Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

“There were days when I didn’t want to eat anything.” That is a good way to lose weight: walk 18 miles, ride a bike 18 miles, do it all in 85+ degrees heat, and don’t eat. Yes, you can lose weight that way – I don’t advise it, but it works.

The idea that I wouldn’t want to eat anything came as a surprise. One of the nice things about exercising a lot is that you burn a lot of calories. When you burn a lot of calories, you can take in a lot of calories and not gain weight. Hmm, sounds like a nice side affect of taking a walk.

Well, the theory didn’t hold much.

I had heard of people who were “too hot to eat” and “too tired to eat.” I doubted those statements. I doubt no longer.

I actually forced myself to eat on a few days. This was a mental exercise. I would sit and tell myself quietly to calm down, calm down, breathe slowly, breathe slowly, take a bite, chew, swallow…repeat.

Sometimes you learn unusual things while taking a wlk.