Friday, April 3, 2009

Michelle: Hiking out of my weight loss hole


I'm still here. And despite the fact that I've ignored the whole weight loss thing for a few months, I'm trying to get back on track.

In November, I had the opportunity to go hiking outside of San Jose, CA, with my friend Russ, the Winehiker. While the short hike pretty much kicked my ass, I noticed something. I overall felt better and my back, miraculously, didn't hurt. I resolved then and there to start hiking as soon as spring arrived in Cincinnati.

Spring's here! I bought hiking shoes. Actually, I've purchased two pairs of hiking shoes - a 7 1/2 and an 8. Apparently I need a 7 3/4. I'm walking around my house today with one on each foot, deciding which one fits better before I send the other pair back. Hmm ... what's better? My toe hitting the end of the 7 1/2 or my heel going up and down in the 8.

We're going hiking this weekend. Just on Saturday, and we're starting small and local. Big Bone Lick State Park, nearby, has 3.5 miles of trails and even a herd of buffalo. My goal is to hike the whole 3.5 miles.

Hopefully that won't kill me. I've been a terrible Loser. I've ignored the gym since November and I haven't ignored dessert. (Somehow, someway, I'm still a size 8, but that baffles me.) So I'm out of shape.

There's an 8-mile hike I want to do in Alaska this summer, and I hope I can be in shape for it. It's good to have a goal.

Wish me luck!

3 comments:

winehiker said...

Michelle, I applaud your ambition! Glad to know you're going to be getting outside and achieving healthy goals.

A word about the shoes: your feet will swell when walking any reasonable distance, so I would advise against the Size 7-1/2 shoes. Downhills are especially not fun when your toes are jamming against the toe of the shoe. As for your ankles, you can secure them with a 2nd pair of socks (you can wear a thin inner wicking pair and a thick wool/blend outer pair) or a readjustment of the laces.

By all means, You Go, Girl! And thank you for the link love. Cheers!

Laura said...

I agree...having a goal to work towards helps.
My goal today is to not lose my mind. Not as thrilling as a hike in Alaska, but equally difficult, you would see, should you ever meet my children!

Thanks for visiting my blog...I will have to check out the Oprah show topic yesterday...I have no idea what it was about, but it sounds as if I am channeling her through my blog!

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