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My personal experience with walking began six years ago. I weighed 270 pounds, felt tired and lethargic all the time, huffed and puffed any time I had to climb

My personal experience with walking began six years ago. I weighed 270 pounds, felt tired and lethargic all the time, huffed and puffed any time I had to climb stairs etc. I decided to make a change, dropped sugar from my many daily coffees, and started walking two miles every night. I mapped out a route around our house and for the first five years I took our dogs with me. Where we live is hilly and initially each night felt like a struggle and I didn't want to do it much of the time. That sort of perversely made it a point of pride to do it regardless, and we went even on nights when it was drizzling or very cold. Six years later the transformation has been pretty satisfying. Down 60 pounds, so much more energy it's hard to describe the difference. I make the whole walk now in 30 minutes easily maintaining four mph up hills and down, and I could hold a conversation while doing it and not sound out of breath. It is now a well-established habit and on those nights when I can't go I feel like a slug :).

agumonkey 7y ago
This is the kind of things that makes me believe that part of the potential collapse will yield very good things. Bad diet, low activity .. all these are super detrimental and are double penalty both financially and existentially. I'm betting a pinky that we'll all be happier doing "more" simple physical things.
- defterGoose 7y ago
  | I'm betting a pinky that we'll all be happier doing "more" simple physical things. This factors so heavily into my worldview right now; that our society is broken in some very strange ways. A lot of people will admonish you about "romanticizing the past", but I truly feel that maybe if people had a little more real, hard labor in their lives, everyone would be happier, healthier, and humbler. I'm reminded of the Calvin and Hobbes trope about "building character".
- dTal 7y ago
  I assume by "collapse" you mean economic and social breakdown provoked by climate change and other chaotic forces. In which case most people will die of starvation, and the world will become very nasty indeed. I agree that modern society is very sick, but I don't think it's productive to look forward to the day when it all falls through. I do not aspire to die of starvation, or (if I survive) to live in feudal society of medieval technology. No matter how much exercise and fresh air I get. We need to think of a way to heal ourselves without losing the social and technological progress we have made.

agumonkey 7y ago

This is the kind of things that makes me believe that part of the potential collapse will yield very good things. Bad diet, low activity .. all these are super detrimental and are double penalty both financially and existentially. I'm betting a pinky that we'll all be happier doing "more" simple physical things.

defterGoose 7y ago
| I'm betting a pinky that we'll all be happier doing "more" simple physical things. This factors so heavily into my worldview right now; that our society is broken in some very strange ways. A lot of people will admonish you about "romanticizing the past", but I truly feel that maybe if people had a little more real, hard labor in their lives, everyone would be happier, healthier, and humbler. I'm reminded of the Calvin and Hobbes trope about "building character".
dTal 7y ago
I assume by "collapse" you mean economic and social breakdown provoked by climate change and other chaotic forces. In which case most people will die of starvation, and the world will become very nasty indeed. I agree that modern society is very sick, but I don't think it's productive to look forward to the day when it all falls through. I do not aspire to die of starvation, or (if I survive) to live in feudal society of medieval technology. No matter how much exercise and fresh air I get. We need to think of a way to heal ourselves without losing the social and technological progress we have made.