4-Week Walk: Day 5

It’s back to interval training for Day 5 of the 4-Week Walk for Weight Loss.

Today’s program is just like Day 3, but we’re doing an extra minute for the fast walks and pushing the intensity up one level.

All the better to burn off fat fast, my dears!

Stretching Out

One thing that I haven’t gone on about (mostly because I can be really slack about doing it, myself) is the importance of doing some stretches after a vigorous workout.

And that holds true even if your workout is a brisk walk, getting passed on the trail by bone-and-sinew marathon runners who can’t even see you for the rivers of sweat pouring down into their eyes…

The point is, when you ask your body to do a little more than it’s used to doing, the muscles are slightly strained. That’s what tones them up, so that’s a good thing. But if you come in from your walk and just flop down in a chair, those poor muscles will tighten right up on you. Not what you want.

Doing a few gentle stretches to round out the walking program, especially on the days when we’re doing these fat-burning intervals, will keep us in shape to get right back out for a walk again tomorrow.

Weighing In

Yeah, I said that I wasn’t going to weigh myself until the end of the week, but curiosity got the better of me this morning and I jumped on the scales. Down by 2½ pounds, already — and I’ve been eating like a pig.

(This is obviously the reason why preparing (on Day 2) included the instruction to get rid of any high-calorie treats that might be hiding around the house! … as you can see, I did not do that part as completely as I should have.)

Here’s a tip:

Walking for weight loss does not mean that you should feel free to dive into a fistful of peppermints afterwards, the way I’ve been doing. I thought I was craving sweets, but on second thought I do believe that it may be a bit of dehydration.

The next few days, I’m going to make a conscious effort to drink more water and see if that is, indeed, what’s going on…