Written by: Tracey Fallow, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
One of my pet peeves is when people are always negative, so I will start by speaking of positive trends. Unfortunately, these positive trends are not good news. Statistics show in 2016, over 60% of our population in Canada were overweight (BMI > 25), with approximately 25% in the obese category (BMI >30). Also of note, 1 in 3 children (age 6-16) was overweight or obese compared to 1 in 4 in 1978. The trends don’t lie, and the trend is going up. Sadly this positive trend does not bode well for the health of our population.
The same could be said of the increase in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. There is also an entire subset of other chronic health issues people are plagued with, like high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and COPD, also on the rise. Why are people in this day and age, where knowledge is readily available, unhealthy, and completely oblivious? Screen time, processed food, smoking, and motorized vehicles are among the culprits on my list of things that are to blame. Sedentary jobs are causing a host of chronic back and neck problems, where people are in a continual hunched-over posture. Sitting is the new smoking, and before it is too late, we will evolve into a population with hunchbacks who can’t look up at the sky anymore.
Working as an RN in an optimization clinic to prepare patients for hip and knee replacements, I see many people who have continued lifestyles into adulthood that should have been altered in their 20’s. More than once, I have seen patients with high blood pressure, who are obese and are dealing with diabetes, who do not want to decrease their sugar or alcohol intake, and have strokes while waiting for their surgery. I have also witnessed patients who use their surgery as a great “why” to turn their life around. I believe the key is the “why,” and if they don’t figure that out, they may start to drop pounds off their body but will never continue a healthy lifestyle in the post-operative period. My healthiest patients walk consistently, and they are also the patients that have the best outcome after surgery. That’s right, walking. They have good muscle tone, good nutritional habits, and have grit. Their “why” goes beyond their surgery. Their “why” has been a lifestyle choice. They chose to be their best version of themselves long before they needed surgery, and more often than not, their weight is not what has caused their osteoarthritis. You, too, can achieve this. The hardest part will be getting started.
Walking every day will not give you ultimate beach body status, train you for a marathon or cure your prostate cancer. What It will do for you is give hope, and we could all use some of that. When done consistently, it will lighten your mood, get you secreting endorphins, the feel-good hormones that you get from a bag of chips. Yes, that is why you can’t put the bag down, and the key is not to start. I digress. Walking and a better mood will, in turn, dial back the weigh scale, dial down the insulin you take for your type 2 diabetes, increase your water intake and eventually dial down the dosage of your high blood pressure medication. You might feel so good that you want to walk farther and faster and be encouraged to stop smoking because it just doesn’t suit you anymore. Before you know it, you are seeing physiotherapists because your neck and back pain from your poor posture is getting in the way of your walking routine, and you learn to strengthen and correct this. You might even find yourself improving your nutrition and mindfully nourishing your body instead of just filling the void in your stomach. In time you will have more energy to play with the children or grandchildren, thus, in turn, improving your relationships. Holidays with physical activities that you can participate in will follow, and you might even find the anti-depressants you take are not necessary anymore. The trickle-down effect is significant.
So, where does one start? Here are some tips. If you have not been walking but feel this is something you want to incorporate into your daily routine, I recommend seeing a professional first.
Start slowly but routinely. Start with a 10-minute walk every day. If you don’t feel any pain in your joints the next week, you can increase either the intensity of the walk (greater distance in the same amount of time) or the length of time by 10-15%. If there is a pain in your muscles, this is normal, especially if you haven’t been using these muscles. It is a build-up of lactic acid and eventually will be a welcome sign that you worked hard. If there is a pain in the joints, back off to the intensity of the previous week. This is very important. Your tendons and ligaments don’t improve at the same level as your muscles and need time to catch up to their vascular muscle friends. In less than 4 months, you will be walking 30 minutes a day. At the clinic I work at, we recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderately strenuous activity per week.
Get yourself some good walking shoes. They need to be comfortable and be able to absorb the impact you put on them. By the way, losing just 1 pound will take 3-4 pounds of weight off of your joints. This is significant when it comes to pain control.
Speaking of pain control, take your pain medications (if you usually need them) before you exercise. Pain is a deterrent that you don’t want or need.
Get an accountability partner, your spouse, preferably for the added benefit of just “being” together. The conversations you have on a walk will improve your relationship. If you don’t have a spouse, ask a friend or buy a dog. Dog owners have a responsibility and will often do things for others before themselves. If you are one of those people that puts the needs of others before themselves, I am speaking to you.
Pick up some walking poles and make sure they are fitted for you and your height. These will offload some weight that your core and upper body can take on. They help you walk with a normal gait, which is very important for rehabilitation. After 10,000 hours, our bodies' movements become habitual, even after the original problem has been fixed. If you are limping, this means you.
Get a nice waterproof walking jacket. Rain will not be an excuse either. After all, you are not made of sugar, and who doesn’t love some new swag?
Could it be that walking is the answer to our obesity epidemic? Can we walk away from our type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure? Could taking 30 minutes out of 1440 that are available in a day relieve our depression? One thing I know for sure, and it is this, we all are equals when it comes to time, and all the money in the world cannot buy you more. What you do with your time is up to you. I believe we all can afford to spend 30 minutes taking care of ourselves with a walking routine, I guarantee it will be worth the investment, and in fact, it can literally save your life.
Tracey Fallow, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Tracey Fallow is an intuitive life coach and mind-body practitioner. A lifelong learner, Tracey has been on a path that led her from self-loathing\ and frustration to peace and joy. She is an RN and an advocate for meditation, manifesting, energy work, and physical fitness. In the past 3 years, along with walking and hiking, she has become an avid mountain biker, which she enjoys with her husband a group of friends. Join her free Facebook group “Heart Universe City” where she often does live breath-work and meditation exercises. She often hosts a free workshop on emotional fitness that Tracey feels is just as important as physical fitness. In the fall, she will be launching a 90-day program, “When to Zen,” where you will have plenty of accountability partners for meditation, mindset homework to destroy your limiting beliefs, and opportunities to establish a morning routine that will set you up for success. You can find her on Instagram @heartuniversecity and her website www.heartuniversecity.ca
