Yesterday we took a nice hike. It wasn’t too long-about 3.50 miles but it was calf burning steep in places. More importantly, it was insanely beautiful.

According to my tracking app, based on the speed we walked and the elevation, we burned about 800 calories! But it didn’t feel like it. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t just a casual stroll, but it never felt like a crushing workout.

It was a really good reminder of how if you are mindful, with everything you do, everything can contribute to your health and fitness. If you are mindful about what you take into your body it doesn’t have to be a chore. If you realize that alcohol does not have to be a part of your life as a reward system. Then you won’t drink it.

I know that sounds simplistic but the fact is a year ago oh, hell even a month ago, we would have stopped and bought a six-pack of beer and a six pack of cider and taken it with us on the hike. Or we would have at least had drinks when we got home as a reward for going out and hiking three and a half miles. Not an outward conscious reward, but a subconscious habitual reward.

And I fully admit that I struggled a bit today. I saw some beer in my refrigerator at the convenience store when we stopped on the way home, and I sort of wanted one. Are you know what? I remembered the good things of the last 11 days of not drinking. I remember what it felt like every morning to wake up rested for the most part. I remember how good it felt to look down at that scale this morning and see that I was under 2:20 for the first time in a long time. I remembered how I felt when I realized that I could do a three and a half mile hike today because the inflammation was starting to go away from my knees and my ankles. And once I started being mindful I realized that it wasn’t the beer that I wanted. It was the beer that I thought I wanted.

Oh shit it looks like I buried the lead on this one. Yeah…. I was under 220 this morning!!!!

See ya

Peace.