Throughout my week the days that naturally lend themselves to my minimum 10,000 steps daily target are few. Occasionally there are periods when each day is full of physical movement and these are a godsend for weight loss. Pedometer steps seem to do themselves, and let’s face it, because I know that trusty pedometer is there I accept its input and use it to boost my daily step totals. (I remember the days when this would not have been the case!)
Beyond the people who need to know, my pedometer steps activity is not a topic of discussion for me. Why? I find that I can do it effectively without making a point of telling everyone I meet. This means I am seen as a normal person doing normal things-which is how I like it! Everyone has a different lifestyle and likes and commitments which require some choices around lifestyle.
A pedometer is a silent but prefect partner who gives a nudge to say ‘hey you could do some more’ or ‘congrats you’ve had a big day’!
The majority of my days are filled with desk work and I add specific activities such as a walk or gym class to get the number of pedometer steps I need to average 10,000 per day over a week.
I love those busy days of “running around” which contribute more than that days’ fair share of my weekly target.
Pedometer steps counting doesn’t have to be something that others are aware I am doing and so doesn’t have to intrude into my relationships with other people unless it is someone I feel comfortable about it doing so. It seems that some people can be intimidated (they think ‘fitness freak’) or bored (they think ‘no way could this be fun’) in advance of knowing anything about it.
So an activity which requires lots of walking, interesting food and drink with plenty of options for the weight conscious can be my perfect day for doing pedometer steps.
How to get your pedometer steps up for the day! If it was on my normal route to work then I could learn to play a song. If I look for fun it often comes my way.
The advantages of making walking fun are enormous. I’ve followed this principle for a long time. Yes there are times when discipline and acceptance that you just have to do it are the motivating factors in getting those daily pedometer steps but most of the time I try to make it a game. I love walking as well but the pedometer adds that fun element.
I plan to live a long life. I plan to be active. I am excited about the life opportunities still to come for me.
Yet I’ve lived the weight loss yo-yo and lack of exercise roller coaster enough to know that somethings needed to change for my vision to come fully true.
Redoing my approach to life in incremental ways allows me to have fun, because I’m now building that in, and enjoy the walking for weight loss process at the same time. Pedometer walking and occasionally running, cycling which is new for me, gym classes and social walks make for a lifestyle which has become sustainable.
Having control over your weight is similar to managing your financial affairs: calories used minus calories eaten must leave an energy deficit which is to be “financed” from fat deposits. Pedometer steps are “money” in the bank, calories eaten are withdrawals. If you take a large withdrawal you need to replace the “money” i.e. calories expended.
To make using pedometer steps an ongoing part of your daily life refer to this article for hints and tips on How to Use a Pedometer.
In another post from last year I refer to my target as 8,000 -10,000 steps a day and heading hopefully for 15,000 daily pedometer steps.
Well the 10,000 daily steps (averaged weekly) has happened but I’ve changed direction slightly to add in more weights and aerobic sessions. When you start, anything extra you do is a step towards weight loss. As you move on it becomes a benefit to target specific types of exercise for body shaping etc. and to add to the steps, intensity or type of walking, running, cycling to contnue losing weight. Pedometer steps still works perfectly as a weight maintenance program. The key is that constant movement uses energy, keeps you toned and conditioned, and able to enjoy fully this wonderful life!
If you are starting a walking for weight loss program and have a pedometer put the additional walking off a day or two and just use the pedometer: set it up for stride length, wear it at the waist or even on your shoe, have a safety attachment, adjust for movement intensity.
Then do your normal daily activities with the pedometer steps counter in place for a few days. Write down the results and a few details about what you were doing that day. For instance did you walk to the train station, or walk the dog which is not normal for you? Did you deliver a bunch of mail around the office, or not deliver it, on this day? Were you tired and felt unwell?
Note how the different activities effect the pedometer steps result. Ask yourself if this was a normal day for you. If it is think of way you could add to the walking activity in simple ways. Think about the benefits of taking a long walk which would add around 6,000 steps an hour.
It seems to me that actually walking makes the pedometer steps target far easier but a busy active day will also do this. If you sit at a desk and are generally inactive just adding a few small walking exercises such as walking around th house every hour will add in small ways but these are effective additions at the beginning if you are normally sedentary. Under 5,000 steps a day is usually considered inactive.
As you approach the generally used 10,000 steps a day target if you are having a low pedometer steps day choose one of the many ways to add substantial numbers of steps such as walking or a gym aerobics class.
It is not necessary for you to find out your normal or baseline step activity when using a pedometer but it has some advantages:
your target of pedometer steps can be increased at a reasonable rate having added to your average number;
avoiding overdoing the exercise and making it comfortable to achieve increases your likelihood of continuing it;
you become more aware of the effects of low activity as your understanding of what qualifies as “active”;
it becomes easier to see where you have avoided taking steps and to add them back in.
