Columnists / Rachel Hawkins
‘My new obsession with walking has an amazing effect on my mental wellbeing’
I hate exercise. I try to love it. God knows I’ve tried to love it. But I just can’t. I admire those people on Instagram who upload footage of their exercise routines and write about how their three-hour long, seven times a week workout is the best part of their life (liars) but I’ll never be like them. I like my bed too much. It’s as simple as that.
We have a problem though. A problem that’s exacerbating as I hurtle through my thirties at seemingly lightning speed.
I have noticed since turning 30 nearly three years ago I put on weight very easily. Too easily in fact. I merely have to look at a packet of McVitie’s coffee caramel Digestives (they’re amazing – not an #ad) and I can actually feel the fat collecting on my hips and backside. I have so many clothes adorning my wardrobe collecting dust because they no longer fit.
is needed now More than ever
And it affects my mental health.
I’ll concede; I’m not overweight. Far from it. However, I have been overweight before and I’m desperate to never go back to that place again.
So, with my metabolism slowing down with each passing day and my hate for exercise bordering on a passion I had to find a middle ground.
And find it I have: walking. Moreover, power-walking.
I’ve spent the last few weeks pounding Bristol’s streets, ensuring I clock up a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. And like most things in my life it’s become an obsession.
But surely it’s better to be obsessed with walking and keeping fit than stocking my freezer with chocolate (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it).
I can’t tell you the effect it has on my mental wellbeing when I kick my trainers off and take a look at my walking app. It’s SUCH a good feeling.
It’s also been great to see more of this amazing city I’ve called my home for the last 32-and-a-half years. A city I often take for granted.
Since clocking up the miles I’ve watched as the leaves have turned brown and collected in piles on the pavement. Sometimes it’s almost like an assault course having to dodge the precarious wet, slippery ones that I fear would take pleasure in causing me to fall on my arse. But hey, at least it’s got that layer or two of fat to cushion the blow.
At the end of September we were treated to hotter than average temperatures. I had a child-free day so pulled on my trainers and made it my mission to beat my steps personal best.
I had in my head where I wanted to go. It’s probably my most favourite place in Bristol (weather permitting of course). When I got there the view didn’t disappoint. Just look at it at the top of this article.
It’s the kind of scene that takes your breath away. I have got so many happy memories of the harbourside. And I guess it stands to reason that it’s one of my little boy’s favourite places in Bristol too.
Now we’re in the midst of winter, I hope to continue my power-walking. Although, as I look out my bedroom window today the sight of the wind and the rain that’s greeting me doesn’t exactly strike me with motivation.
I’ve enjoyed stomping through the various BS postcodes, noticing sights that wouldn’t have been on my radar had I not been on foot and celebrating my little achievements with an al fresco tipple on the odd occasion.
Rachel Hawkins
This is where I’m going wrong isn’t it? The rewards.
Bristol24/7’s new columnist Rachel Hawkins is a born and bred Bristolian. “I rant. I write. You could say I’m a bit of a gobshite,” she says. Follow her on Twitter at @ourrachblogs
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
