In April of 2024 I became aware that I was not as healthy as I had been. I was obese, my heart was fibrillating regularly and I was often depressed. It was clear that I needed to do something. So I decided that every morning before I took the children to school I would go for a walk.

It started off as short walks around the block. Five or so kilometres. By June I was walking at least 10 km every day. The benefits of that walking became apparent really quickly. My extra weight dropped off and mentally I felt so much more on top of things. Eight months later and I’m 14 kilos lighter. I have had to buy new clothes. I am wearing clothes that I had filed away in a maybe I will wear that again one day drawer.

It is now January 2025 and I feel strange if I don’t walk for an hour and a half every day. I get up at six every morning. In the winter this is honestly much harder than it was in the summer. It is so cold and dark outside. I’m walking on roads with a headlamp and a high visibility coat for safety in the pitch black. However, there is something really special about this time to myself. Me, the road and whatever podcast I’m listening to at that time. I think that this time allows me to prepare for the day.

Not all of it is captured in the infographic above. I didn’t always use Strava and sometimes Strava doesn’t capture my walk but in the 147 days that it did capture I walked 1467 kilometres.

Why am I writing all of this you may wonder. Is this some humble brag about losing weight? I suppose, kind of, but it is also a story about how with a little determination you can turn around your life. I was miserable then and am less so now. My health was deteriorating for sure. I spent a lot of time at the doctor or with specialists about my heart. In the last few months I have none of that.

Is everything perfect now? Of course not but little baby steps are always the way forward.