"Well, can you walk without getting winded..."

When my physician asked me if I felt like I could "walk some distance without getting winded," it was all I could do to not bust out laughing.  "Yep," I said, "I can walk without getting winded." Although I was being seen for my annual physical (note to readers: lots of insurance companies pay for annual physicals beyond a routine gynecological one), I have been fighting off a bit of a cold or a cough.   He must not have believed me, because he followed up with a "even when you have a cold or a cough" clarifying question.  "Well yesterday I walked 12.5 miles," I said "and I had the cough and cold since before then".  When I told him about my treadmill desk, he was intrigued.  I saw him note something on my chart, cross off something he was going to ask, and write "n/a" next to something else. Not sure what they were, but my guess is that it had something to do with "are you getting regular exercise?"  I passed my physical with flying colors.  My blood pressure and pulse were very low and my weight was the lowest it has been in several years.   He changed up my meds for RLS, asthma, and allergies - but most importantly he gave me a "squeaky" clean bill of health.  According to the body age on my Wii Fit -- I am 39 going on 26!

The happy, sleepy, medium

A few days back (it might have even been last weekend), I read an article about the effect of too little or too much sleep in regards to one's weight.  I think it might have been in one of the shiny, weekend newspaper inserts.  Anyway, when I updated my MedHelp trackers this morning, after accumulating a whopping 9 hours of sleep last night, I was curious whether the findings from the research were being replicated in my own life.  While the correlation isn't perfect, I did notice that there was usually a slight weight gain following days when I slept more than 8 or less than 7.  I have posted screen shots of the two trackers, in such a way that the sleep column lines up with the correct morning.  It was interesting to see that the stretch while I was in California (six dots in a row) and slept 9-10 hours per night did correlate with a bit of a weight gain (~ 2lbs).  And while there are many other variables, I really did try to behave myself in California (low stress, good exercise, healthy eating, etc.)  On days when I slept less than 7 hours, I also saw a increase.  The low and steady weight loss correlates with a good stretch of sleeping 7-8 hours.  The sleep tracker lists my average sleep as 7.6 hours.  I have slept as many as 10 hours (while in California) and as few as 6 hours.  What does this have to do with my treadmill desk project?  I'm not really sure other than that since beginning on this journey I have had much more consistent sleep than I did prior.

1M down, 2M on the horizon

I was originally going to take today off.  Like a personal day at work, so to speak.  It wasn't exactly planned; but, between cleaning out the garage with my husband, giving a midday presentation, and shopping for a weekend chalk full of baby showers, it seemed fairly unlikely that I was going to have any "desk time."  But after mowing the lawn, running out for dinner, and jumping in the hot tub - my body was telling me something different.  I think the best description was that my legs felt like what a dog must feel like after his or her owner has been away all day , I needed to get up for a walk.  So walking I am.  I will probably load up a Netflix movie, rather than doing any real work, and so in the end it will be just as I imagined - a personal day.   I have noticed that my legs seem to have received the most benefit from my late-in-the-day walks.  As a long time RLS patient, I have tried nearly every drug on the market - with good, crappy, and mixed results.  I am currently on a dermapatch that works great.  But sometimes I forget to trade it out and then I am left to manage my symptoms overnight with a less potent option.  However, I have noticed that my symptoms are much better than they have been in the past under similar circumstances.  I contribute this to the only thing that has really changed - project treadmill desk.

50 miles down, 340 to go

So more today on my motivations.  Other than just trying it out, I am working toward four other goals.  First - to celebrate my upcoming 39th birthday - I am hoping to walk 390 miles before I return to work in January (I am currently on sabbatical).  Second - in my oldest child's 11th year - I am hoping to lose the "baby weight" that has accumulated since his birth.  While I don't have a concrete goal on this front, I know that I will feel better and healthier in the coming year.  Third - as a longtime sufferer of Restless Legs Syndrome - I am experimenting with non-drug interventions to see if I can decrease the symptoms of this condition.  And fourth - being on sabbatical until January - I wanted an activity that would allow me to keep my focus on the projects I am hoping to complete during this semester.  

Thus far I am doing fairly well.  I have walked 50.63 miles, lost 6 pounds, lost a collective 3 inches, rated my sleeping as better, and felt far more focused than the time prior to taking on this challenge.