CHRISTINE WALKER always seemed to catch whatever cold germs were flying around. Now in her early 50s, she realized that if she didn't do something, her immune function would continue worsening with age. Her mother had never prioritized a healthy lifestyle and now has chronic illnesses and mobility problems. But her father, who'd exercised throughout Walker's childhood, is still active in his 80s and is rarely under the weather. “They're like night and day, says Walker. “I definitely want to age like my dad.
But Walker's lifestyle stood in the way. She clocked long days as director of a chef school, with little time left to be active or enjoy the outdoors. In March 2020, when the pandemic meant she could skip her commute and instead work from her home in Whitby, Ontario, she found herself spending even more hours at her desk.
Walker's increasingly sedentary existence had repercussions. In addition to catching bugs easily, she didn't sleep soundly, her joints ached and her weight reached unhealthy levels. “I was worried about how I would react if I caught COVID,” she recalls. Would I end up in the hospital?
One night last April, after Walker went to bed with the usual soreness from sitting all day, she decided enough was enough. She and her husband, Andre, began walking the perimeter of a small local park. As she grew stronger, her walks got longer; she used an app to find hiking trails several kilometres long. The couple also started biking—it was hard on her knees at first, and exhausting, but she gradually built her endurance. She tracked what she ate, making sure most of her calories came from healthy foods like vegetables and whole grains instead of chips and treats. She took online fitness classes and lifted weights.
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