A Year Into the Program

As of this week, it’s a year since our fateful meeting with our doctor, the one who set us on the road to doing some serious walking.  Going public about what we were attempting was my way of being accountable.  Our grandson, Colt, calls it playing the “step game.”  It’s a game for him.  After all, he routinely does 17,000 steps a day without giving it a second thought.

That’s not true for me.  It takes time and energy and determination.  When I’m going full out, I walk at a rate of 1,000 steps per 10 minutes.  In other words, it’s an hour of walking for sure.  In the beginning, a thousand steps took a lot longer than that, primarily because I had to sit down and rest between laps.   Now I can do an hour and be done.

My yearly step average is 10,343.  My weekly average took a sharp dip last week due to four days of driving back to Seattle from Tucson.  One of those days was a 2,000 step day and another a 5,000.  I walked extra steps over the weekend, but didn’t quite hit the 10,000 average for the week.   My daily mileage for the year is 5.2 miles.  That’s 5.2 miles a day for a year!  That comes to a total of 1898.  That means I could have walked from Seattle, Washington to Bisbee, Arizona.  For the first time in my life, I can feel actual muscles in my legs.

Bill is walking a little less than I do.  He averages about 6,000 steps a day, but his stride is vastly improved from the little old guy cane-assisted shuffle from last year at this time to what it is currently—a real step; a man-sized step.  He still has some back pain, but he walks in spite of the pain, and the pain is much reduced from what it used to be.

We have both dropped sixty pounds and kept it off despite being on a six week book tour.  When we’re home Bill does most of the cooking.  He watches the carbs and calories.  We have banished bread and potatoes from our household.  We no longer have pancakes or waffles.  (Well, maybe, once in a while as a special treat.)  We have learned to eat less.  And when we’re on the road, we’ve learned to make better menu choices.  Last week, on the road, I was really tempted by that “fully loaded baked potato,” but Bill saved me by ordering extra asparagus for both of us.

We are both wearing clothing that hasn’t fit us in more than a decade.  That in itself is pretty amazing.

Three years ago, when we went on our first Silverseas cruise there was an airline delay that kept us standing in line at the airport for the better part of four hours.  While we were on the cruise itself, Bill’s back was so bad that we never left the ship.  We came away from that believing that our cruising days were over.

Not so.  The past year has changed all that.  At the end of May, we’re rewarding ourselves with another Silverseas two-week long adventure.  This time we expect to be walking both on and OFF the ship.

For those of you who have written to say that you’ve been following my lead?  Thank you.  And please, keep me posted on your progress.   It’s wonderful to learn that what we’re doing is helping others.

One of my favorite TV programs is the Red Green Show.  As he says at the end of each show, “Keep your stick on the ice.  We’re all in this together.”

12 thoughts on “A Year Into the Program

  1. I had the opportunity to hear you in Apple Valley on Thursday night. I have loved your books for 15+ years and have read all of them. I thoroughly enjoyed your talk and meeting you. I also have got a Fitbit and have had it for 18 months. I recently made 3000 miles. I haven’t lost 60 lbs but have lost 25 and kept it off. Keep up the good work! I hope you are feeling better after your talk. Hope there is no more cart noise in your next travels. Thank you for an excellent evening.

  2. Well done! It is so awesome what you have accomplished and that you continue to share your progress. Such an inspiration. I started walking New Years 2015 because our son took me birding in Florida and I could barely get around. Now I can climb the hills on our farm and actually enjoy the walk. We’ve done Gettysburg, Alabama, and lots of other trips and I can pretty much keep up with our guys. Thanks again for sharing this. Thanks also for this blog. I have read all your books, some of them several times, and this is a chance to get a “fix” of your way with words in between so to speak.

  3. Thank you for such an up-beat message. You are such a good example of what a person can do one step at a time. I don’t know if I would substitute asparagus for a baked potato as I like both. I’d probably eat both, too.

    I just finished re-reading “Second Watch”. I liked the way you told about Beau’s past and tied it all together.

  4. You are a very inspiring person and I am so proud of you and your husband. A year ago I began a regimen that includes an aerobics class and yoga class. I have lost 30 lbs in six months and feel better than I have in years. I have more strength, longer endurance, am happier, and feel better about myself on every level. Finally I have quit biting my fingernails, which has been a lifelong habit. My goal is to start walking, too. When I have those days I thank God for the ability to move better and feel better. Every day is an achievement. I also want to thank you for your books. I saw you at the Library in Rapid City, South Dakota. It was a privilege to hear you speak.

  5. I was wondering do you use a fitness tracker or just your iPhone . I have fell off the wagon recently since I changed from android phone to an iPhone and it messed up my routine but I found the greatest thing ever which is an adult tricycle . You should try it. I find my self getting upset if I forget my phone when I walk or ride because I won’t get credit for the steps!

  6. Wow, I really need to follow your lead. One year and 60 pounds lighter for both you and Bill, what hard work and dedication. Great accomplishment. Maybe I should save to unpack those cloths that have gotten too small for me. Keep up the great work!
    Nancy Gilbert
    New Baltimore, Michigan

  7. My year is the 1st of May, almost there and this morning’s weigh in shows 106 lbs. less of me. I can get into the size 14’s I have from 25 years ago, I walk my laps around the block for 45 mins. for appr. 2 + miles a day. Not as far as you, but great for me. I actually like the way I look in my jeans. I know this is the way I have to use food for the rest of my life, and it’s ok. I still have the occasional treat, just a lot less of it, but that’s ok, too. Thank you again for the inspiration to begin and to keep at it. I still have another 7-10 lbs. to go, but the end is in sight. So God bless and keep on walking.

  8. I have very much enjoyed hearing about your progress with the step game, especially during your travels and shifts from one house to another. My new phone tracks my steps, as long as I’m carrying it. I need more pockets. Good point about accountability–I love checking my total late in the day and finding that I’ve passed 10K. If I haven’t, out I go for a walk–or back and forth I pace if the weather is unkind, which it often is in Tacoma, WA. Keep on truckin’!

  9. Thanks for the inspiration. I need to do what you guys are doing and I also need to lose sixty pounds. Nice to know that others my own age can be successful and get healthy. Take care now and keep those fingers busy on the keyboard. Can’t get enough JA Jance!

  10. The good thing about the iPhone health app is that you can add in a data point of the steps that weren’t counted when your phone wasn’t with you. As for those missing pockets? I use my bra. It comes complete with two pockets.

  11. Congrats on fully embracing the programme, and reaping the rewards! It’s amazing how eating Elephant bit by bit yields increasing progress, and that once you get in the routine, days when you miss the walking, or have to do less leave you missing your norm.

  12. I think your progress is wonderful! Thank you for sharing your experience it is so helpful to me. I got a dire message from my doctor on September 1, 2015 and decided I had to change to improve my health. My doctor suggested my goal should be to lose 10% of my body weight. I learned from a nutritionist that selecting this as a goal is common. I was wondering if you had a specific weight goal or did you focus on the steps? As for myself I made that first goal and lost 20 pounds, then set a second goal to lose 10% of my new weight. I just made it, losing 17 pounds for a total loss of 37 pounds. I’m still overweight but getting there.

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