It's 68F as I type this and as a native Minnesotan, that's just wild. And lovely, I am complaining ZERO about having my windows open and going for a dreamy jacket-less walk today.
I've been an avid walker since college. UW-Madison is a giant campus, and it's beautiful too, so even as an 18-year old I enjoyed putting on my Sony Walkman and daydreaming while I walked to class.
I noticed pretty quickly that the heavier my class load - and the more walking I did - the easier it was for me to stay at my preferred weight. (I also noticed that it helped if I was drinking less beer and eating less fried cheese and 2 am pizza. Funny how that works. #onwisconsin)
No one except athletes lifted weights back then, so walking and the occasional aerobics class was the only exercise I got. But I logged 5 miles most days and I loved it.
After I graduated, and started the usual working at a desk all day, I really missed walking. I joined a gym and started walking on a treadmill after work but ugh. I realized that it was walking outside that I loved the most (turns out, for good reason).
Through the years, I've adjusted my walking schedule 100 times to accommodate jobs, schedules, neighborhoods, parenting, injury, and weather.
That's the beauty of walking - it's so marvelously adaptable.
Back in the 80s and 90s, experts used to downplay the effectiveness of walking for fitness and weight management.
I worked with a couple of personal trainers who said walking counted for almost nothing.
I knew they were wrong - I'd seen the positive effects in my own life too many times.
Thank goodness that these days, every trainer and fitness influencer everywhere sings the praises of walking for cardiovascular health, weight loss, mental health, gut health, disease prevention, brain health, joint health, bone health, and more.
Walking + weight lifting is the moment, and I'm so here for it. (Check out this Mind Pump podcast about why walking is the king of fat-loss cardio and how to do it correctly. Listen while you walk!)
So...how much do you need to walk to reap the rewards?
A walk as short as 10 minutes can:
Improve blood glucose
Shift your mood
Lower blood pressure
Wake you up
Crush a craving
Boost creativity
In fact, taking a few 10-minute walks per day is as good for you or perhaps even better than walking for 30-40 minutes all at once. So definitely take walk breaks during the day if you can!
Other tips:
πΆπ»ββοΈIf weight loss is your goal, aim for walking 6000-10,000 steps per day. Hitting 10,000 steps grabs all the headlines but recent studies have pointed to plenty of benefit in the 7-8000 steps range.
πΆπ»ββοΈI buy walking shoes 1/2 size larger than fashion shoes and add my own arch-support inserts. I have always over-pronated, even as a kid, so having proper support on the inside of my feet and arch is imperative, otherwise my knees scream.
πΆπ»ββοΈIf you haven't been walking much for awhile, start slowly and build up or you'll really feel it in your lower back. To protect your back, watch your stride length - over-striding puts stress on your lower back so as you increase your speed, do it by taking quicker, not longer, steps. (Ask me how I know this...ha.)
πΆπ»ββοΈWalking on snow and ice can be pretty miserable - not to mention dangerous - so YakTrax are imperative. I replace mine every year or two.
πΆπ»ββοΈTracking steps and creating a walking challenge with your buddies are both proven ways to up your step count. Your smartphone will track your steps, but you need to have it on your body at all times to get a true daily count. That's where an Apple watch or FitBit can come in handy.
I've been reading up on the pros and cons of a desk treadmill. If you have one and love it, let me know! The pros seem to be significantly improved energy and creativity and that listening-only meetings fly by. That makes sense given all that we know about what physical activity does for our brains.
The cons seem to be that it's impossible to do deeply creative writing, work with a mouse, or have your (bobbing) face show for meetings. The majority of my work is those three things so...unless you scream otherwise, I'll probably keep my walking to the outdoors.
Also, it's 68F outside in February...!
Alright...
...you know that walking is amazing for you, but you're still not doing much of it.
How do you get yourself out the door (or onto a treadmill) when you know it's great for you but you're just not doing it?
Welcome to the most annoying of all human traits - to want something but not take action toward it.
Or to start action...then fizzle out.
I'm not going to lie, as a person with big aspirations and a lot of energy, I have been alternately amused, stymied, stunned, and furious with myself MANY times in my life for getting in my own way.
To such a degree that it's led to years of deep dives and learning about the overall human resistance to change...even when change is deeply desired.
Of course, a million scientific books have been written on this very topic - Atomic Habits by James Clear is one of my favorites - but here's my unscientific hot take:
We have to accept that we're of two minds.
Our conscious mind is the place where good intentions arise, where data makes all the sense, where logic prevails. Our subconscious and unconscious minds (I'm going to lump them together and refer to them as subconscious) is the place where sticky beliefs, earliest values, deepest survival fears, and familial patterns exist.
When our two minds are in sync, discipline is a breeze.
Take walking, for example. If you grew up spending joyful time outdoors, felt safe in the outdoors, created deep memories of how good it feels to move your body, and were never shamed for the way that you move or look while you move, you might find it pretty easy to establish a walking routine.
But...
...if you were pressured to move your body to lose weight, if you were an un-athletic person in a family of athletes, if you grew up in a neighborhood where it was not safe to be outside alone, if you were bullied walking home from school, if you were injured and experienced pain while moving...
...you can imagine why your subconscious mind might push back on this new routine you're trying to establish.
I myself was constantly ridiculed as a child for my lack of coordination and it made me hate physical activity. I was always tall, not very strong, and while I had decent eye-hand coordination, I am as slow as molasses as a runner. Unwitting family members, teachers, and friends all mocked the way I moved and it still stings to think about.
