Last July, I weighed 374 pounds, I was about 8 months along in a CICO / SAD program and hadn't yet joined the Low-Carb bandwagon (that anniversary is next month!). I was still sedentary and lethargic, and I had the muscle tone of a sack of jell-o.

One year ago today, I decided to get up off my *kitten* and attempt a 20 minute walk. I lasted 13 minutes.

For 13 minutes, I shuffled along at a glacial pace, less than 3 km/h. I managed to go only 800 meters. My back ached, my feet hurt. I was an exhausted, sweaty, panting mess.

The very next morning, I went straight to a shoe store and bought myself a pair of decent walking shoes. My fat-girl slip-ons went in the trash, and I went for another short, slow walk.

I walked again the day after that. And the next. Before I knew it, I had walked a little bit every day for a whole week!

Gradually I was able to walk further. My speed was still slow, but I was adding distance. I still remember the joy I felt the first time I went a whole kilometer. And still, I was walking every single day.

After a month or so, I realized it was easier to fit into my day if I walked first thing in the morning, rather than waiting till I could spare time from work, or worse, after work in the evening. Get it done early, get it out of the way. The later I wait, the less I'll want to do it.

Soon I did 2km, and then 3km. Then one morning I was able to walk 4km and it was awesome!

My pace improved a bit, once I was walking 4km / day without difficulty I started to focus on picking up the speed. From > 20 minutes per km I got it down to 15 minutes. (Aka from 3km/h up to 4km/h). I knew this was still 'slow' but it was an improvement for me.

Fast-forward to winter, and it was too miserable to walk outside, so I took to walking in the local mall. Four or five km every morning, and when I realized I wasn't able to get my heart rate up high enough any more just by walking, I added stair-climbing. Or rather, I'd run up a flight of stairs, for every lap of the mall. Walk a kilometer, run up a flight of stairs. Five km, five flights of stiars.

This was every day. Every. Single. Day.

Xmas day, I was visiting my mum. That morning before breakfast, I went for a hike through the snow, along ski trails. New years day, malls were closed and I had a cold. I walked to the drug store to buy cough medicine, and then took the long way home through the park so I could get some distance in.

In February, I was finally forced to stop walking due to plantar fasciitis, so I bought a bike and without missing a day, I started cycling instead. Indoors (on a trainer) during the winter, then eventually outdoors when the weather was good.

Earlier this month I finally started walking again. My foot isn't 100% healed but I need to get my walking muscles in shape again. Next month I'm signed up for an 'obstacle course / fun run' that I need to be ready for. And more importantly, in September I'm signed up for a 25 kilometer walk to raise money for cancer research. (Shameless plug: http://www.onewalk.ca/goto/stephanie_maksylewich )

Aaaand after that lengthy story, it brings me back to today -- 365 days ago, I got up and went for a walk, and I haven't stopped moving since then. 365 days of daily cardio. I have not missed a single day. Not one.

Sure there were days I didn't want to do this. I'd say... at least a third of them. I would have a coffee, sit here, and say to myself OMG the last thing I want to do is get up and walk / cycle. Those are the days you force yourself.

I worried, if I skipped one day, would that give me permission to skip two. You didn't walk yesterday, who cares if you don't walk today. You can start again tomorrow. Monday. First of the month. *Kitten* that! I work out every day, so there's never an excuse to miss 'just one'.

For what it's worth, I do not believe that daily excercise has led to a lot of weight loss on its own -- two sayings that resonate for me, are: 1) You lose pounds in the kitchen, ounces in the gym. 2) You can't outrun a bad diet.

However, I know that daily excercise has made me fitter, given me energy, boosted my confidence, and given me freedom I didn't even know I was lacking.

I was no longer limited to going places with ample parking near the door. I no longer had to stop for a rest-break halfway from the mall parking lot to my bank in the middle of the mall. Instead of driving to the grocery store, I could walk to the farmers' market.

Between my legs, my bike, and a bus pass, I can get almost anywhere I need to or want to go. I almost cried when I realized this to be true.

All that, in one year.

365 days ago, I could barely get around the block. 13 minutes of shuffling agony to go 800 meters, with a heart rate over 150, sweating and panting. This morning, I walked 6km in 67 minutes, including running up and down a hill four times, barely breathing hard. And when I got home, I did a 200cal burn on the bike, just to round out the morning.

My point, finally, is this: Every little bit helps. Be consistent. If you're just starting out, don't overdo it. Do what you can. And tomorrow, do it again. Then do a little bit more. Do it every day. And you will get better, and you will feel better.

And yes, I used to be one of those people who 'couldn't find time to excercise every day'. Make. It. A. Priority. Today, I don't 'find time for excercise'. I exercise, then I find time for everything else.

Sorry for the novel - this is a story that's been bulding in me for a year now lol! Cheers!