So when I visited New York City for the first time with my wife last weekend, getting a beer at cool little spots our friends recommended often meant walking. And walking. And walking.
From our base in the West Village, we trekked through Lower Manhattan, strolled around Midtown and Times Square, sojourned through Central Park and over to the Upper East Side, hiked through part of Harlem and ambled through Greenwich Village.
Though we both work out, my wife Eve and I (seen here during the Central Park sojourn) felt like we’d run m
arathons by the end of our three-day trip. While our dogs were tired, we appreciated the ability to walk to most of our destinations without having to get in a car.That’s something missing in a lot of cities (including much of the Treasure Coast). Port St. Lucie, where we live, doesn’t have sidewalks in a lot of places. That can turn walking from a form of exercise into a live-action version of the video game “Frogger.” And often there’s not much to walk to besides other houses.
While getting hit by a car can be a sure-fire health drawback, so can lack of exercise. For many people, walking is an easy way to burn calories: Prevention magazine’s November issue cites a study that says when women over age 40 annually add an average of 3,520 steps – or roughly 1 ¾ miles – they lost an additional five pounds during a year and cut their belly fat by 12 percent.
There are scientists looking at whether urban sprawl, which generally creates more dependence on cars, has helped lead to increases in obesity rates. Less walking and more driving, they say, means fatter people.
As a lifelong suburbanite, I’m used to getting where I want to go by car. But there is something to be said for using your feet to get there instead. For instance, that beer and a slice of pizza at John’s of Bleecker Street? Probably in the neighborhood of 800 calories. To burn those calories means I’d have to walk about seven miles.
Which means it’s time to lace up those walking shoes.
--Scott Samples
2 comments:
So what you're saying is that stubborn belly fat can be lost not with a little pill, but simply by walking? Have you ever chased a two-year old who doesn't want a bath or tried to wrestle the phone from a 16-year old? 3,500 steps is a cake walk for most women. I'm getting a pedometer to test that theory. Belly fat be gone.
I don't think most doctors would recommend a cake walk, lest those stubborn calories go right back. But those extra steps could help you lose a few extra pounds. It won't be the only solution to getting rid of that stubborn belly fat, but it may help get you in the kind of shape that will let you beat a 16-year-old for the phone. I suggest a half-nelson.
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