Melanie Toye’s walking for health

Image by luxstorm from Pixabay My story You know some of my story if you read my blog. Basically, I needed to lose 24 kilos. I walked 10,000 steps a day every second week and lost 14 kilos. I am a huge advocate that walking works. Uh oh  Then I put back on my weight.  I was dealing with something pretty hard and was in survival mode so stopped looking after myself. It was between a 3-6 month period of survival mode and then another 3-4 months of healing mode. And I put all the weight back on because I stopped walking. What’s the result?  So that’s my history but what I have realised is. Yes, I have proven that if you want to lose weight and not go hard at the gym etc, you can lose weight by walking. Walking a lot.  You need time to walk. So if you have time and enjoy the outdoors or you have a treadmill and can watch movies or listen to music then give 10,000 steps a day a go.  Important information about losing weight What I really need you to know is and this...

Image by Bill Bowler from Pixabay It may seem easy, you press the power button and you start walking. But here are five ways how to use a treadmill: 1. You can choose the pace  This may seem like the main way to use a treadmill but have you thought about interval walking. What I discovered while on my treadmill is I can go a certain speed say 4.5 or 5.0 and then after 20 minutes, I can do interval training which means going 6.0 or 6.5 for five minutes and then back to my original speed. I can repeat this every 20 minutes.  Not only does it make the walking more interesting. The fast interval of walking boosts my heart rate and boosts my stamina. So when you are on a treadmill you can create these games for interval training and even change the pace of the music when you enter the faster pace period.  It’s only for a short period so you can catch your breath when you go back to your original pace.  2. Watch a movie while on the treadmill So I walk with my mobile. Thi...

Image by 健恒 廖 from Pixabay It’s an interesting concept. We want to walk more for health benefits and yet walking can turn to a feeling of annoyance or frustration. Why? Because once we start to walk every day at least 10,000 steps. In your mind you will either love that you are succeeding. That your health is improving and you can start to see the results. But at the beginning of the transition from doing nothing to now walking a lot, every day. It can feel like exercise (which it is) and it can feel like it’s a drag to walk. We start to not really want to walk so we don’t and then our health and goals stop and not improve and then we get angry with ourselves for not looking after ourself and still being the same since you started. It can definitely be a mental game, you may give up before you even properly get started. You may also thrive. The point is to this is if you just focus on each day. One day at a time to meet your goal of 10,000 steps. Then by focusing on just the day, you ...

Image by simardfrancois from Pixabay So most of us know about what goals are but do you know how to make them work and achieve them?  As I have blogged about before, I lost 14 kilos just by walking. The goal walk about 9,000 steps a day and not miss a day and you will lose weight without changing what you eat. Impressive huh?!  That’s why I created this blog to share with you my journey and help you achieve your walking for health goals. So whatever your goal is, you have chosen to walk daily to try and achieve your goal.  When setting up a goal it’s important to create a start date and if you are competitive with yourself you can set an end date or if you are more laid back and want this to be a lifestyle choice, then you don’t need to set an end date. But setting a start date is very important. And it’s really important to set it within the week of setting your goal. Because that’s when you are most motivated to try to achieve your goal. So you have your walking for he...

Image by 💚🌺💚Nowaja💚🌺💚 from Pixabay So this week, I was excited because I had a week of walking planned. Sixty minutes separated by two times. So two thirty minute walks in a day. As I walk this thirty minute path, I have noted there is a possible shortcut to get to my destination and every time I think, maybe I should look this shortcut up, I instantly tell myself, “No, because you want more steps to walk, not less.”  And then I discovered another short cut, the bus. Instead of walking thirty minutes, I could probably spend between 10-20 minutes on the bus and get there quicker. It’s so easy to use and with Queensland’s 50 cents public transport fares in Australia, you can easily justify the cost. So why not take walking short cuts?  Well that’s really easy and you can tell yourself every time a shortcut arises. It’s simple, the point of walking for health is to walk as many steps a day as needed to see a result. For me, it’s 9,000 - 10,000 steps a day at a minimum but ...

Image by John Hain from Pixabay On your walking for health journey, it’s really easy to tell yourself silent judgements throughout your journey.  Silent judgements aren’t real but they feel real. They put us down making it hard to even just go for a walk. From being too fat, too big, finding suitable workout clothes for your body, your face is bigger, your legs are thicker, you have to walk slower because you’re not used to walking. All these silent judgements we place on ourselves is ruling our lives. They hold control over not continuing our journey.  Remember it might take 1-2 years to lose the weight you are seeking to lose and it might take longer but if you keep trying that’s one-2 years that you will be your ideal weight or just weigh less! Isn’t that better than never starting the walking journey because of the silent judgements winning? And then there is the silent judgements on others. They are thin, they are younger, they have more energy to walk and live life. I w...

