Its 2019 and Happy Feet Walkers Club has begun the planning for the annual 5k!
Opportunities to join us include sponsorship, volunteering , registering to walk/run or promoting the event to raise funds for the cause.
You can do one or you can do all, everything is appreciated!
Happy Feet leads to Healthy Hearts!
Join us for the first annual Happy Feet Healthy Hearts 5k Walk on Aug 18th 2018 at the Phillips Park in Aurora IL. This walk is targeted for all age groups and fitness levels. We encourage entire families to create teams and join us in our goal to raise awareness of heart health and specifically heart health for Women. Walking is a simple form of exercise that does not require any special gear or skill level but has immense benefits from physical wellness to emotional well being.
Save the date and watch this space for more information. Start lacing up your walking shoes and step out and enjoy the soon to be welcome warm weather in Chicagoland area!
Walk Managed by : Race Time Inc.
Supporting Cause is Women Heart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease!
Check out their website WomenHeart
Sometimes despite our best intentions, we find that we have lost our motivation to walk. It honestly happens to everyone. We have to stop for a week when we go on vacation or someone has fallen sick. We have visitors who have come from out of town or there is too much work to do. The list is endless as to why we suddenly don’t have the time to walk. Once we stop walking, it like our engine has been turned off. No matter how many times we turn the key, and start a walk, it just doesn’t seem to ignite our walking engine. We might do one walk here or there, but we can’t seem to get ourselves moving on a regular basis. Then the guilt starts and every single day that we see others walking we think about why we aren’t walking.
If you are like me and feeling the guilt pile up day after day, take a deep breath. The first thought might be to just give up. After all it is easy for all of us to just drop out of the club, since we don’t pay any monthly membership dues. But would that stop the guilt? Would that actually help your health? The obvious answer is no. So the next question to ask yourself is how to pull yourself out of the walking slump.
The answer is the Happy Feet game of tag! One of the unique things that has started in our club recently is our tagging system. By tagging people to just walk only 200 steps or 10 minutes, the time and dedication needed for a longer walk is alleviated. Everyone can participate. If someone tags you, don’t ignore it. Don’t put it off until “later”, because if you are in a slump then “later” never happens! 200 steps takes as little as 5 minutes depending on how fast you walk. Even if you are on a conference call or making dinner, you can walk 200 steps easily.
The second step to becoming motivated is going to the Saturday walks. These walks are an essential part of our club. They give us all a chance to not just walk but to become re-energized by our friends. Let your fellow club members give you the motivation to start walking again. Make a Happy Feet Friend close to your neighborhood and set a specific time that you will meet for a weekly walk. Start with just one walk a week and build up from there.
The next steps is collages. You might feel that the collages are a waste of time, but think of it as record of your effort, your time, and meeting your own goals. There are of course weekly challenges to help make the collages even more interesting, but the core of the collage is saying that YOU are important enough to set aside time for YOURSELF. We often hesitate to take a selfie – but why should we? It doesn’t matter how you look or what you wear, YOU are beautiful !
So the next time you find yourself in a walking slump, follow these steps and I promise that you will be back to walking everyday and feeling great. Remember your Happy Feet Friends will be happy to help you every “step” of the way!
How many miles a day do I need to walk to lose weight and how do I become active are the question many ask.
Walking is a great form of exercise, the longer the walk the more calories you burn. The harder you walk, the more calories you burn.
But just like with any workout program you want to start where you can and progressively work toward taking on more.
Once you have gained stamina, I would suggest walking 3-4 miles a day to stay fit. You will walk for about an hour and can burn up to 400 calories just walking.
When it comes to walking for fitness it is not just about the distance you cover, it is also important that you keep a good pace and keep your heart rate up to gain maximum results.
Walk for a minimum of thirty minutes each day.
If you have been inactive, walk as far as you can without feeling fatigued or stressed, even if you can only last for a few minutes.
(Thirty minutes can be broken up into shorter periods, like three ten-minute walks)
Then, gradually increase your walking time until you can walk briskly for at least thirty minutes without discomfort.
If you have been active, you can move directly to the thirty minute or longer brisk walk.
Here are some numbers I noticed while walking.
1 Mile = 2100 or so steps (depending on your feet it’s from 2100 to 2500 steps)
1 Mile walked = 100 calories burned.
Happy Feet Walkers Family motivates in many ways.
It motivates with new and interesting challenges.
Don’t want to walk alone no worries ask in the group and a member is always ready to support.
Feeling down just notify the group and all your friends are always ready to cheer you up.
With Happy feet you become active and creative.
The health benefits are bountiful
With Happy Feet we have FUN, FITNESS and FRIENDSHIP.
