Walking Machine

When my cousin was diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of November, it really hit me that cancer could happen to anyone. He was only 30, didn't smoke and led a fairly healthy life. He is only 9 years only than me. What if I were facing this in 9 years?

What's good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) is that one-third of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices. One-third. That's amazing. It's definitely a motivator for me to eat better and exercise more.

In the Quick Tips from the Eat Right Challenge website, it recommends that you get 10,000 steps in a day. The fact sheet recommends that you should set a goal of, say, 4,000 steps and then work toward the 10,000. My dad actually bought me a pedometer for Christmas (not as a hint to get walking, but because I asked for one.) It amazed me at how little I was walking! Walking around campus I thought I was getting at least 8,000 steps in everyday. Not true. I was lucky if I was even hit 5,000! I definitely over-estimated how much I was walking.

Since then I've made a more conscious effort to get in my 10,000 steps a day. There was one night in Janurary that I was walking aimlessly around the house, desperate to get more steps in. Slightly lame, but as long as I hit the magic number, I didn't care. Did you know the only way I can reach that number is by getting in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day? Funny how that works out, huh? It's like they knew that....

Test Post

We're starting this blog as a way to help people participate in the American Cancer Society Eat Right Challenge in August. Hopefully through this blog we'll be able to educate, inspire and encourage other people to take on the challenge, too.

I don't know about you, but my eating habits definitely need a fix-up. With so many programs, it's hard to know what to do - Atkins diet, South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers. How do you know what the best program is? One day you're eating a low-carb diet and the next you're eating a low-fat diet.

I've decided the best thing for me to do first is to watch my portion sizes. Using the American Cancer Society Great American Eat Right website I can get quick information on how large my serving sizes should be. It also has some helpful tips, too.

I'll keep you update on how my task is going... Wish me luck!