Walk Breaks at Work

I've been taking more walk breaks at work, trying to increase my fitness while still getting my work time and tasks in! 😃

Fortunately, I work in a building that's long, and marked by numbered signs on the outside. Also, my building is surrounded by a parking lot. So, my big goal right now is to get all the way around the building. Right now, I can make it almost all the way down one side of the building. It's progress.

Before I started the Duke Diet and Fitness Center, I was getting about 2,000 daily steps in, give or take. Pretty pitiful, right? Now my daily steps are between 3000-4000 steps, almost daily. A big improvement, but I still have a long way to go. One step at a time, right?

Run/Walk Club at Work

My employer's annual Run/Walk Club starts next week, and I've signed up!

This training group has been going for a number of years, maybe 15? I joined when it started, but started doing my own training, followed by years of no training. So, I'm trying it again this year, but probably doing it independently, at least for a while. I hope it'll provide some extra motivation,

Engine 2 Diet: Who's Tried It?

It's that time of year again. Duke's employee wellness program is promoting another "Get Moving Challenge," starting on January 23. Employees across campus can sign up and join teams, tracking weight loss, exercise minutes, and/or walking steps for 10 weeks, ending April 1. Once we start recording in those three categories, we can see how we fare against other teams, so there's a bit of the competition element going on, too. Our team is called the Bookworms, because we work for the campus library system. :-)

Meanwhile, our local Whole Foods Market is starting a Engine 2 Twenty-Eight-Day Challenge, and it happens to start-guess when-on January 23! You have to register by January 15, and I'm thinking about it. It's a vegan diet, which can be a challenge, but I've done it before, so I'm pretty intrigued by the thought of trying it again. 28 days. Hmmm. Apparently this 28-day challenge is something promoted on the Engine 2 Diet website, and they've (smartly) teamed up with Whole Foods.

So, I've bought the Engine 2 Diet book by Rip Esselstyn, and it's the first Kindle version of a book that I've purchased, which adds to the fun. (I received an iPad 2 for Christmas from my awesome sister, Lisa, and the Kindle app on the iPad makes me feel like I'm reading on a Kindle!) I've also been exploring the website, as well as YouTube, which has a number of videos about the Engine 2 Diet. In fact, I watched one this evening, done by the author of the book, where he discusses "Prep Week." Much of Prep Week involves cleaning out the pantry and refrigerator of bad foods. He also suggests, in the video, a kitchen gadget he calls the Microplaner, which is actually a Microplane zester/grater. I looked it up on Amazon, and was about to order one, when I decided to check our kitchen drawers. Lo and behold, I found one! It's in great shape, too. :-) While I was going through the drawers, I decided to go ahead and toss some stuff and get them more organized. It's a start.

Here's the "Prep Week" video (click on the blue hyperlink to view), which has motivated me to start organizing the kitchen. (Hey, that's worth it, right?!) Meanwhile, I'm hoping the contest at work, and maybe this Engine 2 Challenge, will help with the winter-time (cold+dark early) motivation to eat right and exercise through the weeks ahead. My plans to run or walk the Tobacco Road Half Marathon are in jeopardy. Here's to a jumpstart!

A little more

This morning I did 35 minutes on the elliptical, a little more than yesterday. I must admit, I'm enjoying getting to work earlier, especially with everything gong on. I need to find the balance between an hour of daily exercise and finding extra time for work as well.

A little longer

This morning I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym. I felt stronger and a little more awake than yesterday, but am trying to get to work a little earlier. I don't much like my workouts suffering, so I need to find a balance somehow.

Back to my normal schedule

It's back to work today after my Thanksgiving break, so I was back to the gym this morning for a 65 minute workout on the elliptical. George and I decided not to do the Turkey Trot on Saturday, expecially with trying to make the mid-day footbal game between Duke and UNC. (Duke lost by one!)