First things first: 
I didn’t break the chain, but made my daily walk every single day for the last 16 days. I am so proud of myself! I know it is very early in this challenge, but without committing myself to it, I probably would have walked just 9 days out of 16. There was a lot going on in my life.
Fitness Challenge : 365 hikes in 2023
New year, same me…
Unfortunately, the start of a fresh new year doesn’t automatically bring me better motivation, discipline and mindset.
So I came up with a hiking challenge for myself:
365 days of hiking in 2023, to hit my fitness goal by
Hiking in Thailand? Not possible for me!
My fitness level improved a lot this summer, and I expected to keep this upward trend going. Then I decided to visit a friend in Thailand with my travel points…
The weather in Thailand is hot and humid
These are far from ideal walking circumstances for me. I have quite severe lymphatic edema and
Strolling through the streets of Athens
Quick post, to share some pics of my visit to Athens.
I have been to Athens several times before, so I didn’t feel the urge to visit all the historical sites in the 5 days I spent with my dad at the beginning of April 2022.
We revisited quite a few of them anyway, focusing on 1 museum/ historical highlight a day. For the rest of the time, we just followed our feet, randomly strolling through the city.
*This is the view from the balcony, I literally saw the Parthenon / Acropolis on waking up and before going to bed, how cool is that?
Getting back in my walking shoes
Remember my proud post with my results after 3 months training for a real hike? How I recovered from long-covid, got fit and lost some weight? Well, that was great.
But then I got Covid again… Omikron this time. I was quite ill, in bed with high fever for almost two weeks.
But it wasn’t all bad news.
Lesson learned!
Back in 2020, I was stubborn and just couldn’t accept that I was exhausted all the time, I was fighting
Walking for Health Benefits – my Results after 3 Months
In early October 2021 I was completely fed up with my low energy level combined with numerous health issues, so I decided to create a personal training plan* to get fit. I have been walking daily for health benefits since then. The results of my first 3 months of healthy and helpful habits are way … Read more
Does walking help with depression?
Yes, it does. The good news: you don’t have to go for a run. Walking improves your mood.
To make the best of your walks while battling depression, I share some tips and ideas about your surroundings, your company, your goal setting and overall self care. This way you can optimize the positive effects of your walks.
Location matters, when walking to relieve depression
Moving your body supports your brain in many ways.
But there is a big difference in effect between walking indoors, walking in urban surroundings and walking in nature.
Is Walking Good for Weight Loss?
Burning calories while walking sure helps to lose weight.
But for most people, just walking as a work out isn’t enough for sustainable weight loss. Let me tell you why.
Walking is excellent cardiovascular exercise, if done right
Brisk walking for half an hour is effectively burning around 150 calories, depending on your weight, your pace and the duration of the walk. The keyword here is brisk.
If you can still talk, but aren’t able to sing anymore, your pace is in the cardiovascular training zone*. Do this for at least 30 minutes and you start burning some stored fat while walking. During the first half hour you burn sugars, stored in your body, as fuel. If all the stored sugars are used up, your body starts to burn fat that is stored in your fat cells. That fat is what you want to lose, so the sooner you’re able to walk at least 45 minutes, the better 😉
*Of course this is an estimated way of measuring if you’re exercising in the right heart rate. For more accurate results you have to use a smart watch (Apple Watch or Fitbit both give you a great deal of information about your work out ) or a heart rate monitor with a band around your chest. But for most people the estimated guess is good enough.
How can I use Hiking as Exercise?
This question popped up in my head a few months ago, while feeling desperate with my own exhaustion and my painful legs. The gym was closed due to a Covid-19 lockdown, and I was literally out of breath in 2 minutes. I didn’t even make it to the grocery store, let alone the beach – which is located a 20-minute walk from my house. Hiking beautiful and long nature paths felt way out of reach.
But what if I would use walking as my exercise to become fit again?
I decided to create a Training Plan focused on Hiking.
About Kadanza
Hi there, it’s Kadanza from The Netherlands!
My whole life, I took a walk when I felt stuck.
When I didn’t know how to shape my future in my early twenties, I flew to Nepal with minimal preparation
and absolutely no hike training and went trekking in the Himalayas for nearly 3 months. Quite drastic, looking back. But it worked out that first time, and it did again all the other times that I put my hiking shoes on and just started to walk.
For the last 20 years I have lived near the beach, so at least 3 times a week you can find me strolling there, right after breakfast or during my lunch break. Walking at least 10.000 steps a day was my normal. During hiking or city trips, I walked a lot more steps a day.
Then Covid-19 came and hit me hard.
Because of Long-Covid, I couldn’t hike for months.
Walking the stairs to my apartment got me completely out of breath, grocery shopping was too much effort, I was exhausted all the time, suffered from brain fog and headaches, my muscles felt sore and weak, and to make matters worse I developed serious edema, so walking became very painful.
While my health deteriorated, I gained 22 kilos, due to emotional eating combined with being a sudden couch potato…
With fascia therapy, energy management, and a healthy and clean food regime, I slowly got over my long-covid symptoms. But my stamina and fitness still were nowhere to be found. Then, one day, I just had enough. At the beginning of October 2021, I made a vow to myself:
I am getting my vitality back, by hiking!
I had to start all over again. A 15-minute walk in the first week drained all my energy. So I decided 2 things:
- Every improvement counts, even the smallest step forward is a victory, as long as I keep on going. If I do 100 steps more today than I did yesterday, I will call it a win.
- I am not going to do this alone. I am going to create a community of hiking buddies, on my path back to health and happiness. For accountability, sure, I know myself. I am not very disciplined. But mostly, because it is more fun, sharing goals, getting fit, and walking together with friends.
I share my hiking pitfalls, victories, tips, and stories here.
I know how it feels to start from scratch, not knowing if you ever get your stamina back. The silent desperation. The feeling of giving up, because it seems just too much effort…
I hope you find the information, motivation, or inspiration here to hike yourself back to health. This way I am able to expand the hiking- buddy- community online. Feel free to contact me with comments or questions.
You never walk alone! 
All the best,
KaDanza
