Georgia woman's goal to walk every day for a year transforms her physically and emotionally
PALMETTO, Ga. - Living in the city, Sandra Anderson says she has spent most of her life behind the wheel stuck in traffic.
The idea of walking rarely crossed her mind.
"It was traumatizing, or culture-shocking, not to have a vehicle," Anderson remembers. "So, I never thought about walking anywhere. I grew up in Gary, Indiana; it wasn't safe to walk."
Sandra Anderson, 63, of Palmetto, Georgia, decided to see if she could walk every day for a year. The experience has changed her life.
But last July, after moving from Columbus, Georgia, to Palmetto for a new job, the 63-year-old prison chaplain and 5-year breast cancer survivor felt like she was stuck in a rut.
So, she set a goal to get out and walk every day.
"I looked up, I had done a week," she says. "I looked up, I had done a month. So, I said, 'Let me see if I could do a year.'"
So, she did, through the rain, and the snow, and the sweltering Georgia summer heat.
Along the way, Anderson also cleaned up her diet.
Sandra Anderson, 63, of Palmetto, Georgia, decided to see if she could walk every day for a year. The experience has changed her life. (Sandra Anderson)
"I cut out the potatoes and the rice and the sugar, everything that was hindering me," she says. "I rest better. I have more energy."
Soon, she noticed she was losing weight.
"For the first time in 40 years, my BMI is in the normal range," Anderson says. "For the first time in 40 years, my doctor is not screaming at me about my weight."
Something else happened, too.
The depression and grief and anxiety that have weighed on Anderson for decades began to lift.
"One, because (being out in) nature helps you with anxiety, it helps you with depression," she says. "I spent all of my thirties depressed and anxious. The walking is not as important to me as being in nature. Being in nature has healed the trauma, the things I've been through."
On July 23, 2022, she will hit her one-year mark.
Sandra Anderson, 63, of Palmetto, Georgia, decided to see if she could walk every day for a year. The experience has changed her life. (Sandra Anderson)
"I feel more driven, more driven than anything," Anderson says. "I've got to get to the goal. I feel accomplished. I feel focused,"
And, Sandra Anderson, says she's writing a book about her year of walking, and how this simple act has transformed her body and her life.
"I feel like I have stamina," Anderson says. "I feel like I have purpose. I feel like I'm accomplishing something."