walking for exercise | The Good Life

Hi friends! It’s almost Friday (whoo hoo!), and the weekend is almost here I can taste it! First off, I want to say “wow!” to all your awesome comments yesterday about walking. I am floored by your responses in how you all loving walking, and let’s not forget, your love of goat cheese too…I think we can conclude that walking and goat cheese are a match made in heaven

After hearing all your comments yesterday, I’m even now more excited to incorporate walking into my workout routine and to especially get outside more. Of course isn’t it my luck that I’m finally choosing to walk outside now that we have dark, chilly mornings! Oh well…at least the time change (November 6th – mark your calendars!) is coming soon to move our clocks back an hour (“spring forward”, “fall back” – that’s how I remember! ), so at least I’ll get in some light mornings before winter gets here

With my walks, I plan on definitely keeping up my strength training (gotta maintain those muscles and bones!), and finally getting into some pilates and yoga. Forever I have been saying (hubby can testify to this!) how much I really want to incorporate yoga and pilates into my workouts and now finally I am going to. We have some yoga classes at the gym I could take, but Courtney has really peaked my interest into the yoga and pilates she does on her OnDemand TV so I think I’m definitely going to check that out. That way I can workout in my jammies with bed head, sweet!

With inspiration coming from you all in commenting about your walking routines, it got me thinking about inspiration in general, and how it can inspire me daily. Since the day I found the community of blogs, I have continually been inspired by these ladies, all from food, to fitness, to fashion, to faith…which by the way you can check out here on my Blogroll page. During my struggles, they inspired me to eat healthier, gain to a healthier weight, stop my obsessiveness and anxiety in calorie counting and overexercising, and last but not least, to start this blog. I hope in any way shape or form, I help just one person out there with my story of the struggles I’ve gone through, and now my journey to getting pregnant. And then after thinking about this inspiration, it got me thinking about other forms of inspiration and how it is truly around us, everywhere…

Fashion – I love it and it will always be a true passion of mine. My style inspiration has always been Jennifer Aniston. I love her simplistic, sophisticated, effortless, modern style. She inspires me to create outfits like this…(source)

…and like this…(source)

…and when I’m pregnant Shanna is going to be my preggie fashion consultant Btw, check out her blog, she’s fantastic and has amazing style!

Music – I simply just love listening to music. It can put me in a variety of moods such as upbeat, emotional, calming, or reflective. This is going to sound corny, but music is really therapeutic for me and it helps in putting my mind at ease when it starts over-thinking everything too much. Like this morning, I was watching the end of Bachelor Pad (don’t worry this point has meaning ), and as it was playing an excerpt of who the next Bachelor is, this song came on in the background…

Love love it. Not sure what exactly the song means, but it’s just so beautiful to listen to and it just makes me happy, in a good emotional way

I could go on and on about all the things everywhere around me that fuel inspiration, but I would like to know, what inspires you? I’d love to hear in the comments!

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I haven’t snapped any photos of my lunches because to be quite honest, it’s the same ole yogurt and salad combo, and didn’t want to bore you with it. I guess it’s the creature of habit in me If you’re new around here though, here’s what it looks like…

I usually don’t talk about or post my snacks here, but I wanted to show you all a new bar that I found and had it for a snack yesterday…yes I know it’s a kid’s bar but still really good! And I think the flavor is only available this time of year…

Lately I’ve been extra motivated to save coupons and yesterday I had one for this cereal…

So so good! And look at these ginormous clusters!!

It’s the little things like this that make me happy

Dinner was on my own tonight since hubby was in school (he’s in school year round Monday’s and Wednesday’s with a break for summer for his Electrician Apprenticeship). And by now you know he’s the chef in this household so I resorted to a simple sandwich. But a delicious, fall-tastic, Thanksgiving inspired one indeed! And one that was inspired by the lovely Sarah, thanks girl, fabulous recommendation!! It was amazing…

You know I can’t go without a side salad too…

And dessert, though somehow I forgot to snap a pic, was a piece of this chocolate…

And to give you all a few laughs…I saw this today on Yahoo News and I got quite a laugh out of it. Now don’t get me wrong, I kinda like these girls and their show, but this is just too funny…

Hope you all have a great day and see you tomorrow! And be sure to come back here tomorrow evening for a special recap, it involves a lunch date with a special someone

Questions:
What inspires you? Where/who does that inspiration come from?
What’s your favorite snack? I need more ideas besides just bars!

