How Walking Changed My Life

Summary

The author shares a personal journey of transformation through walking, which led to increased confidence, better fitness, and improved relationships.

Abstract

The article titled "How Walking Changed My Life" recounts the author's experience with adopting a walking routine to improve self-confidence and fitness upon moving to college. Initially intending to exercise to reinvent themselves, the author found traditional workouts challenging and turned to walking. Over time, the daily walking habit became a source of joy and accomplishment, helping the author overcome body image issues and gain energy and curiosity. The routine also evolved to include varied routes, park visits, and walking with others, which combated monotony and strengthened friendships. The author emphasizes the unexpected benefits of walking, such as increased confidence and a more vibrant personality, in addition to weight loss of approximately 7 lbs over a month and a half.

Opinions

The author believes that walking is an effective way to improve self-esteem and physical health, even more so than other forms of exercise they had tried.
Walking is seen as a versatile activity that can be enhanced by changing routes, environments, and by involving friends either in person or through phone calls.
The author suggests that the monotony of a workout routine can be a significant demotivator, but this can be overcome by introducing variety and social interaction.
They express that the benefits of walking extend beyond physical fitness, positively impacting mental well-being and interpersonal relationships.
The author reflects on the past with a sense of progress, acknowledging the dullness they felt before adopting their walking routine.

How Walking Changed My Life

Source: Unsplash

In July of last year, I moved to college. Going away to college can be exciting because it gives you an opportunity to start your life over. You can be whoever you want and whatever you want without carrying baggage from high school. And I wasn’t different. I’ve had issues with body image and self-confidence for as long as I can remember, but going to college could change that. No one knew me there so they also didn’t know how shy I was or how not athletic I was. I wanted to change my personality not to please others but to improve myself and to have a great college life.

So on the 1st of June, I asked myself, “What can I do to feel more confident?”. Well, I could start by exercising and losing weight. Now I’m going to be honest, I’ve had some experience with working out in the past so I knew how exercising can instantly make you feel better; I never had the consistency or the motivation to work out though. But this time was different, I was going to college and I wanted to play soccer or badminton with others. I usually gave up on opportunities to play in high school because I thought I wasn’t as good as others and I’d only make a fool out of myself (self-confidence issues, remember?). Also, studying for hours on end for my entrance exams and high school finals had put me in the worst shape of my life and that was another thing that added to my motivation.

On day 1, I went on to YouTube and found a 30-minute work out video that I used to do a few years back, however, this time I gave up halfway through. At that moment I knew that things had gotten worse and now I had to put in more effort. Day 1 and I was already discouraged — so discouraged that I didn’t even want to work out the next day. So, I decided to go take a walk because I thought it was an easier (but less effective) alternative to working out.

I went out with my earphones plugged in my ears and walked for around 30 minutes. However, I wasn’t feeling discouraged anymore. I was drenched in sweat and felt accomplished! I was excited to do it all over again the next day. The next day, I walked for around 45 minutes. My legs were sore from all the cardio I had done the previous day but I didn’t care, because I enjoyed going on walks taking in the scenery of the concrete jungle around me (now looking back at it, I feel stupid because we shouldn’t be doing the same exercise or working the same body part every day because it can lead to burn out). I walked for 45 minutes for a week, I loved seeing my statistics and the colorful path I covered on the map. And finally, I took a break on Sunday.

Always wear a pedometer when going for a walk to track your progress

Next week onwards, I wanted to up my game. So I started walking for 60 minutes every day and it felt good for a couple of days before the monotony got me — the same songs, the same route, and the same people every day. Later after doing some research I found out that monotony is the reason why many runners give up on running. I couldn’t let that happen to me so I decided to switch things up. Instead of walking the same route, I started taking different routes. I started going to the park which I found very helpful to beat the monotony, and I started taking my brother with me every once in a while. But what helped me the most was calling a friend while I was walking.

I started going to the park to beat monotony

I realized I didn’t even realize how time used to fly when I was on call while walking. The best part? I didn’t even feel tired after I was done. Another benefit not related to fitness was that I started to strengthen my relationship with my friends who I had hardly talked to in months because I was so consumed in studying for hours on end.

If you’re like me who gets bored by the monotony of walking or running then you can try talking to a friend while you’re walking or much better, take your friend with you! Obviously, I suggest doing this if you’re in a park because walking in the main city while on call might not be the safest.

So coming to the title of this article, I was walking around 6–7 kilometers (3.7–4.3 miles) burning 250–300 calories every single day without even getting tired. I genuinely enjoyed myself and couldn’t wait to do it the next day. More than burning calories to lose weight, what made me feel so good was the sense of accomplishment and confidence that came with it. I felt more confident in my body and that could be reflected in my behaviour. I felt happy and realized I was more energetic, fun, and curious.

I started walking an hour every day to lose weight and gain confidence but it made me well-rounded and a more developed person in multiple fields. Now looking back at days when I didn’t work out, I realize how dull I felt and maybe how dull I was. Walking changed my life in more ways than I could imagine.

Talking about losing weight, I first checked my weight on the 1st of June, and then I checked my weight mid-July (a day before going off to college), and I had lost around 3 kgs or 7 lbs.

Not bad for a guy who only used to walk as a workout.