Support and accountibility (and Day 10 - 21 Day Sugar Detox)

I love walking. 

I tolerate running, and at some moments in my run I might even enjoy it, but if I had to pick just one activity I could do to stay active, it would walking. 

Walking is easy, it's relatively painless (I say that because I remember trying to go for walks at my heaviest weight), and fairly inexpensive (yes, some walking shoes are expensive, but not necessary).  You can do it anywhere.  You can do it alone, with a friend or with a group.  You can plug in your earphones and listen to your favorite music, podcast or audio book; or you can listen to the sounds of nature (or the symphony of urban noise).  You can walk in the city, around your block, in the woods, or over a mountain.

I love walking.

But I don't always do it, even though I know I need to.  I get in the mindset of, "I'll go for a walk later" but later never happens.  Or I use excuses, "it's too cold,"  "it's too hot," "it looks like rain," etc.  I have a million excuses. 

Walking Group - Kay, Nancy, Barb & Linda

To help keep the excuses to a minimum, I have build up a support system of friends to whom I am accountable.  On Tuesday mornings, I meet up with an awesome group of women (I met them all at Weight Watchers meetings) for an early morning walk before work.  Once you know people are counting on you to be there, then you make more of an effort to go.  And you show up, because you know if you don't they will ask why you weren't there (and the "too cold" or "too hot" excuse doesn't fly if they made the effort to be there!).  We spend about thirty minutes walking around a local park; we talk, laugh, vent, and dispense advice.  It's a great way to start a morning and always boosts my mood and makes the day more enjoyable. 

I do a majority of my walking on my breaks at work.  I have a very sedentary job (8 hours a day staring at computer monitors), so my breaks are very important to me.  I make sure I take them and I make sure I am moving during my breaks.  I generally go for a quick walk in the morning and afternoon, and I recruit co-workers to walk with me.  The more people I can drag along with me, the more likely I am to go.

My lunchtime walking buddy, Windy

Lunchtime is my long walk with my friend, Windy.  I met Windy at Weight Watchers years ago (I think she started several months after I did), but it was several years before we started talking and realized we had friends in common and also shared a lot of the same interests.  A couple of years ago, we started walking together on our lunch break.  Our offices are about a half mile apart, but we meet up, do a big loop of about 2 miles before going to back to our jobs.  I love walking with Windy because I know that whatever I am going through in regards to weight loss, she understands.  She is part of the 100 Pound Weight Loss club (Woo Hoo!!), so she is a great person to talk with (or cry, or vent, or whatever).  Most of our talks center around our weight, issues we are having, challenges we are facing, struggles we are going through.  We discuss different ways of eating (Weight Watchers, clean eating, Paleo, etc) and how to incorporate that into our lifestyles.  Windy reminds me that I don't need be perfect, I just need to keep at it and never give up.  We encourage, motivate, and inspire each other.  Most of all, we are accountable to one another.  We push each other to try harder and do more. 

Even if you don't have the support and encouragement in your life now, don't give up.  Keep looking, talk to people, and learn to ask for help/support.  And if all that fails, then go for a walk.  You'll feel better and you'll never know who you might meet along the way.

Now, to switch gears (no easy to way to transition into it today), Day 9 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox went well, but I didn't have any challenges or cravings.  Just another day.   I am still amazed at how good I feel.  I haven't had many cravings, I haven't been tempted to cheat or go off plan, and I just feel happier and less obsessed about food.   I think even Hubby is impressed with my attitude and how much less emotional I have been since starting the detox.  Feeling very confident about finishing the detox without too many setbacks, and even if I don't, I'll focus on what I have accomplished.

On to Day 10 and I'm off to a good start!