Health – The Walk That Changed My Life

Health

The Walk That

Changed My Life

by Connie Borglow

I discovered the true benefits of walking by accident. It was on a Friday, and I had just gotten off from work. I was exhausted and feeling a little blue, which was my usual pattern of thought at the end of a workweek if I had no real plans for the weekend. As I stood waiting on the light to change to cross the street, I felt like the only woman in New York who had nothing to look forward to but a TV screen.

When I got to the train station, the blue in my mood turned darker, when I reached for my wallet and realized I had left it at home. I lived three miles away, and I was left with no choice, but to walk. The matter was made worse with the knowledge that I had no one to call to pick me up.

Tears trickled down my face as I counted the blocks in my head and I was glad I had on athletic shoes to cushion the trek. I began to walk fast when I realized my favorite TV show came on at seven, and I didn’t want to miss it. Television was my main companion and I treasured the time spent in front of it.

However, when I arrived home ninety minutes later, I felt so enlivened by the walk that I felt motivated to shower and treat myself to dinner at a local restaurant instead. My mood was so changed that I didn’t even turn on the television that night, as I did something I hadn’t done in awhile…I listened to my favorite music.

The next morning, my body felt sore but good. I decided right then and there to try walking as a way to alleviate my feelings of “low.” I got up early and drove to the park where I walked for over an hour. When I got back home, I experienced incredible energy that I hadn’t felt in a while and my mood was brighter. Thus, I began the exercise of walking in search of the euphoria I experienced the first time I walked home. I also began to consider it as a real exercise that could bolster my health. At that time, I was 250 pounds and at 5’5”, I was carrying a lot of weight.

After reading an article on the benefits of walking, both physically and mentally, I began a strict discipline of walking at least one hour per day to lose weight as well. I was further motivated by a neighbor who had gone from a size 22 to a size 6 in fourteen months, after disciplining herself to walk for one hour every day regardless of the weather.

I completely stopped taking elevators unless I was going to a floor above seven, and I walked every day without fail for eight months. When I couldn’t walk in the morning, I walked either on my lunch hour (instead of eating the usual hamburger and fries) or in the evening after I got home from work. I also pushed myself to do it regardless of how tired I was and I always felt better afterward. In the winter months, I dressed in layers of clothing with hat, scarf, and gloves, and it was invigorating to say the least, to walk outside in the brisk air.

When it got too cold, I developed a program for the inside that worked up a good sweat. I would jog in place for ten minutes. Then do 200 sit-ups, and ride a stationary bike until I got tired. Ironically, discipline became fun, as I changed my diet by counting calories (1200 a day) and reducing my food intake by half. Once a month, I would treat myself to my favorite meal like Bar-B-Q Ribs or fried shrimp. However, I never ate anything after seven at night.

Nine months later, I weighed 147 pounds and wore a size 8 dress. I felt better…looked better and my moods went from blue to rosy…Now, my weekends are busy and filled with activities such as swimming and skating, which are things I would have never tried before, and I’m enjoying living single.