Another holiday weekend with table groaning under the weight of awesome food. Not that I’m complaining about that 11-lb brown sugar ham I baked (and the month of ham sliders it will provide!) or the decadent designer cupcakes from our local Bake ‘n Cakes and bags of Eastro naughtiness wrapped in foil the cats will be chasing under the furniture for the next two years, because this year we were additionally blessed with fabulous weather – 70-degree loveliness that coaxed us out onto the sidewalk with our senior dog to tour the neighborhood in the long and enjoyable walk that settled the meal and made for a more uplifting (and comfortable) remainder of the day. My Fitbit thought it had been stolen!
At my new job, I put in mega-daily miles running up and down stairs and from front to back of our huge office for copies and scanning. Exhausting but surprisingly also invigorating to get that desk chair butt up and moving multiple times an hour. The benefits of this short hike (or rather frantic sprint most of the time) you might ask, one butt-in-chair writer/office assistant to another? Let me tell you . . .
Here are some ways to squeeze more active moments into a busy day – painlessly (c/o Fitbit blog):
- Use the bathroom on the other side of the building or on a different floor.
- Park farther away from the door.
- Take stairs instead of elevator or escalator (easy in our office since the ancient elevator is a death trap!)
- Take a brisk bike in addition/instead of a hike to enjoy that spring weather.
- Think of your purse or bags as dumbbells and work those biceps as you walk (your Fitbit will love you for it!).
- Walk and talk (think West Wing!). My boss does all her conference calls pacing her office space (and she has great calves, btw!).
- Listen to an audio book as you book around the neighborhood! (My first published book, SWEET TEMPEST, a Regency-set historical w/a Lauren Giddings, has been reissued on audio! Just saying . . .).
- Positive brain changes to reduce stress, prevent early dementia and provide low-impact aerobic exercise!
- Improves eyesight (and what computer-screen dependent writer doesn’t need that!?) by relieving eye pressure (and may even fight glaucoma!)
- Helps prevent heart diseases or stroke by lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol and improving blood circulation!
- Increases lung capacity and oxygen flow (and helps with bodily eliminations – bonus!)
- Oh, my pancreas! Walking more effective in combating diabetes than running!
- Digest this – 30 minutes of walking could not only lower the risk of colon cancer but improves digestion and constipation.
- Toned muscles and strong bones. 10,000 daily steps a day counts as a work out in a gym and is low-impact. No sore muscles and reduces pain in joints and inflammation as well as back relief due to increased blood circulation within the spine.
- Calms the mind. Enough said there!
Having fought to meet his upscale family’s expectations, working class city girl Bethany follows her absent husband into the wilderness where a leaky tent, a surly dog and a dangerous situation prove how far she’ll go to keep him. Just $.99!!
A myth-buster struggling with the nightmares of her past and a hunter tracking an ancient vampire for the government – She doesn’t believe in monsters, he doesn’t trust in fate. Both are about to face death. Just $.99!!
Run, don’t walk to grab up these deals!
Happy Spring reading. And take a hike!
♚♚♚♚♚
Nancy Gideon on the Web
