Miss Lori, week 3 Go Red BetterU Program; just WALK

Walking. That’s all you have to do. It’s really that simple. That’s what I am learning this week in the American Heart Association Go Red For Women BetterU Program. This summer I am serving as their Ambassador. Having turned 40 last month my health is at the forefront of my mind. Now, with the help of the BetterU program it is also the forefront of my priority list. Which hasn’t been the case for a looooong time. (Come on, you know you are the same way!) Ok, so back to walking. According to my BetterU Program quiz this week all you need is 10 minutes of walking to begin to make a difference in your health.10 minutes! Hey, that’s not so scary. It’s actually doable.

So, this week I bought myself a pedometer. (A thermometer? NOOO, a pedometer). I have it attached to my pants and I am tracking every step I take. It’s quite educational. Turns out I had no frame of reference for how many steps are involved in my day.  According to the pedometer manual it is suggested that you aim for 10,000 steps in a day. My first day with the pedometer I only rated 4000. AHHHHHH! (Apparently pushing down the gas pedal in my minivan doesn’t count for any steps!) Even my performances weren’t racking up the steps and I had taken for granted that they were. Agony! I always feel like I’m going, going, going, but apparently sometimes it’s just my mind that’s speeding along and I am actually standing still. I will not be an underachiever! No way. So now I am rethinking my footwork. I am pushing the limit with my day, trying desperately to find the steps that I seem to have lost. Well, guess what? I have found them! They were at the airport. (Apparently my steps needed a vacation).

This past week I had to make my way to Columbus via O’Hare airport. That’s a big airport ladies and gentleman. So big that I tracked 3500 steps just getting from my home to my gate. Woo Hoo. I lost a little of my momentum once I hit Ohio because I went to lunch and then headed back to my hotel for a nap. Well, not just a nap, a deep FOUR HOUR slumber. I guess I needed to recharge. Boy did it work, because then I had the energy to go to the fitness center and workout. (No, you’re not hearing things. I said WORKOUT!). I pushed the pedal to the metal on the elliptical, and then I did some interval training using the fly system. It was AWESOME! I couldn’t believe how good I felt. (My muscles were totally confused though. They had no idea what was going on.) By the time my day was over I had clocked over 13000 steps! Take that pedometer!

Unfortunately I had to come back to earth in Chicago the next day so my steps went down a few…thousand. But at least I found out that I’ve still got “IT”.

“IT” just needed a vacation. (I know the feeling!).

SMILE On!

ML

This is a Level 2 post, Miss Lori is a Go Red BetterU Program Ambassador for the Summer of 2010

Miss Lori can be found Musing from her Minivan at MissLori.TV , Wearetherealdeal.com , YoungChicagonista , and ChicagoMomsBlog. She is also the new Chicago Family Entertainment Blogger for Examiner.com and a Discussion Leader for MomsLikeMeChicago. You can also see her Activating to Be Great at Miss Lori’s CAMPUS on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.