My Fitness Secret

misspenny762

Just got back from a trip to the grocery store... Gotta admit I smiled a little bit when the man in front of me (buying steaks and danishes) looked at my food on the conveyor belt and said "Now, that's just too healthy!"

I got to thinking, and I realized that riding my bike to do my shopping is one of my best fitness secrets, and I didn't even realize it! First of all, it's twenty minutes round trip from here to the grocery store, including several hills, so naturally I'm burning calories and getting a good chunk of my daily exercise right there without even trying! But it goes beyond that, which I realized today. First of all, the effort it takes to do my grocery shopping by bike means I only go when I really need something - no more stopping at the store at 8 pm because I'm craving pasta for dinner - I just make do with what I have, and since I keep my kitchen stocked with lots of yummy, healthy food, that's better for me right there! Plus, I can only buy what I can fit in my basket, which is one or two small bags of groceries at a time. Not only does this mean more frequent shopping trips, which translates into more calories burned, it also means that I have to think carefully about what I buy... No impulse purchases of potato chips, I don't have room for them with all my fruits and veggies! Lastly, what I just realized - I don't buy chocolate or ice cream (my two favorite guilty pleasures) anymore, because they'll melt on the way home! That means if I'm wanting ice cream, I have to make a special trip just to get some somewhere - which forces me to consider whether I REALLY want it! So there you go, biking to the store is my number one fitness tip! :] May I suggest giving it a try, if it's possible! Anyone else have some diet and fitness secrets they want to share?

WonderNoodle

Clever girl!

stringcheeze

Heh, that is a plan! You have to work for you food.

I love that idea...I just wish I had a working bike (a garage sale special with bad brakes and a missing seat that I never got around to fixing).

RMX82

Good idea!

LJCannon

I am hoping soon to find a Bike, and learn to ride it.

xarrium

Nice! I have a grocery store reasonably close to my place, but the weather as of late has made it not worth walking--it's either too hot for me to feel okay about carting around meat and produce for more than 10 minutes, or a freakin' downpour... but I really like the idea of having a limited amount of space to avoid buying stuff you don't need. Thanks for the tip!

I'd have to say my budget is one of my keys... if I buy the stuff I *know* I need, like fresh fruit and veggies, I don't have a lot of extra money to spend on junk (since *when* is a small box of cookies $4?!) or eat out. It also helps that I end up bringing home only good stuff, because I'm a lazy person so leaving my apartment to walk for a small bag of chips isn't worth it once I'm home and settled in.

obifatkanobi

Thank you for sharing with us. My wife and I both enjoy riding bicycles all over, and are making our trips longer and longer. We recently rode from our rural small town to a larger one close by and rewarded ourselves with an ice cream cone, from Dairy Queen. Since it was a 22 mile, two hour ride, we felt fine indulging in our treat. It was late, so we had my brother give us a ride home, putting the bikes in the back of his truck. a few days later, we decided to again make this trip and join some friends for coffee. This time, however, we left ample time for the return ride. To make it more interesting, we took an alternate route home. We brought healthy snacks, lots of water, and a sports drink with. We had even mentioned, since we love to eat out, that this would be the way to do it. Ride in, enjoy a good, but healthy meal on the town, then ride home. We picked up a few things we needed for supper at the store, enjoyed visiting and yes, we made the trip home. In all, we rode fifty miles over the course of the day, had a wonderful time, and earned our super nacho dinner after we got home, with calorie room to spare. :~)

ambercole

AWESOME! Me and my 10yr old son love to ride our bikes but summer in TX is not very nice and there is no way we can ride right now. Even well after it gets dark it is still above 90 degrees. Once it cools down enough we will get back into it. It's funny because people tend to view summer as the time to enjoy the outdoors, but here it is when all of our outdoor activities come to a screeching hault.

misspenny762

Thank you for sharing with us. My wife and I both enjoy riding bicycles all over, and are making our trips longer and longer. We recently rode from our rural small town to a larger one close by and rewarded ourselves with an ice cream cone, from Dairy Queen. Since it was a 22 mile, two hour ride, we felt fine indulging in our treat. It was late, so we had my brother give us a ride home, putting the bikes in the back of his truck. a few days later, we decided to again make this trip and join some friends for coffee. This time, however, we left ample time for the return ride. To make it more interesting, we took an alternate route home. We brought healthy snacks, lots of water, and a sports drink with. We had even mentioned, since we love to eat out, that this would be the way to do it. Ride in, enjoy a good, but healthy meal on the town, then ride home. We picked up a few things we needed for supper at the store, enjoyed visiting and yes, we made the trip home. In all, we rode fifty miles over the course of the day, had a wonderful time, and earned our super nacho dinner after we got home, with calorie room to spare. :~)

That is awesome! I wish I could do something like that but unfortunately the area in which I live is so hilly that it makes extended trips like this pretty much impossible. But I'm moving next month and hoping to be able to bike almost everywhere I need to go!

To those of you that have mentioned wanting to buy a bike, the one I bought is this one, from Wal-Mart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/26-L-Cranbrook-cruiser-comfort-bike-model-56370-mint-green/12509650

It's adorable and a great quality bike, for only $75! And it comes in men's and women's colors. It was the best deal I could find on a nice new bike, so I suggest checking it out!

iDreamNEON

I love this!! It Kinda Works That Way For Me Except I Tend To Walk Everywhere. I Can Only Buy What I Can Carry. [Bet That Cut Out Those Heavy 2 Liters and 12 Pack Of Sodas.]

utes09

We (my husband and I) had two thoughts when they opened a 24 hour grocery store within walking distance (about .4 miles and that's only because the road curves. I can view the loading dock of the store crystal clear from my front windows): "This will either be really bad or really good."

I am happy to say that I have walked to the store every Saturday morning since it opened in October, I refuse to drive. In the time it takes me to walk, I could drive to the nearest Wal Mart, but why do that??

Like was mentioned by misspenny, when you walk/ride your bike to the store it really controls how much you buy since you have to carry it back!

Also, it has been good in a way of sweets. The other night we wanted some tootsie roll midgees. The store has them in bulk. So we walked over to the store and just bought like 4 midgees. Enough to satisfy our sweet tooth and the walking made us feel less guilty about eating them.