Happy New Year to our West Texas readers! What about those New Year’s resolutions? Some of us have long abandoned even considering making a list, while others make an annual list and stick to it.
Not surprisingly, when people of all ages are asked to prioritize personal goals, most responses have something to do with overall physical fitness and well-being.
An internet search of survey results of New Year’s resolutions taken and reported by various organizations revealed most respondents ranked physical well-being and getting fit as their number one goal.
From stastica.com, 46% responded their goal was to eat healthier; followed by more exercise, losing weight, reducing living expenses (e.g., food), spending less time on social media, doing more for the environment, and reducing stress.
From forbes.com, improved fitness was a top resolution followed by weight loss and improved diet.
And from pewresearch.com, 79% of the respondents said their resolutions concerned health.
Gardening can accomplish every one of these goals. Gardening is a terrific way to stay physically active. Normal gardening tasks involves not only weight bearing and strengthening exercises but at the same time burns calories all while growing healthy fresh produce.
The Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA has a Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) works to improve the health and well-being of Americans by developing and promoting dietary guidance. In their website, fns.usda.gov is a link that gives a calculator for calories expended in hundreds of exercises and activities. Some of the lawn and garden activities with calories burned per hour are:
• General gardening, 275
• General gardening, 275
• Digging, spading, filling garden, composting, 360
• Gathering gardening tools, 185
• Harvesting fruit, vegetables, 180
• Mowing lawn (push mower), 410
• Picking flowers, 185
• Planting seedlings, 320
• Planting trees, 320
• Raking lawn, 300
• Spreading dirt with a shovel, 275
• Tilling a garden, 340
• Trimming shrubs, 320
• Walking in the garden, 140
• Weeding, 320
• Wheelbarrow chores, 365 The CNPP website suggests getting at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, those that gets your heart beating faster. Do activities that make your muscles work harder than usual at least two days of the week.
An hour and a half spent in the garden sure beats spending an hour in the house or gym. Give gardening a try this year while being good to your body.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
