Kay Ehlers: 500 to 50
On her 49th birthday in February of 2020, Kay Ehlers set a goal to walk 500 miles before she turned 50.
A long-time fan of Katy Bowman’s Nutritious Movement lifestyle, Kay made the decision to begin actively incorporating Bowman’s tips for more daily movement into her own life in addition to reaching her walking mileage target. Although the year brought many challenges out of her control, Kay stayed on course with her health goals as she neared 500 miles walked, transformed her home living area into a furniture free space, and discovered Venn Air Chairs along the way. We had a chance to find out more about what inspired Katy’s background and health journey - which she’s documenting on her Instagram account 500to50 - via email. Here’s what she shared with us:
In 2019, my mom passed away after suffering from congestive heart failure and the start of dementia.
She had been sedentary for as long as I can remember. I never saw her take walks, shovel snow, or do yard work. She experienced health problems her whole life, too—high blood pressure, blood clots, arthritis—which I only now realize were probably directly related to her lack of movement.
I have long been interested in health and am a big believer in the power of food, supplements, and the reduction of toxins in one’s environment. I always thought that no matter our health problem (and my family has experienced many), I could fix it by adding or removing the right food, or supplementing with the right vitamin. For some reason movement had not seemed all that important. Suddenly, it did. Now movement, along with exposure to nature, seemed as important, if not more so, than all those other things.
I had been aware of Katy Bowman’s work and followed it on and off for years, but never really got it until after my mom died. Suddenly, it made so much sense to me and I couldn’t get enough. I started reading all of Katy’s books (several of which I already owned), listening to her podcasts, following her on social media, and talking about her constantly (sorry, family).
Thankfully, my wonderful husband was on board and we slowly began by implementing changes in our home. We put our mattresses on the floor and then removed them altogether. We cut our dining room table down and replaced the chairs with cushions. We got rid of our living room seating, which included a couch, two armchairs, and what we called “the comfy chair” (a chair-and-a-half behemoth of a thing). We installed a pull-up bar and set out sheepskins, cushions, yoga blocks, a half foam roller, and a 2x4, totally changing the way we use our home. We love the space in which to spread out and the opportunity to use our bodies in different ways all day long.
“We installed a pull-up bar and set out sheepskins, cushions, yoga blocks, a half foam roller, and a 2x4, totally changing the way we use our home. We love the space in which to spread out and the opportunity to use our bodies in different ways all day long.”
My kids (Silas, age 9, and Henry, age 14) were only the tiniest bit resistant to these changes. Silas put up more of a fuss, but he’s begun designing obstacle courses through the house, including a neat trick he calls “calf stretch home stretch” in which he clamps the half foam roller between his feet and hops it over a sheepskin and up onto a step.
In the past year, since implementing these changes, I’ve lost ten pounds without trying. My back, which had gone out on me every few months since I was in sixth grade, has not seized up once. I’m much more in tune with my body (not hard, since I wasn’t really in tune with it at all before). My whole family is transitioning to minimal footwear, exploring a local ninja gym, going on hikes, and walking more in general. Lake Michigan is only a mile from our house, and we’ve begun walking down to the beach on a regular basis.
While I appreciate the information Katy Bowman communicates, what I find most helpful and relatable is seeing how she implements that knowledge into her own life. I’m thankful that she’s so open with how she and her family live and that she shares it with her followers.
-Kay Ehlers
Follow Kay’s walks and journey to 500 miles on her Instagram account @500to50.