More exercise than you think

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Over the past month or so, I have noticed that my clothes are fitting loosely and my face is really started to slim down.
Earlier this week, a friend actually asked me if I was going to turn into a toothpick because she had noticed my trimming efforts.
Every time Jimmy comes home he claims that I have lost weight, even though the scale doesn't seem to budge.
Instead of losing weight, I am losing inches, which is a good thing.
As I have begun to notice these changes in my appearance, all of my friends have been asking me what I am doing.
It's really no secret. I'm not doing anything.
I have not made any life-altering changes in order to slim down. I am trying to watch what I eat better. But that's so my blood sugar doesn't skyrocket.
I have curbed my intake of diet soda, replacing it with water, tea and green tea. But nothing else has really changed.
I pretty much get up, get the kids and myself ready, drop them off at school and come to work.
Then it hit me. Maybe I am doing something at work to cause the slim down?
So I started thinking.
The only thing that came to mind is that I am usually really busy while going places to get a story.
To see all my contacts and get the scoop, I have to do a lot of walking.
Was that it? Did I really walk that much?
I never considered the walking I was doing every day would be beneficial to my health.
Was I was walking more than I realized?
I decided to investigate.
I bought a pedometer Wednesday night and put it on when I got dressed on Thursday. By 5:30 p.m., I had taken 4,631 steps – just more than two miles.
Thursday wasn't what I would consider a busy day.
I never really thought that I walk a lot in a day's time, but science doesn't lie.
I guess the mystery is solved.
I have begun to lose inches because of the physical activity I did not realize I was getting.
That would also explain why I sometimes feel sore in the morning after a very, very busy day.
Walking is good for you.
It builds your heart, lungs and muscles. It also tones your legs and can slim your waist. Walking is not just beneficial for your lower body; it's good for your whole body.
We should all do more of it. Walking is something most people can do from the very athletic to the coach or chair potato like me.