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...

Image by Anna from Pixabay You know in this #walkingforhealth blog I have created, I have said from the very beginning you don’t have to change your diet to lose weight, as long as you walk.  I lost 14 kilos just from walking and not changing my diet.  And as much as I love eating take out and the convenience of it, in the back of my mind I think, well if I am eating healthier, I will have more overall energy and a longer lasting health benefits for my mind and body. It’s a win / win. So I do still eat take out. But this week, I challenged myself and I bought mainly vegetables: pumpkin, mushrooms, purple onion, snow peas, bok choy, cherry tomatoes and some diced beef and I made a stir fry. I changed it up each day, with different type of noodles and sauce. The first few days I just had veggies and noodles. And it was filling! Which to be honest I was scared of. Would I go to bed in a few hours and feel hungry? Nope! And then I added some meat for the next few days to change i...

Image by kalhh from Pixabay   So the New Year has started and welcome to it.  To be honest, I had my goals preset just before the New Year and when the New Year hit, I didn’t start straight away like I was expecting to.  So what are my goals and how am I going to achieve them?  Basically, this year I want to lose my remaining weight of 10 kilos. (I did put on 4 kilos over Christmas so chuck on that extra weight and I have to lose 14 kilos).  I have literally lost an extra 14 kilos previously just by walking. I didn’t change my eating habits, I just walked. It took a year because I only walked 10,000 steps every fortnight so I was only losing weight every fortnight. Not weekly.  Again, I feel this is pretty good considering I didn’t focus on eating only carrot sticks to lose weight.  So however you plan it, just note it the time to lose the weight may take longer. So do not get discouraged. Because, for me, once the weight is off, I am culling my bigge...

Image sourced via: Phoua Vang from Pixabay.com  So it happened, I got excited and bought all this fatty food such as bacon, mini sausages and rich chocolate and ate heaps over a few days (the week before Christmas) and I got extreme stomach pain in my whole stomach. In addition, when I stood up my lower stomach I had to hold as it felt so heavy and sore.  I ended up over three days eating bland food and drinking lots of water. Night time for the pain seemed worse.  It was such a wake up call to just not only over indulge but eat healthier foods. So far I have been eating what I want but I just went to the extreme this week and pushed my body over the edge.  Now I am thinking it’s best to eat wholesome foods such as vegetables and fruit and limit the oil when cooking foods. I also love chilli foods so not eating chilli or adding onion to my foods is a bit sad.  I am a huge foodie so this is a devastating blow. But also I have put on 3 kilograms because I have bee...

Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay The reason I put in weight over Christmas, is not just due to the one day of eating as much food as possible and also sitting for most of the day.  No, it’s because for the month of December, I am celebrating a month of Christmas. What does that mean? Parties for me and my children, where I sit around for hours and grazing.  Instead of the one day of eating and sitting, it is a whole month. And because of the holidays and due to the wet season in Australia at this time, being indoors and just watching TV or sitting down doing hobbies it does come at a cost. However, I do find if I don’t fight against this process and just accept it for a Christmas holiday and break from the regular routine of work and personal goals, then it is ok. Because in the New Year, I am ready again to go full force into routines and bigger goals to achieve.  Does the Christmas season of eating and sitting happen to you? Please comment below on if you ju...

^The above image is me, during my walk.  Hi there, So I am so excited because I decided to go for a walk for an hour and a half. I had the spare time. I nearly didn’t do it because it was 30 degrees outside. But I bought myself no sugar Gatorade for every day this week. So if it is hot, I can rehydrate.  And in this walk, I took a scenic route and did over 10,000 steps and over the whole course of the day, I did over 12,000 steps. I was very tired by the end but I also felt so proud of myself.  I could have stayed home but instead I went out and achieved my daily goal. I am aiming for minimum 10,000 steps a day.  I tend to walk this many steps every second week but every first week I barely do 5,000. So I know walking extra every day, I see a great benefit. Also I mentioned I lost 14 kilos as well and my blood pressure, which was high for a year is now looking good after a year of walking. Proving there are many benefits to walking and losing weight.  Have a gre...