Dinglefoot's Walking Home From Work Diary

barbiedoll

Oh, well done with the walking! It's very hard to get motivated when the weather is horrid and if you're not used to walking long distances, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first.

But when you get in your stride (pun intended!) you'll learn to love it. Even walking through city streets can be fascinating, if you keep it up all year, you will notice the seasons changing, the difference in the light and where the sun is in the sky, the appearance of the trees and bushes and so on. I know you like your music but if you go down any quieter streets on the way home, take off your headphones and listen out for the birdsong, it changes every day. Take time to look out for wildlife, you'll start to notice the squirrels, the birds, even the different insects that live in your neighbourhood.

And you will get fitter every day. After a few months, you will miss your daily walk if you're stuck at home at weekends or if you're not at work. I've spent the past 4 years walking around for a good part of the day as part of my job, now that I have a car, my legs are aching so much from lack of use that I've started having an evening walk just to loosen up a little!

Good luck with your money-saving, and your walking. Just think, you'll be able to sprint down the aisle when the time comes! :rotfl:

dinglefoot

Thank you so much Fire Fox! I am also one of these veggies that has fallen into the "fake meat" trap. I'll try to add things like nuts and seeds into my diet more. I wonder whether extremely long cycles can also be linked to the hormone imbalances due to deficiencies that you mentioned. I've been "on" almost constantly (with two or three breaks of a few days) for 7 of the last 10 weeks! :eek: And an abnormally heavy cycle currently, which is making me think there's definitely not something right! Sorry if that info was too much...but you just got me thinking

And thank you barbiedoll too...it's been quite enjoyable walking home every day this week. Today I was almost disappointed when I got to my parent's house as I would have been quite happy to walk some more, yet the first day I walked home I was much slower and a bit out of puff by the time I arrived. It's amazing how quickly you notice changes in your fitness when you walk or run. I used to go running every Sunday morning at one point last year and got really into it. I even went running one Sunday in the freezing cold howling wind and rain when I had a severe ear infection! I just wrapped up and put my OH's big thermal hat on and covered my ears with it and off I went I don't like jogging on my own though so I'll have to convince him to come with me again, (he has a few extra pounds he needs to shift but is convinced he needs to have money to go to the gym to be able to shift it). Apparently he feels "silly" when he's jogging. *Raises eyebrow*

Anyway I walked to my parent's house today, which saved a £1.20 bus fare. My OH doesn't work Saturdays so gives me lifts to and from work.

Therefore this work week I have saved £5.90...well it's not much, but it's a saving! And it's better kept in my bank than Arriva's :rotfl:

dinglefoot

I'm going to see how I go tomorrow, I might have to get the bus. My ankle has been having pains in it today...it hasn't been quite right since I fell down the stairs at work almost three months ago. But just now my 14 stone OH was climbing across me, (we're decorating the second bedroom so our room is currently filled with all the furniture from there and you have to climb across the bed to get to the other side of the room), and he didn't realise my ankle was there and fell with all his weight on it...ouch! It really quite hurts now

loracan1

I've walked to and from work a few times - nearly 4 miles, about an hour and twenty minutes going, hour and a half coming back . I'd do it more often if it wasn't so time-consuming. I find I enjoy listening to audiobooks (earphone in only one ear since some of the route doesn't have a footpath along the road) I do enjoy it but it's a bit impractical to do regularly (early starts would mean setting out too early and I'm too much of a wuss to walk in the dark after late finishes)

loracan1

dinglefoot wrote: »

and he didn't realise my ankle was there and fell with all his weight on it...ouch! It really quite hurts now

Oooh that's making me wince just reading it! Hope you've got icepacks and painkillers - best not to walk on it til it's recovered.

dinglefoot

My ankle was feeling quite a lot better today. I felt absolutely exhausted at work and haven't been feeling too well and have had quite a few spells of feeling weak and faint.
I decided to walk to Morrisons after work, which is easily 2 miles from where I work in the town centre. I was pleased that I managed to coax myself into walking, especially after I wasn't feeling great. While I was walking I felt quite weak and faint, had stitch for a couple of minutes after walking for only 5 minutes, felt quite out of breath...and had weird pains in my wrists...but I did it! And afterwards I felt like I did have more energy actually.
I'd estimate that it costs £2.70 to get the bus from the town centre to Morrisons, so since I started this diary last Tuesday I've saved approximately £8.60 by walking. Not bad I guess, it all adds up after all

I'm trying to adopt a different mindset. Even if I only walk to my parent's house it takes me 13-20 minutes...depending on mood, weather, energy levels and how quickly I can cross the busy main roads. If I get a bus, I'm spending a silly amount of money to travel a mile when I may be waiting and travelling for the same time I would be if I walked anyway...and I get the benefit of better health if I walk!

dinglefoot

Today I walked to my OH's Grandparent's house after work, which was a slightly longer walk than yesterday's. It took me 35 minutes, which was faster than my walk to Morrison's yesterday...yay!
They were very pleased to see me (and my OH when he arrived home from work too)! It normally costs about £2.70 to get the bus from my workplace to their home, so I've saved £5.60 so far this week and £11.50 since I started doing this last Tuesday

Fire_Fox

dinglefoot wrote: »

Thank you so much Fire Fox! I am also one of these veggies that has fallen into the "fake meat" trap. I'll try to add things like nuts and seeds into my diet more. I wonder whether extremely long cycles can also be linked to the hormone imbalances due to deficiencies that you mentioned. I've been "on" almost constantly (with two or three breaks of a few days) for 7 of the last 10 weeks! :eek: And an abnormally heavy cycle currently, which is making me think there's definitely not something right! Sorry if that info was too much...but you just got me thinking

Not TMI, doesn't sound like much fun tho. Is your doctor investigating that? Problems with the diet could be the cause or a contributory factor, but it could be totally unrelated so would be best to have as many tests as possible to rule out an underlying health problem.

dinglefoot

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Not TMI, doesn't sound like much fun tho. Is your doctor investigating that? Problems with the diet could be the cause or a contributory factor, but it could be totally unrelated so would be best to have as many tests as possible to rule out an underlying health problem.

Thanks Nope, it hasn't been much fun Blood tests showing thyroid is fine and iron is low is all I've had done. There's a few things I'm concerned about, but I don't think doctors want to spend the money on tests to be honest. Because I've had anxiety problems they probably think it's in my head

I got out of work really late today, so I started walking in the direction of the motorway so my OH could pick me up where we crossed paths I walked for about 15 minutes and saved about £1.20 again. That brings me to £6.80 saved this week and £12.70 since Tuesday last week

dinglefoot

Last day of the walking week today I walked to my parent's house for a catch up as I hadn't seen them since Sunday.
So this week I saved £8.00 and I've saved £13.90 since Tuesday last week