Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to take one steps after dinner. By
Speaker 1: aiming to get some physical activity in the evening, you
Speaker 1: can completely change the dynamic of what is often a
Speaker 1: low energy time of day. I know that a great
Speaker 1: many Before Breakfast listeners exercise well before breakfast, and that
Speaker 1: is wonderful. Mornings are a great time for getting stuff done,
Speaker 1: and if you exercise first thing, it can boost your
Speaker 1: energy for the rest of the day. But unfortunately, many
Speaker 1: of us have a tendency to do our workouts and
Speaker 1: then not move at all after that. This is especially
Speaker 1: true if we are working from home and the commute
Speaker 1: from our home offices to the kitchen is about twenty steps.
Speaker 1: We eat dinner, we supervise homework, we do any kid
Speaker 1: bedtime routines, and then we settled down in front of
Speaker 1: the TV. We feel much of the time like we
Speaker 1: don't have a whole lot of energy for anything else.
Speaker 1: Over time, all this evening time seems to blend together.
Speaker 1: Was Tuesday different from Wednesday? Who even knows weekday evenings
Speaker 1: are what they are? But one simple change can help
Speaker 1: shake things up. Aim to walk at least one thousand
Speaker 1: steps after dinner. This really isn't that much. It's half
Speaker 1: a mile, maybe ten minutes or so. But by making
Speaker 1: the small habit tweak, you can reshape the evenings. This
Speaker 1: happens in several ways. First, to log those steps, you
Speaker 1: might wind up going outside, and that's a great idea
Speaker 1: for those of us going into the summer season. Just now,
Speaker 1: when the evenings are longer and lighter, go see the world.
Speaker 1: It's especially a treat if you've been in an office
Speaker 1: all day. This habit can also produce more evening family time.
Speaker 1: If you have kids, you can get them out with you.
Speaker 1: An evening bike ride or scooter ride around the block
Speaker 1: will get everyone out and moving. Little ones can go
Speaker 1: in strollers. A teen or preteen might be willing to
Speaker 1: go for an individual walk with a parent, a great
Speaker 1: way to score a little time together and maybe break
Speaker 1: up the homework too. Activity tends to produce its own energy.
Speaker 1: If we are sitting around vegging, it can be hard
Speaker 1: to do anything, But if you decide to get up
Speaker 1: and move, you will feel more energetic. Crazy but true.
Speaker 1: Now I am not talking about running a full marathon
Speaker 1: after dinner, well evening exercise turns out not to have
Speaker 1: the negative sleep effects people once thought it did. I
Speaker 1: do know that the day has been long, and you
Speaker 1: may have run your marathon before breakfast, but a gentle
Speaker 1: stroll is easy enough, and this can add just a
Speaker 1: little more physical activity to the total. You will probably
Speaker 1: sleep better and you'll spend a little less time motionless
Speaker 1: in front of screens. Things can happen while you are
Speaker 1: out and about walking that make the day more memorable.
Speaker 1: This is a lot of upside for a very small commitment,
Speaker 1: So why not aim to get one thousand steps tonight?
Speaker 1: If it feels good and it makes your evening better,
Speaker 1: then you could try for every night. It is a
Speaker 1: great way to celebrate summer. We'll see if it's worth
Speaker 1: sticking with in dark winter blizzards, but for now, why not.
Speaker 1: In the mean time, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's B the number four. Then breakfast p O d.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
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