Halftime Rewards
When looking at the numbers, it's nice to see that last week was a good week. I walked every day; I accomplished some of my secondary goals by drinking more water and sleeping more minutes; and my weight dipped below 270 for the first time months. All the gauges on my fitness dashboard are green and moving in the right direction.
Stress relief and other perks
The week was good in other ways as well. I like to think of it as fitness for the mind.
Despite the challenges that come with weeks of strategic planning sessions at work, I've managed to fight off much of the associated stress with long and frequent walks. I'm finding that there are a lot of extra benefits that come with walking. In addition the obvious fresh air and cardio benefits, I've been able to discover more of my surroundings, take in some of natures beauty, and think about life in new ways. I even had the chance to catch up with a friend during an after work "walk and talk" meet-up.
Another perk this week turned out to be several halftime rewards. Early in the week, while walking along the east shoreline of Lake Union, I discovered a deli and treated myself to a tasty mid-walk salad for lunch. On another occasion, while walking with a friend on the opposite side of the lake, we paused for a refreshing gelato in Fremont before making the trip back to our cars. On Saturday, I walked from Redmond's Marymore Park to the Red Hook Brewery near Woodinville and back. It's 11 miles roundtrip, and at the halfway point I relaxed at the bar and enjoyed an arugula and pear salad with an ice cold Pale Ale to wash it down. This morning, my mid walk bonus was one of my favorite Starbuck's beverages - a grade americano with sugar-free vanilla.
These examples of halftime rewards are small indulgences that keep it interesting and balance fitness with the other pleasures of life. After all, it's the pleasures of life that I want to be fit for in the first place.
April Goals
Exercise: 100,000 steps per week: Well ahead of goal. 132,888 steps last week
Weight: 270 pounds (or less): There for a minute. Low for the week was 269.6.
Weight: Record and track all food eaten: Back on track. Missed a meal or two.
Weight: Drink 32 oz of water per day: Nailed it big time. 6 of 7 days at > 60 oz.
Sleep: 6 hours 15 min per night: Improving! 4 out of 7 nights were over 7 hours.
Your comments, suggestions, and stories of your healthy edge are always welcome in my guest book. What's working for you?
April 13, 2014
