The Morning Walk

A morning walk is one of my favorite habits. Of all life's pleasures surely walking has to rank in my top five. Right after - well you know - and playing with the kids, and quiet time with the little lady and eating and... OK, call me a dork - my kids do! My morning walks help kick start my day. Those twenty or thirty minutes spent walking refresh my spirit. Walking in the cool morning air allows me to visualize my day. It is an excellent time to think on the goals and tasks for the day ahead. My morning walk is good for the soul and gives me added energy throughout the day.
Many a new idea can pass thru my little brain during my morning walk. Many a pleasant thought or memory. And the occasional bad ones too. Walking somehow helps me suppress those unhealthy negative thoughts. Why waste time on thoughts you'd really rather not entertain in the first place? When one of those unfriendly memories enters my mind I try to change the course and think of something more pleasant. Or pray!

As an added bonus, I'm burning calories. OK, call me lame again - I'll freely admit it. I could just as easily be burning twice the calories on my TreadClimber and listening to some motivational tracks or watching a good video. But who can pass up a crisp, beautiful autumn morning to enjoy some quiet time in all of God's splendor? Or better yet to share with your spouse, children, or favorite walking buddy.

November is such a wonderful month for getting outside. The cool, crisp morning air refreshes our senses and feels so good to breathe. November reminds us to enjoy the great outdoors while we can. Before long many of us will be wishing for mornings in the 40s or 50s. That walk at lunch in your shirt sleeves or light jacket on a pleasant autumn day will soon be just another nice memory.

Why not eat a healthy lunch and slip outside for a pleasant half hour of stress relief and enjoy a brisk walk? Some experts suggest even as few as fifteen minutes will make a big difference in your energy level for the rest of the day.

Healthy Living

Good Health is not an accident. In our youth many of us are ( or were ) blessed with mostly good health. Maintaining the body we are blessed with is not always easy. The Human body was not really designed to sit behind a desk for 9 hours a day. Or to spend countless hours watching a TV while in a sedentary position. Our bodies are designed to be active.

It is up to us to take action and do all we can to keep slender or at least maintain a healthy weight. Eating right and exercise are critical to our level of health. Where we are today - in terms of our overall health - is frequently the result of the choices we've made up to this point in our lives.

I've made some pretty unhealthy choices. Smoking has to top the list of my poor decisions. Letting my exercise habits slide has been bad choice number two. I love donuts. And candy and sugar laden breakfast cereal. If it has sugar in it - I probably like it. That is OK when you're ten and you are outside running around the schoolyard or your front yard every evening after school.

Coming home from my nice comfy cubicle to my nice comfy recliner and an evening of TV is just not enabling me to burn the calories and maintain a healthy weight. The older we get the harder it is to keep up healthy levels of activity. The human body can naturally see a decline in the metabolism rate over the years. If we don't exercise regularly after age thirty or so we can see a gradual growth of the old waist size. I really admire those guys my age who don't have 40 inch waists.

If they can keep their waistline in a reasonable range, so can we! Small, simple changes can, in time, lead to a much healthier you. This time of year is an excellent time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of autumn while walking off the pounds. Or running if you're so inclined. If you smoke - quit today. Don't wait. Your body will thank you. Your loved ones will thank you. And you'll soon be glad you did.

Hopefully you will find the information in these pages useful in your quest to live a healthy (and long) life.