Just what you wanted to see- hot dog legs and Anna Nicole Smith cheese face… But man. This was my day yesterday and pretty much is today too. Yesterday I got my 10,000 steps in by walking around the EMP (that’s the Experience Music Project in Seattle) for their 15th anniversary and then we headed up to my favorite Seattle museum: The Fry Art Gallery. I like it because it’s small, it’s free, it’s progressive, it’s digestible for kids and I really like how they constantly rearrange the permanent collection. We do like the cafe too. 😉 Afterwards we came home and I made the delicious hummus and veg spread for dinner while we laid around the pool and hot tub, reading, writing and soaking in the heat (with sun tan lotion- I’m being very good about that for the first time ever). Today was similar with the exception of leaving the house. Instead I stayed in and smash booked, read and was super lazy.
Nonscale Victory: Yesterday I walked down a main Seattle street eating a bag of Pop Chips. To many, that might not be seen as any kind of victory, but I’ve been food shamed a-plenty, so I knew better than to ever be a fat girl eating something fattening in public- oh the shame! What if someone saw me and said something? Mostly I was saying it to myself- ‘you don’t need that!’ But yesterday I ate the chips and realized that I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. I know who I am now. I know how I eat. I know I’m healthy and strong and those chips fit just fine into my diet. I know I don’t need to justify it to anyone- not even myself. I’m just fine. It’s nice to be free. This one has less to do with being smaller and more to do with being ok with myself in my head, and that’s a really good feeling.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how many steps I should be getting per day ever since I read a recent article that argued why we should really be getting 20,000 steps per day. According to the article, How Many Steps Should You Really Get Per Day? at NyMag.com, the original number of 10,000 steps actually was based on the 1960’s Japanese person’s dietary and fitness habits. The 1960’s Japanese person’s life is so much different from the modern American’s life that the scientists informing the article stated that 20,000 steps is really what we should all be shooting for.
Wow. 20,000 steps is something I rarely reach. Those are Disney numbers, meaning I only get those numbers when I’m in Disneyland, and I’m an active girl! I do think I need to be shooting higher than 10,000 steps, but I’m not sure when I would be able to walk that much- that’s eight miles per day… But I think I’m up for the challenge of giving it a try for a few days. Perhaps if I up my steps I can make some other magic happen! So, tomorrow I’m going for it. My Martha dog should get ready to hustle and Bradley or the kids better be prepared for a walk, hike or run! I’m going to Zumba in the morning with my posse as well, so that should help!
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Bonus points if you get what the title of this blog post’s reference is to!
Calvin and Hobbes writer, Bill Watterson, named one of his collections The Days Are Just Packed and we are knee deep in silly boy and tiger tales these days at my house! 🙂
20,000 a day?! I’ve had my Garmin since February and I’ve only reached that once! Even on the days I have long runs (5 miles) I usually get about 15,000. 20,000 a day…I wouldn’t be able to use my spare time for anything but walking! Whew!
It should be noted that 20,000 steps is in response of the modern American that is, often, inclusive of regular fast food intake. I don’t eat fast food – processed food, from time to time, but fast food maybe once a year- so t’s is mostly an experiment to see what I have to do to make the 20,000 happen. So far today I’ve gone to Zumba and I went on a three mile walk but I’m still only at 14,000! I hear you! 🙂
So I had to follow up…
First of all, your explanation makes so much more sense than what I was thinking!
Yesterday I had a super active day, and I actually got to 18,600 steps. I do think 20,000 is something I could possibly achieve on weekends, but with how much I had to do to hit that 18,600 yesterday, there’s no way I could do that during a normal workday!
May I ask, what is your hummus “spread”? I see lots of veggies, but they’re chopped pretty small so do you dip, mix it all up, make a salad? I love hummus but am trying to figure out how to move away from dipping it in a grain all the time. Thanks for such an awesome and fun blog! P.S. My favorite tiger and little boy agree that the days are indeed just packed
I chop up cucumber, red onion, red pepper and tomato almost like salsa. I don’t like big chunks to be falling all over the place! I also include whole olives – kalamata and regular, black ones, lemon wedges, wide-cut carrots, celery sticks, feta and, of course, hummus. I make a bowl of lettuce leaves that serve as taco shells, kind of, and I make hummus ‘wraps’ in those with all the yum on them! This is one of my favorite hot summer nights meals. Enjoy!!! And thank you for reading. This made my day to hear from you !