The women who made the saying true” where there is a will, there is way” You are the powerful maker of this world , show your art work, never hold ur thoughts back. We all can do it, just a little different paint u might need to use it to work it well.May be you ladies share, how you implemented this in your world, so the rest can do their world.Walkers who counted each step they progressed towards success, walker who taught it is time to move on towards miles and leave the step counting behind to show the path of success by measuring in miles.Walker forgot about the outer beauty and truly found the inner beauty which will live with you for ever and make others cheerful.Walker who hold hands to gather , in every step and motivate each other to keep moving towards success. Walker who spread the contiguous habit of walking and happiness.— Neelam Jai
After a long break; I headed downtown today. It’s summer time in Chicago which means lots of families and tourists.
I turned on mapmywalk and started walking with a purpose. Got a train to catch on 12 mins ; tasks to finish ; calls to make; meetings to attend etc. I did not even stop for my walk selfie and took one as I walked.
One thing I do without fail as a happy feeter is capture the required stuff to keep me motivated by creating my daily collage. Second nature ; like brushing my teeth when I wake up!
Anyway; back to my story … As I was in the mode I mentioned above ; I observed a family walking in front of me heading to the train station. The mom was holding the hands of her kids as they walked. A little girl in pink and a slightly older boy in khaki.
That is when I saw the magic. The girl skipped every few steps and waved her hair in the wind in a happy and carefree way. A beautiful sight.
Hence my post; as we go about our daily lives, let’s remember to let go of our worries and skip a step and let the wind catch the hair!
Wishing you the magic in your lives too!
Happy Feet Walkers Club – June 21, 2016 – One Year Anniversary
Can you believe it has already been one year since Happy Feet started? I myself am amazed when I think of it! It seems only yesterday that Lakshmy and Namitha were asking me to join a small group of just a few ladies to walk and get healthy. Honestly the first week it started, Lakshmy actually made collages for everyone since we didn’t even know how to make them 🙂 Sounds so silly now doesn’t it? Today we are all such pros at making collages, taking awesome selfies and walking miles on end.
The group itself has grown so much, that there are over 100 ladies all encouraging each other. Rather than just a few messages per day, sometimes there are 100 messages per hour! New members are encouraged by veterans and I am so impressed to see newbie collages with 3-4 miles after their first few weeks of walking. Challenges have ranged from best vacations to most miles walked to Holi colors. Our Saturday walks have keep us all motivated with fun themed walks including sari walks, reindeer walks, Diwali walks, and even a 5K challenge.
On the club anniversary, Mayor Steve Chirico, honored Happy Feet with a proclamation celebrating not only the accomplishment of the club but stating the June is Naperville’s Women’s Outdoor Walking month. This is a wonderful honor not only for the club but for each and every single one of us. Think back to your first day with the club, whether it was a year ago or only a few days ago, what have you accomplished since you started? Let us celebrate each accomplishment and make each and every walk count. Walk faster, walk farther, push yourself a little bit more every day to surpass your limits. Every single walk is a chance to improve your health.
Thanks to Namitha and Lakshmy, our awe-inspiriting leaders, who have encouraged us all to be healthy and lead better lives.
Congratulations Happy Feet on our one year anniversary! Congratulations to each and every single club member for every accomplishment, whether it is small or big! Let’s walk every day, and every where and embody the spirit of the club!
“If I could fall; Into the sky
Do you think time; Would pass me by
‘Cause you know I’d walk ; A thousand miles
If I could ; Just see you Tonight” – Vanessa Carlton
As I hum this song, I think about all the different places that are a 1000 miles from Chicago. Houston, Texas is 1090 miles from Chicago.
Would you EVER consider walking to Houston? Would you consider walking to Houston if you have a year to do that? Maybe not.. Maybe so..
But some amazing women have walked 1000 miles or more in a single year. These are walks they have stepped out on intentionally. For good health, for wellness and fitness and many time for fun and friendship after joining Happy Feet.
It is amazing to imagine how far we have come as a club. The total miles that we all have walked, the bonds that we have created and the healthy goals that we have met.
But today is the day to celebrate all the dedicated star walkers who have diligently walked and tracked their walking to reach the 1000 mile mark.
Our Happy Feet role models:
Big round of applause for these amazing ladies who have crossed 1000 miles on map my walk :
I was 36 years old and mom of two amazing boys 10 and 9 years old. Lakshmy and I started the club in June 2015. I started walking everyday and was charging ahead in my mile count. Hit the first 100 miles within a month on map my walk right on the heels of power walker Nita Awasthi. Was going after the next 100 and made it to 200 miles in the same fashion and then … Boom!! I started feeling tired, irritable and not as social as my usual self.
I just turned 37, we were doing great as a club, work life was excellent, kids were doing good in school , more or less there was no reason to complain. Why then did it feel like something was really wrong ??