Happy hump day everyone! Hope you’re all having a fabulous day so far. I loved reading all your comments yesterday…seems a lot of you like to take at least 2-3 days off from exercising (which I think is a perfect amount!), and a lot of you enjoy Almond Milk in your smoothies and cereals. I love it too and also like to enjoy it as dessert in a cold glass with a piece of chocolate! However I really do not like almond flavored cookies like marzipan, or almond biscotti, ick! I know I’m a complex eater

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Taking this week off from exercise got me thinking about workouts I want to get back into come this Saturday and during the work week. Many of you such as the lovely Sarah, family, friends, and women in my shoes who I’ve received advice from, have suggested I start doing the simple yet very effective workout, walking! And did you know that many health benefits come from walking? My mom (thanks mom!) gave me this great article about walking and I wanted to share it all with you…

When it comes to exercise, running isn’t the only way to see results. Michele Stanten, fitness director at Prevention magazine, outlines the Walk Off Weight (or WOW) Program in a book of the same name. By alternating high-intensity activity with lower-intensity recovery periods, the program helps you burn fat and increase weight loss. Here are some other reasons to give walking a try:

Build up your immunity.

When you’re staying active, disease-fighting cells circulate through your body. Daily walking can lead to a higher-functioning immune system, which can mean fewer colds and flus and help protect you against conditions like heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.

Keep bones and joints strong.

Walking can help provide natural antioxidants and nutrients to your joints, muscles and bones. A walking regimen can help reduce stiffness, aches and pains.

Get a natural energy boost.

Walking for just 30 minutes a day can give you that extra boost you need to add another component to your workout. So once you’ve been on a walking program for a few days, you might feel ready to add a bike ride on top of that.

Get a natural mood boost.

Every time you walk, your body releases endorphins that make you feel good and relieve stress. Just think of it as a twofer: a way to improve fitness and your emotional state at the same time.

And get a good night’s sleep.

Because walking regularly can help improve your mood, lower your stress levels and reduce pain, it’s no wonder it also can help you sleep more soundly. (source)

Like I mentioned yesterday, I tend to have an “all or nothing” attitude, and I have perceived working out with this mentality. When I’m at the gym it’s “go big or go home” – that hour of my workout is at a pretty high intensity and I don’t feel like I’ve worked out unless sweat is dripping off of me. I’ve realized though that having this mindset is stressful in and of itself! I forget that this doesn’t have to be the case every single time I workout. Certainly high intensity training has it’s many benefits like building heart and muscle strength, but lower intensity exercises serves a very important purpose as well, such as to rebuild and recover your muscles, relieve stress, and clear your mind. In all areas of life, and the key word I always like to come back to, is balance. For health purposes, I think our bodies just simply want to move and thrive off of any form of movement, either it be a nice walk outside with the fresh air or a sweaty heart pumping spin class…both are beneficial to our minds, bodies, and souls. So for now I’ll be packing away my spin shoes for another day, and dusting off those sneakers to get ready for a nice walk outdoors this weekend…I think my Vitamin D and pale skin will thank me for that too

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I like to think that the hubby and I have esp every now and then, and he certainly did last night because this was waiting for me to dig into right when I got home…

That would be my new goat cheese love…

Cranberry & Orange Goat Cheese from Whole Foods

Along with these new crackers that I’m absolutely loving…they’re perfectly salty and sweet!

…along with some Food Network magazine on the side thanks sissy!

Dinner was a chicken salad…and in looking at these pictures I noticed little “restaurant touches” to my meal…such as fanning out my sliced chicken to pretty it up!

…with an artichoke on the side

…and a couple slices of bread with real butter which is always a restaurant treat to me…hey it’s the little things

…and ended on a sweet note, just like I like to do at restaurants…

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Today was a dreary, foggy one here in my neck of the woods so a nice pipping hot bowl of oatmeal sounded perfect! I can sense my fall/winter taste buds are coming back!!

Quaker Instant Hazlenut Latte flavored Oats made with 1/3 cup whole milk, cup of frozen berries, 2 tbsp. PB2 peanut butter

Hope you’re all having a fabulous day so far and it’s all downhill from here until the weekend! Whoo hoo!

Questions:
Do you enjoy walking as a form of exercise?
What kinds of low intensity workouts do you incorporate into your routine?
Do you like goat cheese? What kinds are your favorite? I’d love to know new brands/flavors that are out there!
Do you do any “restaurant touches” to your meals to make you feel like you’re fine dining at home?