We’ve just returned from a weekend in Glasgow where we were presenting and exhibiting at the Scottish Fitness & Nutrition Expo. In total we were in sunny Scotland for 5 days and as much as we would have liked to have taken along our awesome dog Hamish, sadly no dogs were allowed at the Expo meaning we’d have to leave him behind. Fortunately for us, Matt’s Mum stepped in as dog sitter for the week. During this time she had a sudden realisation about the wonders of walking which has inspired this post.
Hamish is a Bavarian Mountain Hound, traditionally used to track down wounded game and often expected to walk for 10+ miles a day. We don’t use him to hunt but we can certainly confirm that this little dude needs a lot of walking. His energy and agility is incredibly inspiring, and if he doesn’t get his daily quota he’s left with a lot of pent of energy and will start launching his toys around the living room. We’ve lost track of the number of times we’ve had to duck to avoid a flying pigs ear!
Matt’s Mum whilst certainly not lazy is not the biggest fan of long walks so we suggested hiring a dog walker to walk Hamish twice a day to help ease the burden. However, she was adamant no stranger would be walking our beloved Hamish and firmly reassured us that despite her reservations she would walk him every morning and evening.
Sticking to her word and as she lives only ten minutes from Greenwich Park, one of the most stunning parks in London (somewhere she actually hadn’t been in over 4 years) she got her trainers on and headed outside with our beloved hound. We wanted to write this post because whilst we were in Glasgow we received so many text messages saying how beautiful the park was, how much more energy she had and how much better she felt for walking outdoors each day. A favourite message we received was “you forget whats just round the corner sometimes.”
Matt’s Mum still worked full time during the week but additionally she managed an hour of exercise twice a day for 6 days on the trot. And do you know what? In her own words, she looked and felt a million times better for it! Many people believe that they need to go to a gym and train intensely to get an endorphin hit, keep fit and healthy or even help buffer a stressful day but this is far from the case.When we arrived back on Monday to pick up Hamish she was quite literally glowing and clearly reaping the benefits of getting outside and moving more. She had also roped in a neighbour to join her and by the weekend they were both heading out twice a day, enjoying a good old catch up whilst Hamish ran riot around the park
We often forget the ease and necessity of walking, how convenient it is as a form of exercise and how it encourages us to get out and see what is right in front of us. We’re all guilty of taking the place we live for granted and often miss or bypass completely the beautiful sights and scenery it has to offer. Experiencing these things cost nothing in life yet they have the ability to make such a positive impact on your life. At Fitter Food we are huge fans of daily movement but more specifically getting outside for a walk, remember a 90 minute walk outside has been shown to increase serotonin (our good mood brain chemical) by 100%, we cover this more in our Depression: Nutrition & Natural Measures blog post.
So our advice? Get outside, explore whats around you and make the most of it. You’ll feel better for it.
