Good morning!
How are you guys doing today?
Ryan and I returned from our vacation late on Sunday night and ever since then we’ve been back in our normal routine with lots of catch-up going on!
Vacation was obviously amazing, but I sure did miss Sadie.
She had a great time at my parents’ house and gave us a warm welcome complete with whimpering and wiggling when we picked her up on Sunday evening.
It’s good to be back!
Vacation Workouts and Walking
During our entire 10-day vacation I managed to work out two times. Though I love a good workout, I didn’t really miss the gym too much because I still felt like I was moving a lot thanks to tons of walking. Ryan and I would map out our days ahead of time and figure out how to walk from point to point. We ended up covering a ton of ground, especially in the big cities like Dublin and London. It was a blast!
Whenever I visit my friend Merri in New York, I experience the same thing. Without a car to rely on, we walk everywhere and I love being outside and moving around throughout the day. While I am sure walking in the freezing cold and snow would get really old really fast, I hope Ryan and I can one day live in a very walkable town. (My current hometown received a walkability score of zero.)
Workout
Since I won’t be walking miles and miles today, I headed to the gym to work up a sweat this morning. Round five of Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp began on Monday and today’s workout focused on strength training in an unstable environment. Lots of Bosu ball action!
Breakfast
After my workout, it was breakfast time!
I dug into a bowl of peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough overnight oats that I prepped last night.
So good. So filling.
Question of the Morning
- Do you live in a walkable area?
- How important is it to you to live somewhere walkable?
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Hi Jlulie:
Glad you and Ryan are back home safe. I live in Upstate New York. Walkability and public transportation are very important to me since I do not like to drive. I can walk to the gym and to stores in my neighborhood. Walking helps me to maintain my weight loss of 45 pounds..
Carol I would love to know how you lost 45 lbs! I’m aiming for 35 with weight watchers and struggling. Vickerslauren@aol.com
Hi Lauren:
I have been a life time member of WW for several years. I still have to count points and track every bit of food that I eat. This is the only way for me to stay accountable for the weight loss. I use the WW 3 month paper tracker, I feel if I plan my meals and also write it down, this keeps me honest. I also use the HALT system before I eat something that may not be a wise choice. You need to ask yourself are you Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. This method seems to help me. Best of luck in getting rid of weight..You can do it!!!!!
I live in Cambridge, Ontario, which is fairly walkable and has good trails.
Walkability is a bit of a passion of mine — I did not even own a car until I was 36, and even then we only bought it because my husband HAD to commute by car. I still walk to work every day, and run (or bike) to see my horses. We actually bought our house because it was central to everything — that is how I have always chosen where I live: can I get to work/school/ stores on foot? I always remind myself that most of the world’s population do not own cars.
Not that vehicles don’t have their place, they do, but they are definitely a mixed blessing. If people walked or biked more, we would have less pollution, fewer accidents, quieter streets, more green space, less obesity/heart disease/diabetes/osteoporosis/anxiety and depression. People could socialize more and just generally SLOW DOWN a bit. Not sure how we got so obsessed with private cars, but if you do a spreadsheet analysis of costs and benefits, i am not sure we have really come out ahead — certainly not in terms of health and environment.
Glad to hear you guys had a great time and made it back safely! 🙂
I would LOVE to live in a walkable city. Walking to and from work sounds so relaxing and enjoyable to me. When my boyfriend and I visited Toronto last summer, we walked everywhere! The locals even recommended we take public transportation, but we found sometimes you end up exploring more things by foot that you wouldn’t see otherwise. 🙂
I hardly EVER need my car (I only use it if I’m driving home to visit my parents) and I absolutely love it. I can walk, metro, or cab to just about everything near me and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I’ll probably move out of the city when I’m older (maybe when I eventually have kiddos yeeeears from now) but for now I love it!!
I’ve lived in Dublin all my life but I have spent two summers working and travelling in the US, and I was utterly shocked at how difficult it was to walk to places, and how walking nearly seems culturally unacceptable. Very few paths and pedestrian crossings made it a nightmare! My uncle emigrated to San Diego, and he tells a story about how he went for a recreational walk one day and a neighbour in a car actually stopped to ask him was something wrong, why was he walking and did he need a ride somewhere!
I love walking – I live on Long Island and we’ve got a lot of trails and beach to walk, but NYC is less than an hour away and I don’t think I could imagine not living somewhere where there were outdoor trails and a major city!
So glad you guys are back safe and sound, Julie! I had a blast reading all about your European vacation. I think that, beyond just helping the environment, you get a more personal picture of the places your visiting when you walk – you just get to see more!
I live in Cordova, TN (right outside of Memphis). It is not walkable, at all. My gym is only a mile away but it’s across a major (6 lane) highway with lights for walkers to cross.
