It's a drizzly, drippy day in Seattle, with no sign of the snow that was forecast, and Constant, the Wonder Dog, and I just returned from a walk in the park.
Our park is Seattle's Ravenna Park, which is just two blocks from my house, and it is a wondrous place. There are bridges large and small spanning a deep ravine, a stream, and miles and miles of trails. Plus some great grassy open fields to play on.
When I'm deep in the park, I feel like I'm back in the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula, which is where I grew up.
Walking a dog in the rain makes me feel very ... what's the word? Not smug, but close to smug ... Proud of myself? Maybe that's it.
Because the only folks out on a rainy day tend to be dog walkers. A rare bike rider and even rarer jogger.
One of the goals I recently set for myself was to make sure that Connie and I get out for a walk at least four times a week. And while my goal is fitness, not weight loss, I was remembering a study I read once that said that people who owned dogs (and presumably walked them) weighed 10 pounds less on average than people who did not own dogs.
And on a day like today, when most people would not choose to walk for enjoyment or for exercise, only the dog owners are out.
Now, it's possible, of course, that the rest of the folks are working out at a gym, or on a treadmill at home, but I'm betting NOT.
If you can't own a dog, it's always possible to make friends with a dog owner who will let you borrow her dog. That wasn't a hint, but I would love it if my friends wanted to walk Connie, because he will take all the exercise he can get.
Here's a study that says if you walk your dog 20 minutes a day, five days a week, you can expect to lose 14 pounds in a year. Not bad.
Colorectal Cancer and Exercise
I think we all know that exercise helps in cancer prevention and is also good for people who have or have had cancer. It helps prevent recurrences of breast cancer, for example.
And now here's research that says exercise helps prevent recurrences of colorectal cancer, in men, anyway.
The research was done with men who had had colorectal cancer, and the article doesn't say whether the results would apply to women as well, nor does it say why women weren't included in the study.
In any case, men who exercised the equivalent of an hour a day, six days a week, after cancer treatment lived longer than men who did not.
Read: Exercise and Survival Rates for Colorectal Cancer
@ Jeanne Sather 2009.
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