Melanie Toye’s walking for health

Image by Fajar Arif from Pixabay  I know I know. If you are like me, take out is seen as a treat. And I really thought I would never eat less take out. But I challenge you, to find a meal you love and cook it for the week (unless you have kids, kids means they probably won’t want the same meal every day). So it doesn’t have to be the same meal for the week. Plan, buy and make time to cook your meals for the week. Make sure you love eating these meals. And then don’t buy take out. Don’t even remind yourself you aren’t buying take out. Because as soon as you think about take out, it’s really easy to get swept up in the convenience and yumminess of takeout. Wait till the following week and transfer to your savings or spendings account the money you have saved from not buying take out! Trust me, this feels amazing. The first week I did this, I bought myself essential clothing items with the money I saved and thanked myself for not digging into my savings to pay for it. I simply didn’t...

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay It’s currently winter in Australia and I have been half getting into a routine to walk 10,000 steps a day and the other half of me is cold and wants to just rug up all day. I think finding the balance is important. Yes, you may want a day to just relax. But sometimes that day off could lead to a few more days off and then weeks go by and you are occasionally walking but more not.  So to motivate you, remember your reason for walking in the first place. Whether it is for your health or your mental health or whatever is the reason. Remember why. Plaster this why everywhere. Write it down! On your couch so when you go sit down you think, should I sit or should I go for a walk? And/or place your reason why on the fridge. Place it on your TV. And then think is it time to relax or should I release some energy physically and mentally first by going for a walk and then relax?  Also, think how can I fit in more time to walk?  9 Ways to fit in more wal...

Image by Alexander Fox | PlaNet Fox from Pixabay So I decided to run an errand and landed in the outer city so instead of catching the bus for a 12 minute trip, I decided to go for an hour walk in the rain. Yes, I did have an umbrella.  I was walking alongside main roads where it felt weird to have intersections because if they ran a red light I would be a flat cake on the road. I guess I seemed less trusting in the outer city area mainly because no one was around walking because it was pouring. And I have never walked this part of the city before. Thank goodness for Google maps.  And as I was walking at first I just stared at Google Maps and the street signs and also my battery charge on my mobile. I was scared the hour trip would kill my battery and then I wouldn’t be able to use Google Maps for the walk home.  Of course, if I was prepared I would have printed the street names of where I had to walk in advance but the errand was unexpected and needed to be done urgentl...

Image by 춘성 강 from Pixabay Obviously there are many benefits to walking. Read below to see some of the major benefits: Benefits of walking equals lower blood pressure  Initially when I was heavier I had high blood pressure for over a year. I knew this because I got it checked regularly. When I started walking aiming 10,000 steps a day and lost 14 kilos my blood pressure returned to normal. My doctor was surprised and said just keep walking because I still had more weight to lose. Walking helps manage stress  Your mind will thank you. The amount of mind stress I have had which I have solved by going for a walk is incredible. What do I mean about mind stress. Mind stress is where you are stressing about something and it just rolls around and around your mind. So going for a walk helps you think of it and then think of ideas to solve it and then you can move on.  Walking increases stamina  You stamina improves. If you are like me, when I don’t walk enough or often I pu...