Good Health is a Walk In The Park

Good Health is a Walk In The Park

We don’t talk much about the Physical Health side of OHS here. It is kind of the elephant in the room in that we know that lack of physical fitness does play some role in the severity of injuries and may even be the indirect cause of others (ie fatigue, stress etc). Anyway, I don’t want to go there but, have you ever sat in a Medical Centre and thought that the best prescription a lot of the patients could walk away with is exercise and a healthy diet?

Found this great infographic from http://everybodywalk.org/ – “Every Body Walk! is a campaign aimed at getting Americans up and moving. Through the help of our partners, we are working to spread the message that walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week really can improve your overall health and prevent disease”

I related to it straight away and can personally espouse the benefits of going for a bit of a wander everyday. About 2 years ago I started to feel like crap and had fallen into the vicious cycle of takeaway, don’t have time, I’ll be healthy tomorrow but just too tired to do it today……..

Then a friend was kind enough to be honest with me about what was pretty obvious to others but had just crept up on me. She convinced me to start walking. After doing some research and learning how to put the right fuel in your body at fuelformybody.com, I started going out really early everyday with the dog. I did half an hour and it nearly killed me. But very quickly it became easier, I could go further and for longer and actually felt AWESOME afterwards. I don’t believe in special diets but just cut back on takeaway and looked at all the little things that add up – Ie Mayonnaise is almost pure bad fat!!! I love talking the stairs now instead of the escalator!

2 years on………..shed 16kgs (35lbs) (which is sustainable because I made life style changes) and feel 20 years younger, I love my morning walks now and I’ve met lots of really nice people in my neighbourhood out doing the same thing – they are all looking better as well and they smile a lot more. To lift the bar,  I just started wearing a backpack with 15kg (33lb) weights inside and I cant believe that I used to lug that around all the time! My dog loves me more, I have more energy & less stress, I sleep better, I bought some nice new tailored clothes, I am happier, I haven’t had one sick day in 2 years, I do more with the kids. My cholesterol was at dangerous levels – now it is normal and no drugs. There are, of course, some other excellent benefits which I cant talk about here!!!!

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, you can make your own choices but I am walking proof of how easy and beneficial it is to be healthier.