A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start walking every weekday. I want to get into better shape and feel better health-wise. Honestly, my mother-in-law is a big inspiration. Since losing weight on keto, she walks 10,000 steps every day. She goes out walking most days, and the last time we brought in wood for the stove, she totally out-muscled me! Here’s how I did with walking on keto.
A Review of the First Two Weeks
I got out a grand total of two times in two weeks. Not great. There were several reasons why this happened. Firstly, I decided to go for walks on my lunch break from work. The problem with that is that I’m a supervisor and sometimes I can’t leave the building. It’s not that I’m indispensable, but there are four of us and two have to be in the building at all times for medication decisions. What I didn’t realize before I started my two weeks was that other supervisors were taking vacation at that time. If someone else had to go somewhere, I was stuck where I was.
The second issue was the weather. It was the end of March in Nova Scotia. Sometimes, the weather was just miserable. If you’ve read this blog, you know that I hate being cold. Like, it makes me cranky. I probably would have been more motivated to get out and do it if the sun was shining and it wasn’t in the negative temperatures.
What I learned Walking on Keto
You might see this as a total failure, but I truly don’t. I actually learned a lot from this experiment. Firstly, I realized that I rarely take a lunch break. I keep on working, and I eat lunch at my desk. That’s not healthy and that needs to change.
I also learned that when I did go out walking, I came back feeling energized and ready to be productive again. That’s important. With keto, I rarely feel that low in the afternoons because I’m not taking in sugar or carbs that convert to glucose. My blood sugar stays stable. It means that I tend to forget that I’m not a robot who can just keep going. I’m not as productive at 2 pm if I don’t take a break from what I’m doing.
Next Steps for Walking on Keto
I’ve decided to keep my workout clothes at work and go when I can. I’m not going to put pressure on myself to do it so many times a week, because that leads to a feeling of failure. I’m just going to walk when I can and enjoy the energy I feel when I get back.
I have found that if the sun is shining, I don’t have difficulty motivating myself to get out for a walk. I don’t have a great area to walk as I work in an industrial park. It has a sidewalk, but that’s about it. But, I think if I had to get in my car to go somewhere to walk, I’d be a lot less likely to do it. So, I’ll grab my headphones and just enjoy the music as I go.
A Final Thought about this Series
I’m really glad I did this series. It showed me that I need to focus on my health more than I have been. I think I’ve gotten content with the fact that I’ve lost weight on keto, so now I’m good. There’s more to health than that. I need to feel good too. And, walking helps me with that. So, I’ll try to get out at least once or twice a week while at work to start, and maybe work my way into prioritizing that time for me.
Wendy
