Stephanie Overbay accepted the 365-day challenge
I want to take the time to give a shout-out to my friend Stephanie Overbay in this week's article. She's been on her journey by walking AT LEAST a mile every day for the last 345 days! She's committed to doing this for a full year! 365 days! And she's almost there! I asked her to answer a few questions for me.
Question 1:
Me: Why did you choose to do the challenge?
Stephanie: I choose to do this challenge to help motivate me to get outside every day. I had also just finished my first Half-marathon, and I didn't want to lose the momentum I had from the training.
Question 2:
Me: What obstacles have you faced during the challenge?
Stephanie: The biggest obstacle I had and still have is putting the time to walk ahead of other things. I had to actively choose to go for a walk instead of cleaning the house or getting other things done. I found that the longer I actively made a choice to put my physical and mental health first, the easier it got to do, but sometimes I still feel like maybe doing the pile of dishes in the sink instead of walking. But like I said, if I had chosen to do chores instead of walking, then my mental and physical health would've suffered. I needed that time to decompress every day mentally.
Question 3:
Me: What have been your goals through this?
Stephanie: My biggest goal was to prove to myself that I could keep that commitment every day for a whole year. Also, to put me first and take care of myself, the family is healthy and happy if mom is healthy and happy.
Question 4:
Me: What do you hope to get out of this past year?
Stephanie: I hope that I take the lesson that having a spotless house isn't the most important thing for my kids and me. I want my kids to learn that it is important to stay active and to enjoy it. I also want to keep doing things for myself every day. Taking care of yourself should be a daily activity, not weekly, monthly, or yearly, but every single day.
Question 5:
Me: Do you have any advice or anything you want to offer anyone that wants to start their own healthy journey but don't know how to start?
Stephanie: The advice I would give others is that if they are waiting until they aren't busy or have the energy to do it. Then, they won't ever start. We are all busy; we are all tired. Putting yourself first should be a priority. They need to schedule their "me time" (that can be physical activity, mental activity, or anything they want to accomplish) first. They need to know that at whatever time I will be doing me time and nothing will change it. If you go into this wanting to look a certain way, you might be a little disappointed, but if you go into it thinking I want my body to perform this task, then you can do anything. If you're going to lift so many pounds, you can work up to that. If you want to be able to go for a 10k hike, you can do it. If you're going to prove to yourself that you can do something every single day for however long, you can do it. Give yourself a physical goal for your body to achieve because our bodies are so incredible they will rise to the tasks we ask of it. Be proud of your milestones. Don't let others take away all the hard work you've done for yourself. Don't let yourself stand in the way of who you want to be.
~She's such a remarkable person! I hope that after reading this, you find the courage to try something new! Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing your journey with us!