If you are going to make counting pedometer steps a way of life then you have to apply the usual sort of discipline to it that other important but mundane area of your life (such as cleaning your teeth) attract.
Let me remind you why you might want to make pedometer steps a ritual process:
regular exercise such as walking for weight loss is a standard requirement for modern life when movement is not the natural process it was originally as in pre-technology days;
one way, and the easiest for many, is to simply put on a pedometer every morning and check it regularly throughout the day, to ensure that the target you have set will be met;
take action i.e. walk more, if the target pedometer steps have somehow got away from you;
don’t go to bed until those steps have been met.
Just as with teeth cleaning there are other more occasional procedures such as dentist visiting and flossing etc. but all of them are secondary to the fundamental teeth cleaning.
Having made the decision then do everything you can to ensure it’s success as a weight control method.
Even after extensive use of a pedometer to track my pedometer steps during normal days I still find it more motivating to wear and use one then go without.
Over time you do need to do more than strap on a pedometer but while those pedometer steps are keeping you on track then the extra activities such as weights or yoga can be fine tuning the results you are achieving.
And you definitely achieve results which are pleasing other than weight loss. I want to find another phrase to denote the modern meaning of what was once simple weight loss but now means so much more- healthy, functioning, streamlined, good looking bodies; and in fact may be less about weight loss and more about trimming, strengthening and toning.
One of the easiest ways to add weights to your aerobic walking program is to carry light hand weights while doing dedicated walks. This means that when counting pedometer steps to achieve your daily target, say it is 10,000, you may use specific walks to achieve that goal or, as with many of us, wear your pedometer all day and count all the steps or movement during the day towards that target.
If you wish to add weights which increases your heart rate and conditions the arm muscles, obviously carrying them around all day is impractical and unnecessary as the benefits of weight training can be achieved over a shorter time than that. Wearing weighted clothing or bands which fit to the body simulate the effect of being overweight and your body has to work harder (burn more calories) to move your body around.
The disadvantages of carrying weights while out walking specifically to achieve your pedometer steps can be anticipated. The main one is that if you are just starting to carry weights and for some reason don’t like them in the middle of a walk, what do you do? If you are uncertain of technique it may take you a while to adjust and if you are finding it uncomfortable or painful you will have to dispose of them into a bag or with a friend etc. Using small free weights is unlikely to cause most people any worry but there will always be occasions when someone takes weights which are too heavy or too big to fit into their hands etc.
This is why I am a big fan of counting pedometer steps using exercise or walking DVDs such as Walk Away the Pounds. These are effectively walks which rack up the miles (or mile) and include using weights at specific guided points. You can be sure that your body is warmed up, that you use them correctly, and of course you can start gradually until your fitness level matches that required for what is a very strenuous 3 miles, for instance.
The other obvious solution is to use hand weights while walking for weight loss on a treadmill although if you are already in a gym rather than at home why not use the weight equipment or do a class?
For those who do their pedometer steps while watching TV adding hand weights is also quite easy.
Bend the arms at the elbows and use a controlled swing, alternate arm to leg. Carry a weight which is comfortably held in your hand and start with a smallish weight, say 1 to 2 kilos for men and women maybe 0.5 kilos to start.
A lot of gyms offer circuit classes or other ways to increase the variety of exercises you do as well as getting the numbers of pedometer steps up. Anything which includes bursts of jogging, or running, high repetition weights combined with leg movements, moving the whole body quickly, is likely to count as pedometer steps and be effective high calorie burning activity.
Pacing yourself effectively means keeping exercise an asset in your daily life. Too much, whether overdoing a specific exercise style or throwing yourself into everything going at a rate which can’t be sustained, is the easiest way to come unstuck in your overall weight loss plan.
Starting with walking for weight loss by counting pedometer steps is the best introduction to exercise as a life enhancing weight loss activity. Over time add in interval training and aerobic weights. Exercise every day but allow for exercise fatigue- if you have done too much or have run out of enthusiasm stop the activity and work on feeling good about what you’re doing for your body and life.
This sort of interval can also enhance your workout as long as it is short. I have found a new appreciation for my achievements when I have a little break either by resting or by doing a different exercise and then coming back to my normal one. Walking and counting pedometer steps enables a gradual, natural, increase in aptitude. Over time what used to take me one hour to walk I was doing in 50 minutes. Just recently the same route is now taking me 40 minutes. Sometimes we don’t notice as these changes can be subtle and build up over time.
Sometimes Pedometer Steps can be made more interesting and increase the payoff by adding in extra steps!
Start Walking, Get Running, and Lose Weightis filled with common sense strategies for managing the food you eat and simple but very effective exercise plans that ease you into shape.
A Proven Walking or Running Plan For All Ages and Experience Levels...
