You can do your very own experiment at home to see what it's like and why living in Scotland seems naturally healthier to me than living in most of the places in the US that I have lived. We'll take a simple example of getting some groceries.
Getting there: Go walk a mile in your neighborhood before you get in the car and drive to the store. When you arrive at the store, don't forget a basket so that you carry your groceries around the store.
Shopping: The diet is simple: Eat as much as you want...to carry. When your basket starts to get too heavy to carry around and you are tempted to get a cart - DON'T! It won't fit in your backpack and, more importantly, you probably won't want to carry it a mile home. Make your shopping choices based on recycling options and weight. Salad dressing in glass or plastic? Glass isn't recycled in my neighborhood and it's heavier - plastic it is! Get lots of veggies and fruit because those are healthy. Skip all ice cream because it would melt before you got home. There's no way you're going to be drinking a ton of soda or stocking up on "worthless" processed food - there's simply no room. Essentially, I eat healthier because I don't want to carry anything more than I need.
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| This is my new workout plan... |
Getting home: Put all the food in the backpack and other reusable bags. Carry any additional items by hand or strap them to the outside of your pack. On top of all the food, I'm outfitting a house and trying to carry sheets, a lamp, hamper, drying rack, and any other number of everyday household objects that I can't live without. Thank goodness for a backpack with hooks/straps/buckles to attach everything! So, back to our experiment. After your shopping trip, drive home. However, before you take anything inside, go walk a mile with all of it and then walk up three flights of stairs. THEN you can put everything away. And don't forget - you only bought enough food for about three days, so you have to do this again later this week :)
Another reason is just the walking. How do I get to work? Walk 1.5 miles. How do I get to the store? Walk one mile. How do I get to the movies? Walk 0.8 miles. The answer is pretty much always "Walk." Even when I take the bus to work, I still end up walking more than a mile a day. That may not seem like much, but it adds up and I doubt most people walk that much in regular day in the states unless they intentionally go out walking.
Although all of the above discusses why living here is healthier, I should specify that I am trying really hard to be healthier here. For many other people living or visiting here, all of this healthier lifestyle can be offset by the countless array of fried foods at the numerous chip shops. The fish and chips is world famous, the savory pies are cheap and delicious, and I grudgingly admit that the fried cheeseburger was amazing...
That leads me to the next blog (coming soon, with lots of photos): The interesting flavors of Scottish food
::Sending sympathetic thoughts::
ReplyDeleteSo when Beth's parents came to visit us in Paris we told them in advance that we walk a lot. Their response was: No problem, we like walking. Then when they were visiting and we walked to church, walked to the grocery store, walked to the metro to then walk around Paris, walked to work (to show off where we worked), and walked to dinner/movie/whatever their response was "We are walking there too?!?" - Welcome to Europe.
Great post. It's funny how set in people's way they are. I live in Downtown Austin, the mile to work was mostly bus on the way there, walking on the way back. People tell me there's not enough green and they need a yard for kids or pets. I'm the only person on my floor without a dog. I'm less than 200 yards from a system of trails around the lake, none of which I even have to cut the grass on. When people in Texas are shown walkable development, it's shocking how often the first comment is "But how would I get my groceries from my car?" they can't even bring themselves to think of an existence where the car isn't like an appendage that has to be kept close by.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all of this, of course, is dependent on the expectation that parking shall always be free, and that's the part built into American development that has really shaped our cities and suburbs in ways we can't fix overnight after five decades.
We're pretty excited to be getting rid of our car, but it does have its drawbacks. Last year in New York state, it was hard to find ways to add walking into my daily routine. The shopping areas were not pedestrian friendly and we had to live a 15-minute commute outside of town. This is the exact opposite and I'm loving it so far! I did, however, have a friend with a van help me move :)
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