Nearly two years ago, my husband decided to lose weight. He was bordering 300 pounds at the time and his doctor was warning him of the oncoming signs of diabetes. He was already taking medication for high cholesterol and high blood pressure. So, when the conversation turned to preventative medication for diabetes, Hubby set his mind to make some major changes. And when my husband decides to do something, he jumps in with both feet and doesn’t look back. So, in October of 2010, we both went on Weight Watchers and started tracking how many steps we were taking each day with a FitBit pedometer.
Hubby lost nearly 120 pounds from October of 2010 to June of 2011. I lost 20 pounds total. Since then, he has been freed from all the medication he had been taking before for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and he never had to take the diabetes preventative. There are no signs of diabetes anywhere.
As you can imagine, a great part of the change is owed to his weight loss and his food choices, but it also can’t be denied that walking has made a huge difference as well. It helps keep the weight off, it gives the heart a good workout, and it makes it so he can enjoy extras like beer and chocolate on a daily basis.
These days we walk at least 5 miles a day. Hubby usually walks more than that. He’s far more disciplined than I am. I peter out once I hit my step goal of 10,000 steps and some days I don’t even make it to that. Still, for both of us, walking has changed our lives and the way we travel.
Travel is now planned with walking in mind. We choose hotels and vacation rentals that are located in the heart of a walkable city or, as is the case with our home in suburban Phoenix, we figure out ways to incorporate walks into our lives without living life on a treadmill or circular track. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing where these walks have taken us, and how they’ve changed our lives, as we explore North America on foot.
Coming up: “Walking in suburban America”.
Jet Planes and Coffee 
Sherri, you never fail to impress me with your writing. Not only is this story amazing and inspiring, but I can just feel the positive energy it has given you to run with this idea of writing about your travels. Please don’t ever stop, because it is a gift. I am so proud of what Mike has accomplished! Cheers to a better, healthier life my friend.
Much love,
Nikki Rogers
Nikki, You are awesome. 🙂 Thank you for just making my whole day smile. Blessings and Hugs! – Sherry
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This is awe inspiring. Amazing feats you both have conquered and you both look great!
Thank you! 🙂
Congratulations to you both! What a great story and you have inspired me to step up my walking program (no pun intended). 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Lisa! 🙂
What a wonderful and inspiring personal experience to share with your readers! It’s so interesting to read this as walking brought a huge change to my life as well. It’s a beautiful thing! 🙂
Thank you! It’s amazing how powerful walking can be. Seems so simple, but it’s meant the world to us to get to know the world one step at a time while keeping to our fitness goals.
[…] our 16th wedding anniversary, we are, of course, 16 years older. And, if you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you know that we’ve made lots of changes in the last year which have taken us back in time […]
Wow…this is great! So glad you’ve both accomplished so much and you look Great!!
Thank you! And thank you for stopping by my blog! 🙂
🙂
This is a wonderful success story and shows what is possible through focus, determination, and a lot of hard work! You both look fantastic and I’m sure your outside reflects how you must feel on the inside too. My husband and I also LOVE walking and I faithfully wear my pedometer and write down my steps each night. Great post.
Thank you, Rufina! I am so much enjoying reading your blog about your own journey. By the way, I see you’re in Ontario. Is that correct? I’m in the process of writing an article about Toronto, then one on Stratford. Hubby and I will be up in Stratford again later this year. We love your part of the world! 🙂
I am Canadian, but now live in northern New York state. We cross the border frequently as my family is still there, along with many friends. There are numerous races in the area, on both sides of the border that we try to participate in each year. Stratford will be a fun place for you to visit…
We do love Stratford. This will be our third visit for the Shakespeare Festival. I’m in the process of compiling information for an article about it. Thanks, again, for stopping by!
[…] My Walking America series continues this weekend with more from Austin! Be sure to subscribe to this blog to receive notification when it comes out! Share this:TwitterFacebookPinterestEmailPrintMoreDiggLinkedInStumbleUponRedditTumblrLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Posted in Adventure, Art, Coffee, Culture, Design, Food, Health, History, Hotels, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, Walking | Tagged Austin Postcard Mural, austin texas, Blanton Museum of Art, creativity, culture, Davis Gallery, Four Seasons Austin, Gallery Shoal Creek, Lady Bird Lake, Stevie Ray Vaughn, travel, vacation, Willie Nelson […]
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