How I Stay Motivated to Walk

Good morning, walkers! I hope you've been keeping up with your goals for Walk Kansas better than I have.

The weather lately has been so beautiful that it's almost a crime to stay inside to exercise. However, I'm going to share a tip today that has helped me keep walking when all other methods have failed.

I don't like to exercise. I love to play volleyball or play in the lake or a pool, but when it comes to planned walking or biking or weightlifting or whatever- I won't do it. I'd much rather sit on the couch, watch TV, and eat a bunch of crap.

Several years ago, my husband and I bought a treadmill, in the hopes that at least one of us would start using it. I started out with the best of intentions, but after a few weeks it sat lonely in the corner of the room. It was just too boring to walk aimlessly on a treadmill. Meanwhile, I kept spending time on the couch in front of the TV.

We decided to splurge and order a second DVR box for the room with the treadmill. I started recording all the silly shows I like to watch (that my husband won't)- and the only way I could watch them was in this room, on the treadmill. The shows were mostly 45 minutes after fast-forwarding through the commercials, and it occupied my mind enough that I didn't get bored walking. I actually started to look forward to it!

I'd rather be one of those people who can walk outside in the sunshine, with headphones on, but I just get too bored. And it's not always easy to schedule time to walk with a friend- I have to squeeze it walking in where I can. At least I'm walking, even if it's indoors. This method has kept me walking for two years now, and typically I walk 3-4 times per week, for 45 minutes each time.

This spring & summer, I'm going to try using audio books on my iPod and walking outside. We'll see if it holds my interest as much as Law & Order and Gossip Girl.

What secret tips help keep you motivated to walk?

Another Perspective

I should be used to this by now, but it still surprises me to see how different one person's perspective can be from another's.  Yesterday a friend took me clothes shopping and encouraged me to try on all kinds of different items - structured jackets, embellished tank tops, floaty skirts, and drapey blouses.  Some of the clothes looked really cool even on the hanger, but some things just turned me off when I first looked at them.  I was amazed when I tried on a dress from the latter category, lost twenty pounds, and a sparkle suddenly appeared in my eyes. Well, I may be joking about the twenty pounds, but I am serious about the sparkle in my eyes.  

I never in my lifetime would have pulled that dress off the rack.  Never.  And now it's hanging in my closet ready for our trip to New York tomorrow.  It took a dear friend to look at me, look at my options, and help me decide what direction to take (or in this case what dress to buy).  

Has a friend ever helped you put something in perspective?  Do you have any tricks to try and see things from someone else's point of view?   My personal favorite way to see things from someone else's point of view is to ask them.  Today I'm really thankful that I did because now I have an adorable addition to my closet... and hopefully with your support I'll soon have more subtractions from my waistline.

Psst -- check out this cool picture showing a skewed perspective.Is there anything in your life looming larger than it should be?

Whoosh Go the Plans

Remember my challenge for this week - you know, prep all your freggies in advance?  Well, those plans just jumped off a cliff.  We're headed to New York City tomorrow afternoon, which means 5 days of travel, hotel rooms, restaurant food, and yup, you guessed it: no fridge or cutting board.

I'm not too worried about getting my minutes in, but I am worried about my freggies.  What's worked well for you when you traveled?

Half Way There

What a wonderful Monday!  I got to meet Carol for a quick walk around the McGrew Nature Preserve this morning. It's so bright and sunny out that we really were Walking on Sunshine.

We're coming up on the half way point of our Walk Kansas Fitness Challenge.  I'd like you to use this week to check your progress and see how you're doing.

How have you done on our challenges so far?

• Week One:Your challenge for this week was to figure out 2 things you can do to make eating fruits and vegetables easier and two things you can do to make it easier for you to exercise.
• Week Two: What are you doing to hit your fruit/veggie levels every day? What are you doing to hit your weekly exercise totals?
• Week Three: This week's food challenge was to try to include 3 different colors per day.  This week's physical activity challenge is to think POSITIVE while exercising!!

This weekend I was visiting Bailey and encountered a beautiful sight in her refrigerator. It inspired me to come up with this week's challenge...


That's right, your food challenge for this week is to prep your freggies for each day in advance. You can do as Bailey did and chop and sort a week's worth of freggies into plastic tubs to take to work, or you can do it on a daily basis, but let's do it.

