My 10,000 Steps Challenge

I’ve decided that I need to start moving more. Between the pandemic, working from home, this pre/peri menopausal middle (and thighs!) I’m starting to feel, well, downright sloth like. I do normally eat fairly healthy, I think anyway. Grain-free (or mostly), very limited dairy and sugar. I don’t consider myself a fanatic about stuff, an I’m not a nutritionist or anything. But bout 10 years ago or so I found this book and this one, and they changed my whole way of thinking about food. That summer that I followed exactly these eating guidelines I lost about 25 pounds, my skin cleared up, my body odor practically disappeared, I was sleeping better, and was awake better. It was really eye opening. However, trying to keep that up for the very long term is the easiest. Not to mention when you want to go out to eat and socialize with friends or try to live/eat with other people at home, it can get tricky. So, some compromises have been made, and I don’t’ stick to this religiously, but I do my best. 

Anyway, the reason for that whole tangent is to come to where I’m at today. Which is eating pretty healthy, if I do say so myself. And not eating huge portions. But during the past maybe five, six years, I went back to grad school (to get my MBA in my late 30s), was working full time/looking for a better paying job befitting my newly acquired MBA, taking care of my two aging senior kitties in kitty-hospice style, and working a couple part-time gigs when the new full-time gig didn’t materialize. In short, I was exhausted and stressed, and the weight started to add on.

Once COVID hit, I got very sedentary. Like, the most exercise I got was going up and down the stairs from my office corner of my bedroom to the kitchen. Basically, I was barely moving. I have tried a couple of times after moving in with my mom to get a walking routine down and I’d be good for a couple of weeks, though not every-day-consistent. More recently, I have started to get good at being consistent, for a Monday – Friday routine. I’m walking about 5,000-6,000 steps a day and want to get it up to 10,000 a day. So, in addition to my morning walk, I’m going to do some exercise videos in the afternoon/evenings. I’m going to start with ones that are for adding to your step count. I’ve found some fitness coaches with YouTube channels that look promising. I may also go for a second walk some days, depending on the weather. But I also want to work on my arms and stomach too, and I think videos may help target those better than just walking. Also, I’m hoping I may see a difference a little quicker than with just walking. 

So, I’ll keep you all up to date on how I’m doing with weekly check-ins. I’ll post which videos I did and what I thought of them. Also, just to keep things fair, and to keep me honest, here are my current stats, before getting started. Pics will be coming, but I have to figure out the best way to set up my camera, which is actually just my iPhone but I don’t have a stand to hold it. Yep, I’m just making excuses, and can’t believe I’ve talked myself in to sharing this fitness journey with everyone to begin with!

Well, without further ado, my stats: 

Female, 45 years old, 4’10, 121.8 lbs

And measurements (in inches):

Left arm: 12.5

Right arm: 12

Bust: 33.25

Waist: 31

Hips (abdomen?): 38

Left thigh: 22.5

Right thigh: 22.5

Left calf: 14.5

Right calf: 15

If there’s a different way to do this, could someone let me know? I really have no idea what I’m doing. Also, please follow along. I’ll be posting these under the Fitness tab at the top of the site.