How 90 Days of Walking Changed My Body

What Started My Fitness Journey 

I’ve mentioned before that I lost my job due to Covid-19. Almost immediately I decided to start intermittent fasting to control my weight gain. Not too long after that, I decided to add some boosted walking to the mix. In the past, I have seen the impact that walking can have on the body. Years ago, my mother and I would watch boosted walking exercise videos by Leslie Sansone and do the workouts together. Up until recently I just didn’t have time to add working out to my schedule with work and the kids. So when school was closed and the job was taken out of the equation, I thought maybe now is the time to get back to it! 

What Does My Walking Routine Look Like 

In April, I started out walking 2 miles every other day. It was a bit excessive going from not working out at all to working out 4-5 times a week but I was excited and had a lot of free time. By June my walking routine was regulated to 3 miles, 3-4 times a week. I will admit that I have slacked a bit because the heat here in Arizona is exhausting, even at 5 am. 

In addition to the boosted walking, I’m doing intermittent fasting. I fast for 16 hours each day and only allow myself to eat during an 8-hour window. Intermittent fasting alone has helped me feel healthier and gain control of my stress eating. I highly recommend it. During that 8 hour window, I try to only eat healthy foods. When I began fasting back in April I didn’t focus on restricting my diet at all. My main goal then was to get used to the new eating pattern and learn to resist my nightly junk food cravings. After a little over a month of fasting, I started to reduce my sugar and processed foods intake. Baked goods and candy were my vices and it was hard to shake them but I had too. I allow myself the occasional milk chocolate covered treat but instead of having this every other day, I have one treat every other week to avoid going overboard. 

Staying up on my probiotics and drinking plenty of water has also contributed to my success. They help me stay full longer, look less bloated, and keep my gut health on track! 

What 90 Days off Walking Did to My Body 

Although it was a struggle, in the beginning, I’m really happy I stuck it out these past 90 days. Over the course of these past 3 months, I have gained a lot of strength and endurance. 

On day 1, April 19th, it took me 35 minutes to walk 2.05 miles. I burned a total of 183 Calories during that walk. This is pretty much the case for all of my walks during the first week. After two weeks I was able to walk 2.5 miles in around 37 minutes. Not a huge change but an improvement in pace and stamina. 

The real change occurred by the end of May/ early June. This is when I set 3 miles as my goal and set out to achieve it each time no matter how long it took. Once I was able to consistently hit 3 miles, I focused on shortening my time. I went from doing 3 miles in 47 minutes to 3 miles in 39 minutes in just a matter of weeks. There are a lot of people who might see this and think it’s slow, but for me, this is a huge deal! 

I was able to shorten my time and boost my caloric burn by adding in short spurts of jogging and full speed running. Unbeknownst to me at the time, what I was/am doing is HIIT, high-intensity interval training. Kicking up the intensity of my walks helped me go from burning around 200 calories per session to 340 each time I work out!  This is really when I started to see the biggest changes in my body. It became a lot easier to suck my stomach in, my back rolls and love handles started to disappear and my stomach no longer rested on my lap when I sat down! I started to feel like a whole new person!

So, yes, low impact exercises like walking and running can really affect your body with consistency. Which is great at a time like this when we don’t have access to gyms and personal trainers. Although I would like to get back to weight training, which is something I have done in the past, I’m happy with my results. Jogging has been free and effective in improving my health and appearance! Being able to see results as well as track my progress with my Apple Watch has made this experience really easy and positive. 

Although I may continue to take a break from outdoor walking until the weather cools down, I want to integrate cardio into my life long term. Even though I’m not walking as much now I am still committed to my fasting journey, which is allowing me to maintain my weight during this down period. The past 90 days of walking and fasting has helped me improve my appearance and begin to learn and embrace my mombod. I’m just so grateful that my body has been able to see me through so many things, now it’s time for me to show it some real care and love!