Your physical activity challenge is to ramp up your intensity. At this point you've been walking for three weeks and you've probably got your favorite route down. Try to beat your time every time you head out, or keep the same route but add lunges or jumping jacks to your walk.

Email me, comment on this post,tweet me, facebook me, meet me for a walk, or come to me in my dreams (ok, I don't really mean that last one) and let me know how you've been doing the last few weeks and how you intend to meet this next challenge.

Week 3: More tips & info..

Good morning, ladies!

The nutrition goal this week was to eat at least 3 colors per day, requiring you to get a little more creative. I came across this article on MSN Health, "Eating Well by Color." The colors of fruits & veggies provide a clue as to what nutrients are included. For example, red fruits & veggies contain lycopene which protects against breast cancer (2nd most cause of cancer death in women). The article explains each color, except white (mushroom, banana, onion, ginger, etc.). White contains beta-glucans, EGCG, SDG, and lignans that provide powerful immune boosting activity.

The exercise challenge this week required thinking positive. Listening to music helps keep your mind off negative thoughts so you may want to update your iPod or create a playlist, if you haven't already. A 20-minute exercise session is about 4 or 5 songs long. If you're like me, you repeatedly glance at the clock to see how much time is left until you reach 20 minutes! Then you realize you have only been exercising for 1.5 minutes since you last looked at the clock! So a trick to keep in mind is: avoid glancing at the clock while moving, until you have listened to at least 4 songs.

Finally, we have to remember how fortunate we are that we have the ability to exercise. I often think of those who are unable to walk or run - the disabled, elderly, sick, injured - and I run not just for myself, but I run for them. Many Native American cultures tie running with a spiritual energy. For those who do not know, I am Native American so this is stuff I learned as I grew up. Some cultures will pray for the disabled, elderly, sick, and injured while running. Check out this article in the New York Times on the Navajo tradition: "Indians Proudly Revive a Tradition of Running." Not everyone is spiritual or believes in a higher being, but I just wanted to share another variation on this aspect of "positive thinking."

Have a great weekend and keep working toward your goals!

Week 3: somewhere over the rainbow..

Hello Walking On Sunshine Team! I'm Julia, your Week 3 motivator. I was out of town Sunday and Monday, so I am just now getting around to writing this week's challenges!

This week's food challenge is to try to include 3 different colors per day. I was watching Dr. Oz one day (yes, I know it is a nerdy show) and he said a phrase that stuck in my head - he said, "Eat the rainbow." Take a conscious effort to look at your plate and see if you can make it more colorful! Stay away from having too much brown, yellow, and white (unless of course it is something like cauliflower, butternut squash, and a banana). Instead, go for colors like green (asparagus, spinach, celery), red (tomato, apple), orange (tangerine, orange, carrot, sweet potato), and even the more exotic colors blue (blueberries) or purple (eggplant, grapes)... maybe even tie-die, a combo of colors? Whatever you choose, have fun with it. I think the key to eating enough fruits and veggies is VARIETY.

This week's physical activity challenge is to think POSITIVE while exercising!! My greatest barrier to exercising is being in the right mindset. I was jogging at the gym today and I heard a woman telling her friend, "I can't do this, it's too hard." It was a major distraction, mainly because I was about 15 minutes into my run and that is the point where I'm usually like, I've had enough! Every time you catch those thoughts creeping in: "This is too hard," or "I'm going to quit early," then simply try to replace it with a positive thought: "I can do this," or "This will get easier with practice," or "My body needs this." In high school, I had a track coach who had one rule - no complaining! He said, if you think negative thoughts while running, it only makes it harder. When you voice a negative thought out loud, it makes that thought become 100 times more powerful. The same goes for positive thoughts, so it's ok to voice the positive ones out loud!

I will be sharing additional ideas on these challenges throughout the remainder of the week. So far, I've eaten orange and green.. now I'm going to go find one more color! Have a good evening!

Week 2 Stats Due

It's that time again - your stats are due.  Please let me know via the method of your choice how you did this week.  Was anything easier this week?  Harder than you expected? Personally I had a great week in terms of family time, but it wasn't so hot when it came to freggies and exercise.  Youth soccer practice starts on Monday, and I usually get a good workout in while kiddo is playing ball, so I have high hopes for this coming week.  

Many thanks to Christy for her motivating emails this week, and please give a great big sunshiney welcome to Week 3's Queen Motivator Julia.