Who Knew?

A funny thing happened at work the other day. We have a communal candy bowl that people fill up from time to time. I found a sale on Easter candy over the weekend, and combined with some coupons I had, I was able to get several bags of candy for free. I brought them into work to fill up the candy bowl. I know of one or two other people who are also trying to eat healthy, so at the last minute I threw in a box of low fat granola bars I had at the house. I added them to the bowl along with the candy, but I figured the granola bars would still be around long after the candy had been eaten. By lunchtime, though, I was surprised to see that they were gone, and several people asked where they came from and commented on how good they were. Who knew? I had no idea anyone else would eat them. Just goes to show me, I guess, that there are a lot more people trying to be healthy than I realized. I'm planning to bring more granola bars to work today, and now I'm thinking that my next big contribution to the candy bowl will be healthy snacks instead of candy.

So here's to tryng to eat more healthfully, even at work!

Daylight? What Daylight?

Whenever daylight saving time rolls around every year, I dread it. And it's not just because I lose an hour of sleep. As someone who walks in the mornings before work, I hate this time of year, because it means that just when it's gotten to the point where it's light for at least some, if not a good portion, of my walk, I go back to walking almost completely in the dark. And because DST started even earlier this year, it's dark almost until it's time for me to leave for work.

So what to do? Well, it serves as a timely (pun only partially intended) reminder to pay attention to safety while I walk. In particular, I try to be more deliberate about choosing light colored clothing to wear when I'm out on the streets and sidewalks. I also walk defensively, meaning that I generally assume that drivers can't or don't see me. I get off the road as I see drivers approaching when it's possible, and hug the shoulder when it's not. Plus I use sidewalks where they're available. A couple of other things to consider are wearing reflective gear and/or a light. And I'm reminded that it's probably about time for me to buy some ID to carry with me, just in case something should happen to me while I'm walking. For safety gear, my favorite site these days is www.RoadID.com.

If you're looking for some more ideas of ways you can stay safe while you walk, please visit my Walking Safety page. And be careful out there!

Month #2 Check-In

It's already time to check in for another month's results on my goals for 2007. Here are the numbers after 8 weeks...

Weight and diet: I'm down 12 pounds in 8 weeks. Weight loss has slowed considerably after a great start. That's still about 1.5 pounds/week, but I'd like to be closer to 2/week. Weekends are still a struggle, so I need to get out of the house more rather than be around food so much. I'd rate this about a 3.
Walking: After a not-so-promising start, my weekly mileage is down, averaging about 14 (my goal is 20/week). I was sick for 2 weeks out of 4, and really struggled to get walks in. I can really tell that my fitness level is lower than it was before I got sick, so I'm slowly trying to get it back. I'd rate this about a 3, due to circumstances beyond my control.
Cross training and strength training: I'd rate this a 1, again mostly due to being sick. Still, I'll really have to proactively plan time for these activities, because I won't due them spontaneously, I don't think.

Overall, I'd call it about a 2.5 to 3. Less than last month, and feeling like I've lost some momentum. Partly that's due to being sick. I had a nasty cold for 2 weeks, and actually I think it may have been 2 illnesses overlapping (I kept getting new symptoms every few days). Stress at work has made it hard to get enough sleep, which makes it hard to get up in the mornings to exercise. And I've always had a tendency toward overeating when I'm stressed or upset. I need to do a better job of managing the stress, and trying to take food out of the equation as a coping mechanism. I'm hopeful (again) that my walking will pick up, now that I'm not sick and the weather's getting warmer. I'll let you know next month how it's going.