Colleen and I have a secret method to exercise.
It started a year ago. We used to meet up for coffee about once a week. We could sit for hours, talking about whatever was on our minds. Then one day I had an idea: Why not meet at the Starbucks next to Four Mile Creek Greenway, get our coffees, and walk with them? We could still get the good conversation and good coffee, but we could burn some calories at the same time.
Of course, we laughed about the fact that our coffees may or may not contain more calories than we would burn by walking. But, we reasoned, this was not primarily an exercise mission. This was primarily a coffee mission, and walking with 400-calorie coffee drinks sure beats sitting on our butts with 400-calorie coffee drinks!
The first time we only walked 1 mile. That’s because we got half a mile into the walk on the Greenway and it was so dark we could barely see our hands in front of us.
After that we’d walk 2-3 miles or so.
During the winter, we’ve moved our coffee walk dates to Starbucks at Blakeney. Now we walk on the sidewalks instead of the greenway, and the sidewalks are well lit so we can still walk at night. The past two times we’ve walked about 4 miles each walk, so it’s getting to be really worth the effort. The time just flies by and we’re walking off something like 300 calories without even realizing it!
Next time you’re meeting a friend for coffee, think about it … it really is a great way to sneak in a calorie burn.