Blue Skies and Sunshine - Perfect Day For A Walk

Today was the perfect day to go walking at the Cape Fear River Trail.

I love this time of year because I know Winter is wrapping up and Spring is on the way. 

This is the bottom of a kick butt hill. I take  big steps to make the hard trip up a bit quicker.

A view of the huge pond from the bridge. I wonder what is the difference between a lake and a pond? It so peaceful with the sun reflecting off the rippling water.

The Cape Fear River seen through the still in Fall mode woods on one side of the trail.

Big blue skies - I love days like this. Perfect cool but with just enough warmth to be comfortable temperature. The sun is shining bright. 

The covered bridge - I love looking at the shadow play of the wooden slats on this bridge.

 I take a quick break from my walk and stand at the railing to listen to the small but surprisingly loud waterfall running parallel through the forest.

The waterfall - I close my eyes and took the time to relax and clear my mind. 

Today was a very short walk. I turned around at the covered bridge and made my way back. Just under two miles today  but a good workout nonetheless.

I am so blessed to be able to be in good enough health to get out of the house and walk a nature trail.  Your health and time is so precious, take the best care of it you can.

Thank you for reading my blogpost.

Thomasina

Leave me a comment below or contact me by email thomasinawords@gmail.com

Biking Is Good For The Body and The Soul

I recently biked to a nearby lake and learned a lot about myself in the process.

One of my biggest and most important fitness goals is to become stronger. Until I started riding my bike I had no idea just how weak my leg muscles really are. I have seen the random old man riding a bike effortless up a very slight hill and I thought that can't be that difficult.

I was completely absolutely wrong. 

Riding a bike takes coordination and fitness. I have had to learn to really push myself through the pain and the lack of breathe to get to the top of the smallest hills. I have so much respect for people who can ride a bike for long distances and up very steep hills. 

Learning endurance and persistence have been key in my bike riding fitness sessions. It started off as just a way to save money on gas but ended up teaching me to never give up.

Thanks for reading!

My Bike Has Changed My Life For The Better

My blue bicycle. It's not fancy but it gets me where I need to go and it doesn't cost me a dime. This my two wheel "second car". When I brought this bike last year, I NEVER ever thought it would become so important in my life.

At first, I bought the bike solely to ride around the streets in my neighborhood for exercise. I really had to practice riding the bike at first because it had been so long since I ridden one. During the weekend, when a nearby large parking lot was empty, I could be seen riding around and around in circles in a wobbly fashion relearning how to ride a bike.

Contrary to belief, biking is not as easy as it looks. Biking is about balance. You can really hurt yourself with a fall from a bike. I have a horrible looking huge helmet that I make sure I always wear.  Bike riding also requires a LOT of leg strength. I realized very quickly that I live in an area that has more inclines or small hills than I realized. Biking up hills has definitely helped me lose weight. 

The other great benefit to riding a bike is saving gas. Gas is very expensive and I happen to have a big older car from the late 90s. How much it is to fill up that tank is a crazy amount of money compared with the smaller car I had previously. To combat this pain to my wallet, I decided to bike everywhere I need to go that is within a short distance from my house.
 
Riding my bike, I have seen up close places in my city that I did not know existed. Beautiful trees and fields, buildings I never noticed while driving by and other things you miss while paying attention to the road driving in a car.

 I also have met a lot more people who were just walking along and I stopped to have conversations with them. Today I was riding under a bridge that I have driven under many times and I noticed it is where  homeless people lived. Also noticed a tent in the woods where a homeless person lived. Very sad.

When I bought my bike at a used bike store that is also a charity that gives bikes to children, I took a lot of time making sure the bike was right for my body. I even returned a bike that had no gears that made it impossible to bike up hills. I would have never ridden my bike as much as I do now if I had not made sure I was comfortable with how the bike fit my body. A soft seat is extremely helpful too.

My bike is such a huge blessing in my life. I can't wait to have more biking adventures in the future.

Thanks for reading!

The Four Big Mistakes That Caused Me to Gain Weight

I try to walk this challenging trail once a week. Lots of hills.

1. Stress Eating

Eating fast food for lunch every single day to distract myself from a stressful job. I did not know what I was doing to my health. Fat, sugar and salt in a lot of meals is not going to lead to good health.

