The Fat Diaries: Running to Fight a Vitamin D Deficiency

This week we went from bright and sunny to grey, windy and freaking cold. My kind of weather!

After hiding from summer for four months, my desire to run around outdoors with airplane arms going “whee” finally came to fruition. On days where you need headlights to see at 2 pm; when the wind feels like it could take your hair off; when one has a sudden craving for hot coffee and fresh-baked nut bread, you’ll find me.

It’s a good thing for me too, because I was starting to feel listless after months of hot weather. I was pretty much chained to the sofa, letting my butt turn into a soggy bag of oatmeal, and sending my feet to sleep every half hour. My doctor also informed me that thanks to my reclusive habits, I was now vitamin D deficient.

“What?” I shouted. “Like… rickets?” I thought only Victorian babies got that! It was like that time I found out that college students were getting scurvy!

Now, I’m walking almost every weekday; once a week I make it a REAL exercise and try to stay walking for at least an hour. If you guys haven’t heard me say this a million times already, I love Leesburg. It’s picturesque, it’s home to a lot of great shopping and old buildings, and even after 3 years here, I still find something new every time I go exploring! The trouble with me was that I usually found yet another bakery. After a brisk walk, especially in cold weather, I’m drawn like a magnet to these places so I can warm up with a hot coffee, and usually a scone/bagel/cake/giant cookie.

Wait. Wasn’t this walking-thingy supposed to make me healthier?

Well lucky me this week because Thursday after a long hike, I stumbled on a mini-mall I’d never investigated before and tucked in the back was a health food store I’d never seen. Inside, smelling like patchouli and Zinc, I found a brand of tea that was hard to find these days. Lara bars in five Flavors I’d never seen before and (gasp!) MSG-free, phosphate-free beef jerky!

Okay, yeah, so I spent $40 on what would otherwise have been a $4 coffee-muffin combo (yeah, Leesburg has that too) but it was totally worth it! Anyway my point was that the pursuit of health is a journey, and sometimes the journey itself can be rewarding. I certainly can’t wait to go exploring next week.

See you on the sidewalks!