Walking Strategies - My Health Journey

Today I want to talk about strategizing getting 10,000 steps on a busy day. Tomorrow looks like it is going to be a bear. I’ve got one, two, three, four meetings in the morning, then I am getting into a car and driving with my wife to north Phoenix, which is going to be about a three hour drive. Once we get there, we’ll be checking into a hotel and my wife will be getting ready for her procedures tomorrow, which involves eating no food and taking medicine to clean out her bowels. Such a special valentines day…
That isn’t going to give me a lot of time to procrastinate, so I’m trying to get a plan worked out before I go. The meetings are all through Zoom, so I won’t be completely stuck there. I may be able to walk a little during at least one of those meetings because I probably won’t be giving a lot of input. The other meetings are much smaller and Im going to have to contribute, so walking around won’t be an option.
The first and best option is to get to walking as early as possible. That means getting up as early as possible and trying to get a few thousand steps in before the day starts. The sooner I get steps in, the less stressed I’ll be going forward. It looks like I’ll have a little time between my last two meetings. If I’m on it, I might be able to get myself close to the finish line at that point, but I also have to pack a bag and do some other things before we set out, so the number of steps may or may not get me near the finish line. My hope is that it does.
Once I’m in the car, I probably won’t get any walking breaks because we’re going to be in a hurry to get to the hotel so my wife can start taking her medicine with a bathroom nearby. The good new though, is that we won’t be dining out, since she can’t eat, so I’ll have some time in the evening and I’ve confirmed that the hotel does have a little gym with a treadmill, which is by far the fastest way to get steps in.
The issue once I’m there won’t be time so much as energy. I’m sure I’ll have enough energy to get two or three thousand steps, but I am hoping I don’t reach that point with 6000 or more steps to go.
There’s also the matter of tomorrow’s video. I’d like to do one. One of my meetings is with the Virta doctor, so I’m sure I’ll have some health things to discuss. If I have time tomorrow night I’ll make a video, but the next three days may be spotty. I’ve never recorded a video outside of my little nest here, so it will be a new challenge. I want to get one in every day, but I can’t make any promises. I’m either going to have too much spare time or not enough, and it’s hard to tell in advance.
• So to sum up my strategy:
• Get steps in before work
• Get steps during meetings when possible
• Get steps during my little breaks
• Finish up at the hotel if I have to
• Record a video if I can
Now let’s go over the numbers.
This morning’s weigh in was good. I weighed 303.8 pounds, a drop of almost a pound since yesterday. I’m finally getting close to where I was a week ago. Let’s hope this time it sticks.
I walked 14,362 steps yesterday, which is a terrific number. That netted me 1105 active calories for the day, which is the best number I’ve had all month.
The good news continues. My blood sugar was 94 this morning, which is my first time dipping into double digits in over a week. Double digits always make me happy.
My resting heart rate average is staying steady at 63, and my walking heart rate keeps going down. It’s now at 96. I need to get my speeds up to get my heart rate up. If I do end up on the treadmill tomorrow, I’m sure I can clock some good speeds and get the walking heart rate moving in the right direction.
My calorie count yesterday was 1985. That’s almost right on 2000 so no complaints there. Overall, it was a good numbers day.
That’s it for the numbers. I’m still waiting on my labs, but I am hoping to get all those numbers tomorrow when I meet with the Virta doctor. If I do, then I’ll have lots to talk about next video. I’ve got one other piece of good news to share. Switching my Ozempic prescription over to the Mayo Pharmacy did the trick. It took them a day to get everything sorted and the medicine is just up there waiting for me to pick it up. Hooray!
That’s it for now. I’ll leave you with my Terry Pratchett quote of the day. This one is From Lord and Ladies.
“In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.”
Thanks everyone. Please like, please subscribe, please comment. I’ll do my best to see you tomorrow.