I am a fan of having the right shoes. Walking and counting pedometer steps over long distances does require comfortable shoes and I have my favorites-for wet weather, hot weather, messy tracks, etc. I’m not a hiker so I like urban wear and even like to wear comfortable heels for light walking or dancing as I love the shaping effect on the calf muscles. Pedometer steps is often just activity (10000 steps) from a normal day and in these cases my shoes are chosen to enable that.
I am trying Dunlop Volleys, a light flexible sports shoe for running although I prefer Ecco brand walking shoes. I appreciate the approach in the following video. The expert here says that running style and technique is more important than the shoe you wear. Adjust your style to prevent injury.
Now that I have added pedometer running to my pedometer steps exercise routine I would also like to have the best shoes for me to enjoy an injury free introduction to running techniques. Ideally this would be simple.
Experts differ. Preparation is important when starting running and finding the right shoes for you is part of that.
It is important to take the time to develop a proper foot support appropriate for you. Everyone’s requirements are different so allow for this when judging suggestions.
The idea of participating in the City2Surf in August 2011 has an exciting influence on me. Let you in on a secret…
The motivation and enthusiasm that comes from such an idea is a tremendous force that can be harnessed for weight loss success!
But that’s not the secret. The secret is that the excitement factor of imagining, discussing and feeling good about this decision is enough to generate a surge in your pedometer steps running, walking or weight loss. Actually doing the event is less important.
Getting excited, acting on that excitement, using the momentum, enjoying the push, reinspiring yourself, energizes your program to start walking then running.
Why am I excited?
This is the first time I can see myself participating in a fun run event-as a runner! Huge progress for me-I’m a runner!
Others are gradually coming to see the possibility as well and are considering joining me.
There is no downside! Walking is always an option and i am already good at that.
It gives me a motivating influence. it doesn’t over commit me. It is an option.
Any preparation I do for this race is an advance on my walking to lose weightpedometer steps progress.
The trick to this is not to make this a do or die commitment.Take what it offers you. A reason to get excited and try something new.
I am doing theStart Walking Get Running Lose Weight program. Adding running carefully and progressively from a walking start is brilliant! Having a sort of public event to prepare for also acts as motivation. Using pedometer steps is the best way to start adding walking into an already full life. Once you’ve got that concept underway then focus on opening into other areas.
Great news recently for anyone interested in leading a healthy yet socially normal life! Those of us who are wanting to live healthy yet still enjoy popular culture are being provided with encouragement and support. Now many theaters in New York and California will provide ‘healthy’ options at least for weight control.This snack will also include a pedometer. This tool and activity (counting pedometer steps) has become a popular ‘easy’ option for commercial interests to involve themselves in health for the general population.
“100 Cal Packs come with a portion-controlled amount of popcorn to provide a 100 calorie snack. Guests may choose either Coke Zero(R) or Sprite Zero(R) for their soft drink. A pedometer is included which patrons can use to measure the number of steps they take in a day. The pack also includes a fitness card with advice from the Will Rogers Institute. Regal Entertainment Group is a proud supporter of the Will Rogers Institute which promotes and engages in medical research pertaining to cardio-pulmonary diseases and educating the general public on topics of health and fitness.”
Pedals, Running and Pedometer Steps is happy to see that main stream commerce is prepared to cater for socially responsible change. After all movies can be inspiring for those wishing to self improve such as taking up running-when was the last time you saw a sexy main character out ‘walking’ for fitness?-and the general prevalence of well toned and honed bodies does create the desire for some of the benefits of fitness and health.
Any way that increasing the use of your body can become ‘normal’ is an improvement overall. For many, especially men, using a pedometer and counting pedometer steps is a motivating and target oriented way to increase their willingness to commit to exercise.
You will start to notice some change in Pedals and Pedometer Steps. I have not been able to get into bikes so far and to my surprise have developed a belated interest in light running. Just as I’ve decided to take a simpler way to ’step up’ I’ve simplified the theme and am in the process of blogging on my experiences with the Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight program.
Over the last few weeks I’ve made so many changes in many areas of my life it is taking a little time to integrate them all into a cohesive whole. I had just decided that I (and some other enthusiasts who’ve signed up!) would enter the City2Surf 14 km run in August 2011. I was anticipating that all or most of that ‘run’ would be walked. The group had asked me to put together a program for us (all walkers) to get up to speed-after all we have 12 months to prepare! I looked at some good YouTube videos I found (view on walking versus running including the one that decided me on trying these Dunlop Volleys – originally a tennis shoe) and Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight.
Pedals & Pedometer Steps was originally designed to be my transition blog from Walking to Lose Weight into a more intense exercise such as cycling. Somehow it never happened unless the cycle of a perfected routine counting pedometer steps and then something (injury/illness/away time) causing a disturbance to the routine and then building up to the perfected routine again.
My feeling now is that cycling, which I have never done before so it is a big change for me at my time of life, was too big a jump for my self view to accept.
The strategy to move on from simply walking for weight loss has always been one in which I introduced something new. The gym, dvds, workout sessions with friends have been a part of my agenda for years whenever I have been attending to my ‘weight’.
Walking itself and using a pedometer, counting pedometer steps and recording those steps and targets etc. was a new discipline and technique for me I started when I got serious with walking to lose weight as a lifestyle.