I’ve visited NYC several times and loved how I could walk everywhere. I’d love to live somewhere like that!
with NO*** lights.
whoops!
I live in TN, and my area is definitely not walkable. Everything is very spread out; but at the same time I do enjoy the amount of living space and outdoor space we have in our own yard. Living in a walkable area would probably be fantastic when my children are older. Right now I just picture a toddler running out into traffic. I used to wonder why on earth people at the bank or a restaurant would ever sit in line in a drive-thru when they could just walk in and get faster service. Now that I have children, I know! 🙂
I live in Baltimore, MD and because of the area where we live, its very walkable. I walk to the movies, to the grocery store, the bars/restaurants, almost Everywhere! Its become very important to me, and something I will consider whenever we move again.
The area I live in is ok when it comes to walking. Whenever I move out I would like to live close to a walking trail or track.
I live in LA so it’s only walkable if you make it that way. I live about 20 minutes walking distance from two grocery stores so on the weekends I like to walk there unless I have a major shop to do. I also am lucky enough to be a 15 minute walk from my office. I was very particular about living in a walkable area but LA is notorious for being a drivers only city.
My wish is to live in a walk-around town. I loveeeed the weekend I spent in Philadelphia for a teaching conference. It just makes you feel so much better when you walk from place to place. It just makes it more relaxing but gets the juices flowing without having to rely on a workout to do so. Plus, by the end of the day I realize I’ve been laying around ever since my AM workout.
I live in a suburban town outside Philadelphia, Southampton, pa. It is very walkable. I walk to yoga and back this morning all though it was quite chilly(36 degrees). We can also walk to 3 area restaurants. There is not too much shopping in walking distance. I walk my dogs around town also.
Your vacation looked so fun! We always miss our cats so much when we’re away even for the weekend!
I live in the Santa Monica area of Los Angeles, and I think our walkability score is like a 93 or something. Within just one mile, we have three Whole Foods, a regular grocery store, countless restaurants, the beach, and my gym. It’s pretty amazing and we definitely don’t take it for granted, especially after moving from a much less walkable city. Perhaps the best bonus though was the downgrade from two cars to one.
I used to live close to downtown Portland so the walkability was amazing!! (If you were willing to walk in the rain, that is…because it’s almost alwayyyys raining.) Now, I live in the middle of nowhere so there’s not much to walk to. 🙂
I live in Nashville, TN (right in the city) and my life is very walkable! We live walking distance to my job, stores, farmers market (in summer), dry cleaners, restaurants etc. I LOVE the ability to get somewhere without a car. My husband and I only have one car which works really well for us (we have friends that live outside the city so we drive to see them). Our neighborhood is quite pricey so I don’t if we will be able to buy a house here in the near future but renting works out well for us now. The idea of moving to the suburbs makes me sad but I suppose when we start a family it might make sense?
Oh man, I so wish I lived in a highly walkable area as I love to walk and grew up that way till 12 years old in Argentina! So many parts of Cali are hard to get by without a car (and we have terrible public transportation) so when I go somewhere like SF I feel so….at home 🙂
glad you guys are home safe…you know we missed the Sadie pictures 🙂
St. Louis is not a walkable city. Sure, some parts are, but you have to drive there first. I LOVE visiting places where you can walk everywhere!!
Melbourne, FL is not a very walkable city, but it’s not a very big city either (IMO). I bet you could ride your bike on the sidewalk of some of the busier streets, but I think it would be a pain to walk all over the place. The bus system isn’t that great either, and I’ve only seen a few taxis! The only thing I demand in a town is proximity to a beach and warm weather most of the year…the opposite of what I grew up with in the southside of Chicago!
Ugh, it is so hard to leave your fur babies while on vacation! We live about an hour from San Francisco and walk around as much as possible whenever we visit there. Parking is just too expensive and too much of a hassle and walking around is a great way to take everything in!
glad you’re back and had a good time!
http://www.runningathousandmiles.com/2013/04/abs-and-arms-april.html
Yes my bf and I love close to the city and we both walk to and from work everyday and try and walk to places whenever we can. It saves a lot of money and is great exercise
It must feel nice to get back to normal — we always miss our pup a ton when we go away & get so excited to see her after a trip!
My city is not particularly walkable, but it’s not too bad in nice weather — we’ll drive downtown, park somewhere central and then walk everywhere we need to go. That is of course until the humidex hits its peak in the summer… after that it’s just too hot!
Walkability is HUGE to me! I currently live in downtown Minneapolis and my husband and I share one car. He drives it to work during the week which means I walk 1.5 miles to work everyday. Being able to walk everywhere in our city has greatly improved our health and happiness. Just yesterday, when we had to drive to go meet friends at a restaurant, we mentioned how much we dislike having to drive anywhere and would much rather be able to walk to work and to entertainment 🙂
I live near Boston, and it’s incredibly walkable. I absolutely love walking the city. I just went to NYC and we also didn’t have a car. We walked almost everywhere and took a few subway rides for far places. I didn’t miss the gym at all because I feel like walking is such a good workout.
