In Which the Blogger Gets Off Her Butt and Starts Moving

I have a serious case of blogger’s butt.

In the last few years, I’ve spent too much time sitting in front of a computer typing, and not enough time moving. And now I have the big booty to show for it.

It’s not like my butt was small before, but at least it was smaller. The last time I wore a pedometer, I was chasing a toddler all the time and I was easily logging 12000 steps a day. But as my youngest has settled down I’m lucky if I get 5000 steps in a typical day.  I’ve become much more sedentary and I’ve decided it’s time for a change.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to join the Quaker Heart Health Challenge and I immediately accepted. As part of the challenge I’m pledging to exercise 15 times in the month of February. What am I planning to do for that exercise? Oh, I’m so glad you asked!

1. Walk. I’m going to walk, walk, and walk and then I’m going to walk some more. My husband gave me a Fitbit (a kind of fancy pedometer) at the beginning of January and now I’m obsessed with hitting 10,000 steps per day. I’m hoping to take daily walks and a big family hike every weekend this month, but I’m also planning to get more steps in by changing my habits too. I’ll take the long route when I pick Wyatt up from school. I’ll do laps around the play structure when I take Augie to the park. And I’m going to become one of those annoying people who rock back and forth when they’re waiting in line at the grocery store. Oh, yes I am!

2. Dance. I bought Just Dance 3 for our Wii at Christmas-time and I’m going to rock out at least once per week. I’m already up to 4 stars on “California Girls”. Woooo!

3. Bike. A friend of mine gave me one of her unused bikes a few months ago and I still haven’t used it. (Sorry, Heather — I really do appreciate it.) The problem is that the seat is too high and I can’t get the screw thingy loose to adjust it. I’m vowing to corner my husband and make him help me with it so I can ride it at least a few times this month.

4. Swim. Our neighborhood pool has been closed for three years while it was being torn down and rebuilt and I’m so excited that the beautiful new pool is re-opening later this month. Since it’s just four blocks away, I’m looking forward to heading over (on foot of course!) and swimming laps.

I’d love it if you would join the Quaker Heart Health Challenge with me. The more the merrier, right? If you join, be sure to friend me! My username is “wendycopley”.

Joining the Quaker Heart Health Challenge is my first step towards becoming a healthier me. Now I’m curious to know, what motivates you to stay healthy?

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Quaker Oats Company. The opinions and text are all mine.

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