginners out there - for those who have emailed me that this blog has motivated them to get walking - HOW ARE YOU DOING?

Did you start from zero minutes of walking - from the recliner or sofa, from the hospital bed or office desk? Did you start from a moderately sedentary lifestyle where you had difficulty walking for 15 minutes at a time. Did you decide to start walking despite the fact that you're on your feet all day at work?

Are you charting your progress? Are you increasing your walking time and/or distance?

If you began walking a couple weeks or months ago and kept at it - then you're a winner at this game! No matter where you start, if you have increased even one step, one minute, one bit of intensity or speed, then you're made great progress and you can be an inspiration to others.

I'd love to know where you started and where you are now. False starts, stutters, are not unusual. In fact, I believe they are common. The winners are those who put one foot in front of the other one tiny bit more today than they did yesterday. Tiny steps add up. Baby steps become confident strides.

There are no losers among walkers! No kidding. I'm not just buttering you up. THIS IS REAL. I know whereof I write. I felt up against a wall when I began walking. I couldn't do what I wanted to - racquetball - anymore. My knees were shot. My weight was far too high. My endurance was limited. My heat tolerance was negligible.

After a few weeks of dogged persistence - with the help of an actual dog - I began to feel the tiniest positive benefits of walking. I was going thru a rough emotional time and I discovered that walking made me feel better. IT MADE ME FEEL BETTER. It didn't always make my body feel better, but it definitely made my head and heart feel better.

I've written before and I will again that if I can do this, you can do it. I DID NOT WANT TO WALK. I wanted a quick fix. I wanted the 'high' of playing racquetball. But, I looked around and saw that others in my life enjoyed walking so I decided to give it a try.

Thru the bleak, bleary winter days of that year, I walked in all kinds of weather with my dog at my side. She was getting old and sick, but she loved going with me. We both got better. When I saw how eager she was to walk, how much she enjoyed her walk, how she depended on me to give her that enjoyment, it just made it all worth while for me.

Soon I began walking with a friend. I'm sure she had to slow her pace for my beginner pace, but she's a true friend and never complained. We walked and talked and solved many of the world's problems. It wasn't long, REALLY, before I began to look forward to my walks with Sally or my mom. Walk and Talk buddies was born. It has grown - in and around me - for these 10 years.

Weigh was lost and a positive lifestyle was found. Don't give up if it's not easy at the beginning. Give it 6 weeks. Give it 10 minutes a day at the beginning. Give it a chance. Give yourself a chance to make your life better. It's simple but not necessarily easy. But, don't give up before you begin to feel the wonderful benefits that I promise. And, remember my guarantee that is at the end of every article.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.