Walk It Off Tips to help make walking a healthy habit BY DR. ANNE DOCIMO Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare
AND DIANA NYAD
Founder and Executive Director of EverWalk
With an increased focus on practicing healthy habits—such as washing hands frequently and staying home when sick to help avoid spreading COVID-19—it’s important to remain mindful about the importance of daily walking. In fact, a report from Harvard Medical School concluded that walking can help boost the immune system, ease joint pain and curb cravings for high-sugar foods, which may contribute to inflammation and disease. Plus, studies have shown walking more and sitting less may help people maintain a healthier weight. People and communities should walk for at least 30 minutes each day and put themselves on the road to a healthier lifestyle. With that in mind, here are three tips people can consider to help make walking part of your daily routine:
Stay active at home: Even if you are spending more time at home, it is crucial to still stay active and not fall into the trap of only binging the latest TV series or movie. Remember to take short walks frequently throughout the day, aiming for six separate “mini-walks” of at least 300 to 500 steps. To enhance cardiovascular fitness, aim for at least one “brisk walk” of at least 2,000 to 3,000 steps within 30 minutes each day. To help build endurance, work toward 8,000 to 10,000 aggregate steps per day. Start small and dream big: If those targets seem daunting, remember it helps to start slowly and build up over time. And don’t discount walking compared to running: Maintaining a quick walking pace has been shown to be on par with running when it comes to lowering the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. If you are in good health and want to push yourself, think about someday planning a trip (once the glob-
al pandemic ends) to explore one of our nation’s top “bucket list” hikes, such as the Dr. Anne Docimo, Chief Medical Officer Kalalau Trail in Ha- of UnitedHealthcare (inset) and waii or the Grand Diana Nyad, Founder and Executive Director of EverWalk. (Submitted photos) Canyon “Rim to Rim.” While it might seem mundane to may help ward off depression and preonly walk around your home or imme- vent issues like heart disease. If you need diate neighborhood for the time being, external motivation, check with your emstudies show that setting long-term ployer about incentive-based wellness goals may help promote a healthier life- programs, including ones that provide fistyle. nancial rewards for meeting certain daily Identify “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” walking goals. motivators: In general, people are motivated by a combination of “intrinsic” Following these tips may help you factors, such as wanting to maintain a achieve those daily step goals during healthy weight, and extrinsic ones, such these turbulent times, while encouragas financial rewards. Walking likely of- ing seemingly small healthy habits that fers several intrinsic motivators given re- can eventually translate to meaningful search has shown consistent movement improvements.
butter and chocolate chip—and are available for purchase online or at select AJ’s Fine Foods, Sprouts and Fry’s, as well as several independent grocers. “I just fell in love with chia when I found out how amazing it was,” says the 54-year-old Northeast Mesa resident. “I came across it when I was looking for increased energy to run the marathon. “I started ingesting it during training. I would do one week with and one week without. The weeks I did
use chia, I was so much more energized. I felt like I could keep going. I was noticing all the other benefits—digestive health, my hair and nails were healthier. I just felt better overall.” She wanted to share her discovery with others, but she wasn’t sure how. Then it dawned on her: Everybody loves cookies. “We wanted to create delicious cookies that people would still eat but get that added health benefit of chia seeds,” Martinez says. “Who doesn’t eat cookies every once in a while? We got our first bag of cookies two years ago. They were barely on the shelves of grocery stores less than a year ago. Now we’re at AJ’s, Sprouts, Fry’s and a lot of independents. We’re in 400 stores across the United States right now.” Martinez and Shenker did a lot of soul searching before they entered a new business and a renewed health regimen. “It’s a whole new career opportunity for me,” Shenker says. “It’s made my life whole.”
Health...continued from page 10 She prefers half marathons, but the Phoenix run was the hardest thing she’s ever done. “It’s really a mental game,” she says. “It’s more mental than anything. You put some headphones on, get your thoughts going and build yourself up mentally and just run. You don’t have to run fast. I’m a slow runner.” Post-50, Martinez also founded her own company, Audrey’s Chia Cookies. The all-natural, non-GMO cookie recipe centers around the superfood chia seed. Each tiny seed is packed with nutrients like proteins, vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants, which have strong immune-boosting properties and help reduce inflammation, making them a powerful tool when preventing and fighting viruses. The cookies come in four flavo r s — alm o n d , lemon, peanut www.LovinLife.com
MAY 2020
|
11
