Category Archives: Walking

What is it about Thursday night in Kansas City?


Posted by katiebird

The really good stuff isn’t anywhere near us, but the area has been ringed by tornadoes — the guys in the weather helicopter got some beautiful shots of 4 (four!) tornadoes on the western edge of the city. One of them hit a power line and the flash was spectacular. But other than that no damage.

Nothing like what happened to those poor children in Iowa.

I know that tornadoes in Kansas always get a lot of attention (I wonder why?) and some of you worry about me. And while I love you for that — I don’t want you to worry tonight. We’re getting lots of rain but, the worst is past.

It’s amazing how this always seems to happen on Thursday nights. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to watch LOST at 1 in the morning because of the weather delays. And we couldn’t take a walk tonight. Here we are walking last night:


The 3415 Club: What it is, How it works


Posted by katiebird

Walk 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time and with hardly any effort we’ll be walking 3 miles a day.

Here’s my original post from February 2007 (wow!)

3415, Walk 3 times for 15 minutes

I’ve come up with a cheap memory aid — the 3415 logo you see near the center of the screen.

We all know that walking regularly is a great way to get exercise. I’ve found that the more often I walk, the less I eat. I start thinking that I don’t want to “waste my walk” on a high-calorie snack. And sometimes I even take another walk to distract myself from my distructive craving. In fact, that was the first “thing” on my list of 6 things you can do to avoid snacking for the rest of the day!

Keep it short

I think the trick is to keep the walks to as close to 15 minutes as you can. We expanded them a little yesterday so we actually walked for over 1/2 hour each time. And it did seem to take a lot of the day. It was a holiday, the weather was good and we had fun — but if I was doing that on a work day, I probably would have felt guilty. The point of the 15 minutes is to make it something that can fit into your break or lunch hour.

Hey! Look at the time — I’d better take my first walk. Can you join me?


September 6, 2007 — Just 4 Today


Posted by katiebird

Just 4 Today I'llJust 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber twice (done once!), drink 2 liters of water (so far, 1/2 liter), walk 5 miles (yesterday — 6.48), NOT eat between meals & NOT take seconds.

The 3415 (walk 3 times for 15 minutes) seems to work very well for me. I take a few longer walks everyday too. But when I tell myself that I’m going to “just walk quickly around the block,” I actually DO it. And if I walk briskly during that short time, I can walk a mile.

Have you tried the 3415 program? Does it work for you?

What are you going to do today?


3415: Walking 3 times a day for 15 minutes


Posted by katiebird

I realized this morning as I walked around the block that I hadn’t mentioned the details of the 3415 plan lately.  It’s simple really, long walks can be boring or hard to fit in.   But it’s not that hard to walk around the block.  And in the downtown neighborhood where I work it takes about 15 minutes to walk around the block.

So, rather than planning one long walk (and as often as not, not getting around to it) my idea is to take 3 short 15 minute walks a day: 3415.

It’s just that simple.


May 30, 2007 — Just 4 Today


Posted by katiebird

Just 4 Today logoJust 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber twice (done it once), drink 2 liters of water (about 1/2), walk 5 miles (3415 — Yesterday 6.8 miles ), NOT eat between meals & NOT take seconds.

It was POURING rain when I woke up. But, it’s been like this for most of the week. If I keep my eyes open, I should be able to do my 3 walks. And WOW all this walking (regular, steady walking — nothing fancy) is doing it’s job. As of this morning, I’ve lost 9 pounds in less than 3 weeks!

Katiebird’s secret to Fast Weight Loss

Actually, obviously cutting way back on food — and consistently measuring my portions is important too. But if I was going to label 2 3 things as “my secret” to fast weight loss (which isn’t what everyone wants) it would be:

  1. Drink 2 liters of water steadily through the day (don’t guzzle it in bursts; drink a cup or so every hour to keep up with the goal.) I think drinking water regularly through the day flushes some extra calories out of our system before they get converted to fat. Or maybe it just keeps us peeing so regularly we’re keeping the rubber bag empty. Either way, it gives a nice boost to the weight-loss-ego.
  2. Walk an average of 6 miles a day. Do your 3 for 15 (this is for life, not weight loss) and then walk for 1 hour more (this is your weight loss booster shot.)
  3. Walk for even a few minutes (if you can) after every meal. I’ve been reading (here and there, I’ll have to find the links later) that they think we burn the calories we just ate first. So if we walk right after eating we don’t give the calories a chance to land anywhere (and that regular water drinking would help flush them out at the same time)

This could be hooey: I don’t have any scientific evidence to back this up. But, I know that when I don’t follow these 3 rules, I don’t lose weight as fast — if at all.

What are you going to do today? What are your weight-loss secrets?