Exercise - Hiking

We love good healthy food and we like to write about it.  Dr. Mariam is the expert on what happens to our bodies when we put certain food products into them and she specializes in diabetes and obesity-related diseases among other things.  She brings such passion to informing the public about disease prevention that she conceived this blog.  I, on the other hand, know a lot less about the medical department but my passion is for cooking and nutrition.  With young people around both of our homes, we make it a point to cook consciously for them and with them that they may take their experiences into college and beyond.

Hiking in the Sierras.  For those of you familiar with this site,
Devil's Peak is in the background of this amazing overlook.
 One of our favorite walks - about two hours roundtrip. 
Despite all the snow and cool temperatures, I had to take
my sweatshirt off after making it to the top - refreshing!
May 7, 2012

With that said, what we haven't talked about yet is exercise.  Depending on where you live, hiking or walking outdoors may not be an option year-round.  Fresh air and time outdoors is vital to our health.  But just as important is physical movement.  During the winter in a snowy climate, how do you get enough exercise if you go to work everyday and can't conceive of skiing on the weekends to burn off extra calories?

Dr. Mariam is a firm believer in counting steps.  Walk 10,000 steps every day.  Purchase an inexpensive pedometer and fix it onto your belt or waistband.  Take a week or so to track how many steps you take each day and start to think about increasing that amount.   (I am guessing that most people who meet the 10,000 step challenge don't really need to worry about increasing that amount).

If you work in a multiple story building, try walking the stairs and build up to doing them more and more.  Incorporate walks during lunch and coffee breaks around buildings.  Of course you have all heard this one... park farther away from the entrance to your stores and office buildings.  Personally, I love all the fun videos out there to help you "shake your booty" in the privacy of your living room which allows you tons of giggle moments and burning calories at the same time.

If you have never exercised before and are thinking of trying it out, check with your doctor to make sure you don't have any health problems first.  Go into this process slowly until you feel comfortable with pushing yourself a little farther.

Walking cross-country for 1-1/2 hours burns about 490 calories
Slow-walking (about 2 miles per hour) burns about 2 calories per minute
Walking the dog burns about 3 calories per minute

I am not a fast walker.  I need to pause and catch my breath often
in these high altitude hikes.  The point being, take your time,
enjoy the scenery, drink water often, and just relax.

I love fitday.com where I pulled up these statistics.  Fitday.com helps with everything from goal setting to food tracking and calorie counting in addition to tracking exercise and your weight.  However, if you have another internet favorite that helps you track your exercise, go for it.  The most important thing is to just do it. 

- Kim  Fielding