Now when the waterworks started for no reason (which pretty much never happens with me) and the nausea and lack of appetite latched on, lights went off in my head and the home test answered my question the same day!!
A BABY ON THE WAY!!!
Everything was right again. Very obvious reasons for the symptoms.
During this time I continued to partner with Lakshmy and lead the club as well as participate. The only group events I missed were the heart walk in Lisle and the India Day parade as days were too hot and I could not carry a gag bag with me without being noticed 🙂
True to happy feet promise, I shared the news with all happy feet family.
After the first trimester queasiness settled down, I resumed walking as usual. Slower pace , reduced miles but walking nonetheless. This was both for me and the club. I often used to say the pregnancy is not an illness. This was my time to prove it.
Week over week went by and we walked together as group , we walked in smaller groups on weekdays, we created and completed challenges , we had several occasions and themed walks. Life was beautiful. I continued to wear the small size happy feet Tshirt too. I also performed pre natal yoga under the able guidance of Vimi Shukla.
As the 3rd trimester was fast approaching, the family wanted to have a vacation during Christmas break. If not for confidence driven by Happy Feet walking , I may not have ventured out. We ended up spending 10 wonderful days in California with lots and lots of walking and on one of the days I even biked 7 miles.
January in Chicagoland is usually hibernation time. But not this year, we spoke to fox valley mall authorities and made arrangements for indoor walks at the mall. An excellent solution to keep walking as a group in a safe and cost free environment.
Around the same time, I had the first minor hiccup related to pregnancy. A potential to develop gestational diabetes. Doctors recommended walking to metabolize the sugar in the body after eating and watching my diet. I was able to successfully do it because walking did not feel like exercise or an effort that I had to push myself for. It was just something I did naturally. For myself and for the club.
I kept adding those steps and walked to my repeat test to find out that I was not longer considered to be a gestational diabetic. It was a big win. I did not rest or start eating those mochi ice cream that I love. Instead I continued to eat healthy, guavas, coconut water etc and kept walking and doing my yoga.
Then came time to plan and execute the large annual Valentine Day Ball. It was a non stop marathon of phone conversations with Lakshmy for planning and execution. The husbands helped and kids gave their ideas too. The goal was to make it an evening to remember for everyone. Happy feet members their families and friends. We made it happen!!
I walked the ramp with Lakshmy , danced to the music , catered to guests and Logistics all with the super duper support from my partner Lakshmy. She did more heavy lifting and still did not make me feel like I should get special treatment. She supported me in proving that “pregnancy is not an illness”.
Just few more weeks to go, atleast per my calculations which was sooner than the doctor stated date of March 25th.
More things to do, parties to plan and attend. Nothing stopped for a single minute.
Here is the critical timeline:
Wednesday March 2nd: Planned and executed a birthday party for a friend with my buddies Lakshmy and Ushasri. Line danced with the group in cow girl outfit and had a blast with the birthday girl and friends.
Thursday March 3rd: A full work day with non stop meetings.
Friday March 4th: Woke up to a sign to head to hospital. Got there at 4 AM. Had the most awesome experience of labor and super short duration of less than 15mins to actually deliver
“The first Happy Feet Baby”
His name is Khush meaning “happy”.
From left to right:
Happy Feet Mamma 2 days after delivery
Happy Feet Baby at 1 week
Lakshmy welcoming tiny Happy feet to club
And back to walk with our lovely happy feet group after 2 weeks!
Go happy feet!!
As weather is getting better plan your days to include walks.
Have a buddy system. With that we have two advantages: you are mentally and physically happy and healthy.
When I walk I have a friend/s with me most of the time, it could be friend talking on what’sapp saying I can do it or friend/s walking with me. HFWC moto is Fun, Fitness and Friendship.
Do the walks for you. Adding miles to your mapmywalk or driving with mapmywalk is not what HFWC is about. It all about making us healthy and happy.
Every day I learn a lot from our happy feet members. I try to implement all positive things. That makes me very happy.
I feel happy walking with Vimiji and have learnt a lot from her. Once after our Saturday walk we were driving back home and Vimiji forgot to turn off mapmywalk. She immediately discarded it. She said, “If I save the data, it will be the wrong info. I did not walk that much to add to my miles.”
Remember we are doing walks to be healthy.
The advantages of mapmywalk for me is that it shows my pace, time and miles.
Slowly improving your pace should be your goal.
Don’t worry about the distance, it will follow as you improve your pace.
Make time for your walks.
Many friends have asked me how I can walk so much and don’t I have to take care of my family. My first priority is my family. But if I am not healthy and active then what example am I setting for my kids.
I plan my day. I wake up early to finish cooking and do my house hold work. I used to do all my work by myself and I used to be tired. Now I include my family and its fun. This gives me time for my walks.
Walk walk walk for HEALTHY YOU.