Walking with a friend

This week is Thanksgiving so I have no classes Wednesday through Friday. Because of this BYU scheduled Friday classes on a tuesday, so I had class today when I usually do not. Having class gave me another chance to walk to and from school. This time I took that opportunity. The walk is about 2.2 miles each way so I walked a total of about 4 and half miles. I took my pedometer but when I got to school I looked at it to see how many steps I took and it said only like 1100. I know it is more than 1100 steps, so apparently my pedometer no longer works. Happy day. That's alright though I know the distance and that is good enough. After class we had a review for the test and after I heard what I needed I left and walked home. It was a lot warmer on the return trip. Far from a mid-summers day but warmer than the morning walk to school
Anyway, as I was walking to school, when I made it to about 500 N and 700 W, I ran into Joe Ostenson, a member of my ward. He asked if he could walk the rest of the way with me which I accepted and we had a good chat about school and what was going on. It made the walk go faster. My walks to school are generally ok, I try to listen to music or something, but it was a nice change to have a friend to talk to. Thanks Joe for heading my way today.

The Walk from School

I set a goal to walk to and from school. Yeah, that didn't work out so well today. I was studying for a quiz and got to the point where I should leave to get to class on time and thought I could study some more and gee it's pretty cold outside, I'll take the bus, which I did. I did walk home though. And according to my pedometer I walked 7,971 steps today. Progress I would say, progress. Maybe I'll walk both ways next time.

My First Walk

No it wasn't actually my first walk ever, just my first walk in this walk off the weight effort, but you probably figured that out on your own. Anyway, I decided that I was going to walk from the American Fork Park & Ride, where Alexis would later pick up the car, to work. I didn't think it would be a big deal and in the end it wasn't, but it was for a moment a little scary.

The walk is only about 2.2 miles, according to google maps. That is about the same distance from my apartment to campus, which I have walked several times and it is not bad. In this case, I had to walk some roads with no sidewalks and they were construction zones and I was walking on the side of the road. Fortunately that lasted only 40 or 50 feet. There was another section that from a distance seemed worse but once I got there there was a dirt road that cut the corner and took me away from the road for a couple hundred yards.

All in all it was a good walk and I felt pretty good afterward. Except, my hands do get a little shaky for a few minutes. Oh well, just typing and writing is worse, but they were never that good to begin with.

the Power of Walking

I have struggled my entire life with my weight. I was a "husky" boy as a child, I was told by my tennis instructor when I was 14 or 15 that I looked like John Candy running around on the court (I am not sure where this comment came from except to suggest that my tennis instructor was a jerk and an idiot. I was heavy for that age but I was far from John Candy's size), and I exceeded 200 pounds when I was 15. Then the fluctuations began. By my senior year I lost about 20 pounds, grew a few more inches, and filled in quite a bit at close to 6' 1" and 195 pounds. By the time I left on my mission I was 215 again. Through my adult life I have reached as much as 280 pounds, dropped back to 203 pounds, and am now around 240 pounds.

I want to lose the weight and keep it off. There are probably dozens of reasons to explain the roller coaster weight that would take years of psycho therapy to figure out but I don't have several years. I am 33, I know that is not old, but I feel like I am 53. I believe a 53 year old can still be healthy, and that they have so much life left to live, but feeling 20 years older than you actually are can't be a good thing. I say again, I want to lose the weight and keep it off, and add that I want to feel like a healthy 33 year old with the energy of a 23 year old. Is it possible? I think so. Will it happen? I hope so. How am I going to do it? Keep reading.

I am going to walk it off (my sister has been a strong influence in my decision to take the approach). Walking is only the beginning, I hope to progress from there. But at the beginning, walking will be the foundation. I am a strong believer in resistance training. Muscle is the body's metabolic engine and building muscle is the key to fat loss and keeping it off long term. You don't have to be a huge bodybuilder, just a few extra pounds, 5 - 10, is all it takes. Walking, however, is the foundation, with resistance training and proper nutrition being close behind.

My primary goal is to weigh 185 pounds with less than 10% body-fat. That means I need to lose 60 - 65 pounds of fat and add 5 - 10 pounds of lean muscle. I would like to achieve this goal in approximately 6 months. I want the most of it to be achieved by the time I graduate in April of next year, which gives me five and a half months or so, so that when prospective employers in the health and wellness field meet me I will look like I know what I am doing and actually practice what I preach.

The foundation of this again is walking. I hope to document my journey in this blog and illustrate to all those who read it the true power of walking.