I feel like crap and look even worse - or - which part of “Walking is good for you” do I not understand?

Posted on March 11, 2008 in Personal thoughts by DM

photo of treadmill It wasn’t supposed to be this way. This winter, we were finally going to make use of the treadmill we’ve owned for the past 10 years. Coming off a summer and fall where we regularly walked 1-3 miles a day, we thought we were motivated. And, I’m sure “ye olde mill” was looking forward to the prospect of being more than a place to hang our drip-dry clothes. As it turns out, another entire winter passed with nary an extra step taken. And this weekend I pretty much sealed the deal when I stacked some boxes on it to make room for my beautiful new writing desk.

Did I mention our tiny house has virtually NO storage? I am not kidding. There is cabinetry in the kitchen, filled with kitchen stuff, of course, and even then I am still forced to keep my pots and pans in the oven. There is one closet in each of two bedrooms. There are two tall, narrow cupboards in the bathroom. That’s it. No other built-ins, no coat closet, no utility closet, nothing else. (Unless you count the unfinished and frequently damp basement.) So whenever I try to declutter, most of what I gather up that has no other home goes into a tub or box and gets stacked at one end of my bedroom. These are the boxes and other containers I finally relinquished to the treadmill’s platform. (Sorry, old girl, maybe next year.)

I mention this because this winter has taken a toll on my health, and the lack of walking is one reason why that’s so. I think I’ve gained 20 pounds… I feel crappy most of the time… I look like hell - pale, ruddy, blotchy… in fact, a friend of mine told me the other day how tired I looked, and I happened to feel GREAT at the time! I am so very, very SICK of the cold and snow, moreso than any other year I can ever remember. I am really hoping we will get back to walking as soon as the weather breaks. It felt good to walk, I had lost some weight (and would have lost even more if I’d done the “salad diet” my husband was doing), and it felt like I’d accomplished something every time we arrived back home.

I have got to get moving again!

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