I believe all of these techniques will help me increase my level of motivation.
My walking schedule started out with a walk four times a week. I have since added one day and my new goal is to try to walk every single day. As mentioned before, I believe consistency is a key to endurance. To maintain a consistent schedule, I take my walking class first thing every morning so that other activities are less likely to interfere with my time to walk. However, sometimes I am up late studying and do not always get up in time for my morning walks. I believe that adding the new goal to walk every day will help compensate for any times that I miss due to studies.
One of the major reasons why I started my walking program was to lose weight. In this respect, I am very disappointed because I am the very same weight as when I started the program. On a positive note, at least I haven't gained any additional weight. Reviewing estimates of calories burned during walking, I believe I burn around 300 calories for my four mile walk or about 1200 calories per week since I walk four times a week. This should allow me to lose about a pound a month. However, I realize that diet also plays a large factor in weight loss and that I need to make sure I am not consuming extra calories now that I am walking. I expect that my plan to...
I will also try to add more walking on inclines to help me burn additional calories.
Often, my schedule as a student is demanding and I'm under a lot of stress to do well in my studies. With regards to this, walking has been wonderful at helping me to control my stress. I believe that walking has helped in two ways. First, as a physical activity, it increases the release of endorphins which makes me feel a lot calmer and more relaxed. Second, it is helpful just to get away from a stressful environment and to take time to think and enjoy the outdoors. I try to frequently change my physical surroundings so that I will take more time to appreciate the environment and so that I will not become bored with my walk.
In summary, I am pleased with my progress with my walking program to date after only one month. I expect to continue walking for one hour a day, but plan to walk more quickly for a greater distance and also plan to walk more frequently. I am pleased with the impact of walking on decreasing my stress level, but hope to begin losing weight as I review my diet and ramp up my workout.
