10,000 steps a day

Who reads this blog and is trying to motivate themselves to if not get fit at least lead a healthier life style? Karen South of Karen South’s Crazy Quilting World is trying to walk 10,000 steps a day and I must admit I am too.

The Heart Foundation suggests that walking an average of 10,000 steps a day is a good way to improve fitness, aid weight loss, lower blood pressure, and balance blood cholesterol levels and glucose tolerance.

Recently Jerry and I have purchased pedometers. A pedometer is a small device, worn clipped on the hip, that measures and records how much movement you have performed in a day. In other words it measures your activity levels in the form of steps. They give you feed back as to just how active you have been in a given period of time. Jerry and I quickly realized that although we thought we were quite active, in fact we are not.

Both of us decided to embark upon the 10,000 steps a day program. At first we tried to hit the 10,000 steps a day mark every day but quickly found that although we were being more active we had a cycle to our week. During the week we were less active even though we took stairs, parked the car at the far end of car parks, took walks in our lunch breaks at the end of the day our steps did not ‘measure up’. On the weekends however we have found it is easy to get our step count up as we often get out in the garden, take our cameras out to take photos and in the process walk without even realising it. Generally on the weekend we are more active. I bet many people are in the situation.

Rather than become discouraged every day, we decided to shape our goals to suit us and let our pedometer run for a week. Every Sunday night is the cut off point, every Monday morning we set them to zero. If through the week we are a little behind we try to make up for it on the weekend. It is possibly not an ideal solution but it does mean we are more active.

Now here is the glitch. It is winter here in OZ and our count is slipping so I have decided to go ‘public’ and publish my weekly step count every Monday morning. I know if I do this just the fact that is is public will motivate me to be active. So as of next Monday my pedometer count for the week, will go public.

I am wondering if others out there are struggling with health goals like this. Is there anyone who might like to join me? The 10,000 steps program is not difficult or expensive. Choice magazine has reviewed pedometers and the American equivalent program is Shape Up America. At least think about it. If you think blogging progress or targets met, will motivate you reach your health goals let me know as a group might be able to support and motivate each other.