It all started with this article. The concept: working out 450 minutes a week makes a longer life. That’s a little more than an hour a day.

So for May, I challenged my friends to join me in aiming for an hour a day. It was nice to have buddies in the adventure to check in on, so thank you ladies for joining in!!

The beginning of the month was pretty hectic at work with the end of the school year approaching, so most of my minutes were walking Ava. This did make me pretty aware of how much exercise she gets too (25-40 mins a day, depending). She’s gained a few pounds now that she’s living the good life, so this was good for her to get moving!

I never did hit 420 minutes in any one week. I got close twice with 396 and 398. My total: 1678 minutes, an average of 54 a day. But what did I learn?

1. When I don’t plan to exercise, it probably doesn’t happen.
2. Walking Ava for 25 minutes is better than absolutely no activity!
3. I got really sick of tracking how long I walked her every time. I wouldn’t recommend tracking every tiny minute of exercise for longer than a month 🙂
4. Days that I got closer to a full 60 minutes outside of these walks, I felt better, slept sounder, and weighed less the next day.
5. No matter how much or little I exercise, if I ate junky, I felt it and saw it on the scale.

So what’s next? I plan to get as close to an hour a day as I can most days this summer. I know some days that will be tough, so if I aim for it most days, I’m probably still doing well overall. And with a more regular work schedule this summer, it’s back to heartier breakfasts, packed lunches and homecooked dinners. That’s the best way to eat as clean as possible 🙂

What’s your summer plan??? I’d love to know!