2. Not Exercising Regularly

Not only was I eating horribly but I was sitting down a lot.  Also,I had a long distance commute to my job, I sat in the car for two hours a day for travel. At work, it was  mostly sit down type of job. Every once in a while I exercised but not as often as I should have. Eating and being active to burn it off. I keep the weight on.

3. Unhealthy Snacking

Lunch time was not the only time I was eating foods that were bad for my health. At certain times of the morning and then in the evening, I would make my way to the snack machine for my daily dose of sugar and fat. As I am typing this, I am remembering all the plastic wrapped junk I ate that I am still to this day fighting a daily fight to get off my butt and hips. Makes me so angry with myself.

4. Drinking Lots of Sugary Drinks 

 I'm southern which means I grew up on syrupy sugary sweet iced tea. There is no telling just how much of my weight happened from just the sugar in those tall glasses of tea. Not to mention the Koolaid I grew up drinking and the no nutritional value liquid known also as soda. If I had just eaten the bad food but drank water the whole time, I bet I would have gain about a half or maybe a third of the weight I gained over the years.


"We live and learn" is my lesson. If I had known back then what I know now, there is NO WAY I would eat and drink unhealthy foods the way I did. Once a week of fast food or not at all would have been the best options for my health. Everything in moderation.

It is convenient to go to the fast food place but it is not good for your health in the long run. Taking the time to pack healthy meals I have prepared and fresh fruit has completely changed my life. It is never too late to improve your health. Not planning my meals or paying attention to how much fat and sugar I was consuming has a negative impact on my health and ultimately my self esteem.

No one could every tell me back then that I would be carrying around the fat on my body from those fast food days for YEARS to come. Think about what you are eating. Think about how you want to feel after you eat your meal. You should have energy and feel really good. Not sleepy, low energy or bloated.

Lessons learned.

Read my blog post book review about the fast food industry here.

What do you eat for lunch on a daily basis? Healthy or unhealthy?

Thanks for reading!

I Went Walking Today - Exercise For Life And Inspiration

I went walking on the local trail and it was amazing! This was the very first time I ever took my camera with me. My eyes were opened to the beauty of nature. Combine your exercise with another passion in your life and it will not seem like you are forcing yourself to exercise. Today I walked while taking pictures of the forest. It did not feel like a workout but trust me it definitely was.

As I was walking, I saw a woman that was the same size I was last year. This year I don't weight the same as last year. Lots of changes in my diet, walking and riding my bike, have made a lot of positive results on my health. Daily exercise can be boring but you must find ways to make it fun. I am so thankful I found fun ways to exercise.

I have walked this four mile trail many times before but I had never really stopped to look closely at the trees and the flower. There was so much inspiration.

As I walked, I would get ideas for scenes for my characters in my book I'm writing. The battle scene here or an intense argument next to that huge old tree. When I write, it is a lot easier for me when I start from something visual or music.

Before I knew it over two hours had passed. I had gotten my daily exercise and was filled with many stories to write when I got home. I love days like this. Crystal blue skies. The bright sunshine made the green leaves sparkle like diamonds. Fall and Winter never make me feel this happy and energized.

This trail will never be the same again. 

VHS Exercise Tape of the Day - Karen Voight - Cardio Strength

Karen Voight is hands down one of the best fitness instructors I have ever experienced. She knows how to choreograph exercise routines that target the entire body. Excellent instruction on how to obtain the best form for each exercise move for the maximum benefit to the body.

This fitness program provides me with an opportunity to dust off my step and get in a strong workout for my legs. Voight is the kind of  teacher where the warm ups alone feel like workouts.  The routines are challenging in a good way. There is a warm up and a cool down.

On you tube, I have noticed that a lot of the exercise programs will not include warm up and cool down segments in the same program. As someone who hurt her knee quite badly once from not taking the time to get my muscles warmed up and stretched, I am annoyed by this.

Another great thing about Cardio Strength and all Karen Voight's other workouts, she offers a beginner level to those who may not be able to do the regular or advanced moves. This is BIG gripe of mine about some very popular fitness gurus on youtube. If I cannot do the exercise at all, how will the workout help me? 

I would recommend any of Karen Voight's exercise DVD (or VHS) programs because I haven't been disappointed by any of her exercise routines I've purchased so far.

Thanks for reading!