About three years ago, virtual teacher Jessica Miller learned a life-changing lesson.
The Connecticut resident wasn’t aware of how her sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy habits were affecting her, so a routine medical check-up gave her the wake-up call she needed.
“Nothing was doing me any good. My cholesterol was terrible,” the 47-year-old said. Recalled by TODAY.com This week it was “My blood pressure is terrible. I’ve had to lose some weight.”
Miller’s doctor recommended exercise and taking her blood pressure and cholesterol medications as ways to improve her overall health, but she admitted that she often forgot to take her medicine. She tried walking instead.
Miller’s daily steps had previously been surprisingly low — just the number it takes to walk from her desk to the coffee machine, she told TODAY.com.
Determined to make a change, she increased her walking time from 10 to 20 minutes, eventually averaging more than 10,000 steps a day.
Experts agree that walking is both simple and beneficial. Mayo Clinic cardiologist Francisco Lopez Jimenez recently wrote: She told Vogue.com“Walking is one of the easiest, most affordable and most effective forms of physical activity a person can undertake.”
It certainly worked: within six months, Miller not only lost 25 pounds, but also significantly lowered his blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
“I know it’s helped me,” she told TODAY.com. “I try to eat healthy too, and I love to eat. The main thing that helps is walking.”
A recent study found that walking 5,000 steps three times a week for two years could extend a person’s life expectancy by three years and reduce medical costs by up to 13%.
Miller typically wakes up around 5 a.m. and walks outside when she can, or stays indoors at the mall when temperatures drop in the winter.
She uses audiobooks to stay motivated and listens only while she’s walking: “If I want to hear what’s in the book, I have to listen to it while I’m walking.”
Her get-up-and-walk-out routine is consistent with expert recommendations for when to walk.
“If you have a choice, sunrise and sunset have special advantages,” says biologist Tamara. Pazos told Vogue: “This would coincide with the circadian rhythms of the rest of the body. Our whole body functions rhythmically according to a routine, keeping us active during the day and relaxed and restful at night.”
Miller managed to walk as much as possible instead of driving.
“I used to think, ‘It would be weird if I didn’t walk somewhere. I don’t want people to see me walking because they’ll think I can’t drive,'” she told TODAY.com. “Now I try to do that. If I walk somewhere, I have to walk home. It’s encouraged me to walk more.”
Her step count has increased dramatically, but her trips to the coffee machine have decreased: Miller, who once drank 20 cups a day, has gradually tapered off to two cups a day, refueling with a water bottle before her first cup and drinking decaffeinated coffee.
Miller says walking helped her kick her caffeine addiction: “Exercise makes me feel good and I don’t want to eat junk food or drink coffee.”
In addition to cutting back on her caffeine intake, Miller also cut out soda and alcohol, which she found disruptive to her sleep cycle.
While the physical benefits of exercise are great, Miller says she’s seen the most noticeable improvement in her mental health.
“When I walk, I feel like all of my negativity just melts away,” she enthused to TODAY.com. “It clears my head and makes me feel better.”
