Before she knew it, she had walked 1,000 miles

By Diana Lerner

SAN DIEGO — As a busy working mother with two active teenage boys, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to find time for fitness. By now, it’s common knowledge that regular exercise is essential for heart health. Science has shown that heart disease is preventable in nearly 82% of cases, and one of the best methods of prevention is all too simple: exercise.

I’ve always enjoyed exercise – I’ve practiced martial arts for ten years, and I love the opportunities for self-reflection and socializing that exercise provides. However, I also know that the regular demands of a busy schedule can often push exercise to the back burner. With so much going on in our lives, it can be hard to set aside time to work out – and getting back into shape can seem intimidating.

Fortunately, exercise doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming, or scary. Last month, the US Surgeon General made a simple recommendation to Americans to help their heart health: just take a walk. I’m proud to say I’ve been following his advice for the past six months with  Every Step Counts: Hadassah’s Walking Program.

Hadassah has been a part of my life since I was young. I’m a 4^th generation Life Member and. have found Hadassah to be an exciting and supportive organization, as well as a great way to make wonderful lifelong friends. I have been the President of the Bat Harim group, served as both Chai Society and Regional Membership Chair of Hadassah San Diego, and I am now the liaison for the community partnership with the San Diego Jewish Film Festival. So when I saw that Hadassah had created the Every Step Counts walking program, a six-month virtual walking challenge for the women of Hadassah, I was quick to sign up.

Every Step Counts ran from Passover to Sukkot and encouraged Hadassah members and non-members to wear pedometers and track their steps online while travelling a virtual route from the Hadassah headquarters to the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem. The program let participants choose different walking goals to suit their lifestyle and fitness level. I chose to begin the program at the 12,000 steps a day challenge – the rough equivalent of sixe miles of walking a day. While that may sound like a lot, wearing a device that tracked my steps helped me make easy adjustments to my typical routine to help meet my goal. In addition to going for a walk during the day or going for a walk with my husband and dogs after dinner, I started to make little changes, like parking in a spot farther away from the store I was going to or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Joining the program didn’t mean drastically changing my day. It was a small commitment that turned out to give back huge rewards.

In the past, I had turned to running in order to keep my heart healthy. As I began the program, I found that not only do I enjoy walking more, but that it’s also a much safer alternative. Even better, walking is an activity you can practice your whole life! I found that there are so many benefits to walking and very few risks. You can use your time walking for yourself or as a time to socialize with friends. Either way, walking is a simple way to use free time in your schedule to get outside, find some sunshine, and do something good for your health.

When I started Every Step Counts, I was surprised at how much I came to rely on the support of the other women completing the challenge. I could have started walking on my own, but Hadassah’s Every Step Counts made it far more fun! Knowing that there were over one thousand other Hadassah women across the country (including some of my friends in the San Diego chapter) getting their steps in motivated me to get out of the house and make my walking a priority. Since the program is social in nature, it made walking fun and held me accountable for the goals I set.

I used the challenge of getting my 12,000 steps in as an opportunity to explore my neighborhood and the larger San Diego area. While the sidewalks in my neighborhood made daily walks easy and safe, the challenge of getting more steps in each day motivated me to venture further out of town. One of my favorite spots, the Torrey Pines National Reserve, has become my go-to destination for a long walk or hike. The coastal park has amazing views of the mountains and beaches –it’s a setting that you can only find in San Diego.

By March, my walking routine had paid off. After almost 200 separate walking entries, I had made 2,475,000 steps, which is the equivalent of 1,008.3 miles! Walking over 1,000 miles gave me an incredible boost of confidence. I’ve continued walking and look forward to doing the program again next year.

Every Step Counts was not only a success for me, but also for over 1,000 women across the country. Together, we walked over 450,000 miles total since April, with the top five walkers logging over 2,000 miles each. Hadassah’s online tracking tool provided us with motivation, opportunities for walking, and fun educational updates after walkers reached certain goals.

Heart disease looms as the number one killer of women in this country, so it’s important for women to take charge of their health and their schedules. Hadassah’s Every Step Counts taught me how something as easy as walking could make a big difference for my health. For thousands of women across the country, a healthier heart could be just a few steps away.

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Lerner, a Rancho Bernardo resident, is a TypeWell transcriber who provides live captioning services for classes, events, seminars and more. Additionally, she is a co-coordinator for Camp Mountain Chai’s Women’s Weekend.