Try this math: dog + phone = weight loss + self improvement + unconditional love
If you have a dog and a (smart) phone, you have everything you need.
Just sign up for my $4,995 workshop called “Math Love” and I’ll share the secret! Just kidding. It’s all below.
Here’s what you’ll get:
- Continuous and healthy weight loss
- Lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes (AHA)
- Slow and steady self improvement
- Bathe in endless conditional love (which, by the way, helps with 1, 2 and 3)
Sound too good to be true? It all depends on how you choose to spend your time.
The secret is turning things you “have to” do into things that you “want to” do. P.S. It’s no longer a secret (because I just told you).
Try this math: dog + phone = weight loss + self improvement + unconditional love
You have the tools you need (if you don’t have a dog, you can borrow one). If you don’t have a smart phone, you can use a cheap Android phone. Let’s get down to the math.
Here are the givens:
- Your dog has to walk.
That’s it. That’s the only given in this equation. Everything else is a variable, everything else is your choice–it’s how you use it.
Lose Weight
If your dog has to walk, you have to walk. That’s a simple mathematical equation. Unless your backyard opens up onto a forest, you’re going to have to get off the couch and move your body. If you move your body, you burn calories. If you burn more calories than you take in, you’ll usually lose weight. Done. You’re welcome.
Lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes
The American Heart Association says, “Walking briskly can lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes as much as running, according to a new study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Life Science Division in Berkley, Calif.” You now have two health benefits and we haven’t even gotten to how you’re going to improve your mind or drown in unconditional love. You could just stop here and you’d be winning.
Self Improvement
You could talk to your dog. You could whistle, sing or look at the leaves falling from the trees. All good. But you have a few moments, maybe many moments, to yourself. How are you going to use them? I’ll save you the agony of guessing further: listen to an audiobook or a podcast. You are walking, you have nothing else to do, why not educate yourself? Or at least entertain yourself? Listen to an audiobook (I just finished Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way” and I detoured my route home so I could hear the end!) or listen to a podcast (a few of my current favorites are Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn or the Tim Ferriss Show).
Unconditional Love
When you get home from work or school or wherever you have been, does your family jump up and down and show their excitement and shower you with kisses? (They do? Forget 1, 2 and 3, you’re living in paradise!) If not, maybe it’s time for a dog. BONUS: Dogs help you live in the moment because it’s all they know. They don’t care about the park yesterday. They don’t want a tasty treat tomorrow. They’re living for right now, right this very second. Once they stop licking your shins, they want to go to the park.
So what’s it going to be? Make that dog happy. Make that dog make you happy. Get your phone, plug in your ear buds and lose weight, reduce your risk of nasty heart diseases, improve your life and bask in that sloppy unconditional love.
February 2017 Update: But wait, there’s more!
50 Amazing Benefits of Walking Daily, According to Science
Although I have just a few benefits of walking, Jen (of Jen Reviews) has “50 Amazing Benefits of Walking Daily, According to Science.” Here are just a few:
- 12. Increases Your Lifespan
- 16. Boosts the Immune System
- 19. Allows You Time to Meditate
- 21. Your Creative Juices Start to Flow
- 50. Improves Your Social Life
My favorite is #21. Dive into all 50 here: Exercise does not have to be harsh and difficult. A simple brisk walk each day can greatly improve your health. Thanks, Jen!