I'm quite sure that I love walking so much because it doesn't conjure up fear and dread for me. Ditto lifting weights. But I've never been attacked outdoors, or had to push through a serious injury. My experiences make walking feel safe and fun to me.
It takes some effort to think through subconscious blocks, but it can definitely be done. Caveat - if you know there is serious trauma affecting your decisions, working with a therapist is the first step. Trauma therapy has come a long way in the last decade and I myself have been greatly helped by EMDR therapy to work through past traumas.
I have also been enormously helped by a program called To Be Magnetic. It's got a woo/metaphysical/manifestation bent, but their programming is designed with both a neuroscientist and an EMDR therapist, and their "deep imagining" self-hypnosis meditations have given me more peeks into my subconscious than I have ever had in my life. Ever. Absolute game-changer for a nerd like me that has spent my entire adult life trying to get my conscious and subconscious minds wrangled onto the same path.
I love the program so much I recently signed up to be an affiliate, which means I can offer you a discount (and receive a small payment on my end). The program is NOT expensive, so feel free to sign up with or without my discount, this is not a moneymaker for me. I just love the program and what it's taught me and it complements my coaching practice so well. Sign up here and use code STEPHANIE5132 if you'd like the discount.
When you SEE the block, and know what it's about, then you can start to shift it. Absolutely lean on someone outside yourself to help you see. Literally this very moment I am texting with my bestie consigliere Tracy Morgan about changes I'm planning to my website and she perfectly and beautifully mapped out what my next steps should be.
She then said - because she's hilarious beyond - It always amazes me how fast I can come up with a plan for someone else.
And I said, I am writing about exactly that this very minute and the reason is because you don't have subconscious blocks or any skin in the game with someone else's process.
And that, my friend, is why coaching (and/or therapy and/or mentorship and/or any feedback from outside ourselves) works so damn well to elicit change when we can not conjure it on our own.
There are other reasons too - like for instance accountability and the desire to please others - but those are topics for future newsletters.
Today I'll leave you with pondering where your conscious and subconscious minds are at odds with each other, why that might be, and encourage you to reflect on ways you could take action that will either heal past pain/fear or overcome it. Both are legit responses depending on the circumstances.
Either way, I'm here to help unstick you. Good luck!
Image courtesy of Zoe Francois
Last, of course I'm going to leave you with a recipe.
Funny story about the recipe I last shared, Spicy Sausage & Lentil Soup. My brother texted our family chat a picture of my adorable 3-year-old niece, Blair Bear, helping her mama chop onions while decked out in ski goggles and a tutu. He said, "We're making Aunt Stephanie's sausage and lentil soup."
My stepmom Susanna chimed in, "We just made it too and had it for dinner! Your dad thought it was delicious."
My dad responded, "But the cook here (aka Susanna) wore neither goggles nor a tutu." π€£
This week I thought I'd share the Overnight Oats recipe from my Free 30 Grams of Protein Breakfast PDF. It is such a favorite, and I get so many questions about it, this feels like a perfect time to encourage those of you on the fence about the power of eating breakfast to give the recipe a try.
Overnight oats can be 1000 different things. This version uses peanut butter but sub in almond butter or sunbutter if you're nut-free. You can just imagine all the different ways you could go with fruit toppings - cold berries and peaches in the summer months. Warm berries or sauteed apples or citrus in colder months. Bananas or mango anytime. The options are endless and they're all soooooo good.
1 1/3 cups Greek yogurt 1 1/3 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy) 1/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut or seed butter) 1/4 - 1/2 cup maple syrup 4 scoops collagen peptides (optional) 1/8 teaspoons salt 1 1/3 cups old fashioned rolled oats 3 teaspoons chia seeds β Toppings: Peanuts (or other nuts or seeds) Banana slices
Make the oats:
Add yogurt, milk, peanut butter, maple syrup, collagen, and salt to the bowl of a blender. Blend on medium-high speed until smooth.
Add oats and chia seeds to the yogurt mixture and just stir with a spoon (no need to blend it).
Pour oat mixture into a large glass container with an airtight lid. Refrigerate overnight.
To serve, spoon into bowls (or jars for on-the-go) and top with peanuts and banana slices.
Per serving without toppings and including collagen: 315 calories, 28 grams protein, 11 grams fat, 40 grams net carbs, 6 grams fiber
I leave you with encouragement to walk in as many ways as you can think of, all of them are highly beneficial and worthy.
As well as pondering where your conscious and subconscious minds are at odds with each other and getting in the way of your most desired goals. Let me know if I can help break an impasse.
As well as encouragement to experiment with eating breakfast, especially if you're really struggling with afternoon cravings and a big appetite in the evenings. Check out this Instagram post to explain in more detail - let's just say the number of women who think afternoon sugar cravings are about lack of discipline is WILD. Hint: it's not.
Your support of my work is deeply appreciated. If you in return appreciate the time and effort I put into recipe development, research, and sharing tips and tricks to improve your health, you can subscribe to my newsletter here. I offer extras - discounts, interviews, additional recipes, and more - to paid members.
Thank you!
xoxo Stephanie
β
Want help knowing how to eat to beat cravings, easily prepare healthy and delicious meals, stop wasting food, and boost your energy so you feel and look...dare I say...vibrant?
β