Glad you’re back 🙂
I live in the DC metro area so walk ability is it’s middle name haha!! I LOVE it!! I have a car to but I also take the Metro at times & walk or fun yay 🙂
Aww, I bet you DID miss Sadie and I bet she really missed you!!
I LOVE vacationing and living in a walkable area. I grew up in the suburbs and whenever I go home to visit, I’m always so disappointed at the required dependence on a car for everything.
Mmm…one of my dreams is to be able to walk to work someday. Doesn’t that sound lovely? However, while I currently can’t walk to work (I take the train) my area is still very walkable. I can walk to the grocery store, library, pharmacy and froyo shop. 🙂 I usually only drive once a week.
Hi julie, I really enjoy your blog and have been following some of your workouts at the gym– a great resource! I’m hoping you could give some tips on using the bosu ball as whenever I use it I seem to get neck pain– I’m guessing that means I’m doing something wrong! Thanks for the help!
It’s very important for me to live in an area with lots of walking options. I live outside of Atlanta, and our community has a ton of parks and other safe walking places. I love it!
Walkability in a city is so important to me! It’s hard in central Wisconsin to walk outdoors more than 4-5 months per year (temps have just hit about 20 degrees so for me, that is enough to get back outside!) so I make an effort to find ways to not use my car so often.
we both lost weight on our honeymoon in Europe because I made us walk ALL OVER. I love taking in new places that way!
I am lucky to live in an area where I walk to get groceries, the library, all kinds of stuff
Glad you had a great vacation! I can’t really walk anywhere in my town. I wish I could – I would love too! I do ride my bike to the gym sometimes in the summer though.
Walkability is important to me. My current city got a “somewhat walkable” score, which I agree with. But I was shocked that my old hometown got a “car-dependable” and it’s more walkable than my current city! I miss going for walks or jogs in my hometown.
I think the best exercise is sometimes the ones that are kind of incidental just like you and your husband did touring cities on vacation! Welcome back!
I don’t walk much but I do enjoy nice long walks with the dogs in the spring and fall evenings
I keep seeing overnight oats. What am I doing not tapping into this fad?
Yes! I live in Cambridge, MA and walk everywhere…I never take it for granted that I don’t need a car to get around. Cambridge has actually won #1 U.S. Walking City a few times now.
My DREAM is to ultimately move somewhere after I graduate college where I can walk/bike to work! It seems like such a good way to be friendly to the Earth 🙂
My area really isn’t walkable at all! I wish I lived somewhere a bit more walking-friendly!
Your oatmeal looks delicious!! I’m going to have to try that recipe!! 🙂
I live in an area that is walkable if by walkable you mean backroads with sporadic traffic and no sidewalks 😉 lol… it’s peaceful but you need to time your walks around rush hour 😉
I never realized what a great thing walkability is until I got to my college campus. I walk/take the bus everyday, and only use my car to go grocery shopping and volunteer. Back at home, absolutely nothing is in walkable distance (except a nice little mexican restaurant, for which I’m eternally grateful!)
Where I live now is not at all walkable for everyday errands. I hate that. I moved here from a town (Ashland, OR) where I could walk or bike to everything I needed and did! Love it so much. Really want to move back there someday.
My car would sit most days, only to be driven if I had to go to my office a few towns away. I have put more miles on my car in the first 5 months being here then I did in three years in my old town.
My dream is to live in a walkable city some day! I think one of the things that I love most about the major European cities I have been to (I was just in London two weeks ago!) is the ability to get around on foot. Public transportation in my city is awful and I wish I could walk to stores, etc.
Glad you had a wonderful trip!
Hi Julie !
Do you mind sharing what you wore on your feet everyday ?
Thanks 🙂
It was great to watch your journey to Europe! I studied abroad there back in college and loved the experience! So much rich history!
I live in the foothills of Colorado, so while many people think its “walkable”, I wish I lived in a more walkable area. There’s plenty of hiking and outdoor activity by a short drive, but I can’t really take a nice walk or short jog. Or walk somewhere to dinner or coffee.. Or to a park. We always talk about how fun it would be to live in downtown Denver for the “walkability” of everything…but I think the nature, foothills and wildlife outweighs the walkability!
We live in a very walkable area–it’s very nice to be able to combine a Butters walk with a trip to the library or a trip to get coffee! I think sometimes we take it for granted until we spend some time in an area that is not walkable and a simple trip to Starbucks requires a 20 minute roundtrip drive.