As I wrote in the last post this was one of the best things I’ve ever done!
The technique though for weight loss is a continual process of upgrading my exercise to maintain or increase my calorie expenditure. Over time the same level of exercise is accommodated by the body and calorie or kilojoules used decreases unless the exercise is intensified.
So as I continue on my weight loss journey I am preparing to include some running within my walking routine. Stay with me as I start preparing for this change.
Pedometer Steps wants to ask you a question or two which are fundamental to successfully implementing pedometer steps as your lifestyle activity.
How do you think about your life? Where does your health and well being fit?
If exercising and perhaps modifying your diet is a new or unsuccessful life tactic, then perhaps you haven’t thought about how to make it practical in your life.
Anyone who has ample pleasurable activity in their lives already may be challenged by the requirement to change unless they substitute one pleasure for another i.e. make pedometer steps part of life’s pleasures.
Pedometer Steps is one way of fixing the importance of your actions into your mind with daily monitoring.
In many case studies of my own I am aware that doing exercise for the purpose of satisfying a medical direction or as a recovery phase, means that it is overlaid on your lifestyle. Say suddenly a dog is brought into the household and all the associated tasks and pleasures are unexpected and coped with rather than planned and formalized. There is a certain amount of immediate action to satisfy what is necessary with a jumble of understanding and misunderstanding unless you have another dog already, or have had sufficient experience of dog ownership to understand what’s required.
There is a demanding and unwanted intrusion which can’t be ignored but you wish it could be. Gradually there is a certain amount of rallying of the troops and some semblance of order, discipline and care is established. Over time as the pleasures associated with dog ownership come to the fore, then appropriate care is tailored to suit your environment.
Walking and activity for weight loss is a strategy that worked for me and many others. Using a pedometer enables you to make allowances for changes in your exercise throughout a period without abandoning the program of counting pedometer steps because you’ve got behind.
It pays off to be organized yet flexible. The same rules apply negotiating with yourself for pedometer steps as in negotiating a deal. The number of steps needed to meet a daily target can be offset over an extended period. So putting steps ‘in the bank’ will accrue ‘interest’.
Using your personal step bank you can provide options for eating and activity at any time. This inbuilt flexibility is the charm of pedometer steps. It provides an easy system to keep track and stay motivated. This is an ongoing program tailored for success.
Do you want to do your pedometer steps perfectly and assume that means successful weight loss?
There is a flaw in the logic of this approach because pedometer steps, when used correctly, do lead to weight loss, however, it requires ongoing commitment to the walking and activity, with eating moderation, for successful weight loss; any pressure to perform perfectly, whether this is a self expectation or of others, can take away some positive results.
Have you ever felt really excited about something, a new opportunity, a new weight loss diet, a new trainer? And to start it is just as magical as you hoped. You seem to be more capable of whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. Then something like a letdown happens and it seems it wasn’t magical and the results or gains you achieved went away and you think you imagined them in the first place.
I’m someone who has done that -a lot!
Now I know that was a wrong approach. My doubt was what killed the success.
This is similar to a new relationship which starts on a high-high hopes, high enthusiasm, high agreeability-and then becomes a work-in-progress!
Perfecting your pedometer steps process is not part of a walking to lose weight lifestyle. Using a pedometer is how to monitor action. The acceptance of your lifestyle changes become the main factor promoting success.
The advantage of a new system or approach to your fitness, health or weight loss is the change it brings into your attitude.
Pedometer steps encourages you to routinely exercise, makes it easy to remember to do it, and gives you motivating results, as you see the steps total rise and your body trim.
Enthusiasm is a great precursor of weight loss success. Enthusiasm for the process. Maintaining enthusiasm is a key to your success.
Tips for maintaining enthusiasm with Pedometer Steps:
Take heart from all the others who successfully and routinely use a pedometer as their focuser.
Work it! Use the system as best you can. Anytime you question it say to yourself:’it works-I know it works.’
Avoid discussing it with anyone who wants you to justify its ability to work for you. People who might say discouraging things are not the best people to share your enthusiasm with-they can take it away and it is the loss of enthusiasm that damages your weight loss not the system’s lack.
Find the ways you most enjoy using it. This is important because wearing a pedometer is a commitment, like a relationship and you have to put good feeling into it. The best way is to discover how you enjoy it and focus on making that even more fun or rewarding than ever before.
Share it with others-but not too much!
Learn that the responsibility is yours for enjoying the process. Don’t rely on others to make it special for you. Any interaction with others such as on the web is a weight loss tool. Use it when it is to your advantage but don’t if it takes you away from your goals.
Plan for your summer months of pedometer steps. You know your climate and if it includes hot and humid then unless you’re experienced at walking and being active in the heat it is a good idea to think of alternative ways to exercise in comfort and with limited heat exposure.
Consider your options: a gym or indoor activity center, preferably air conditioned if you live in a hot or humid climate is perfect for those times when you must exercise in the heat. Alternatives such as air conditioned corridors of hospitals or office buildings, shopping malls and airports may suit your circumstances. An obvious option which I use is to walk at cooler times of the day. This is not always viable because of personal circustances or because the weather just never gets cool!
Wear your pedometer! With less clothing in summer it is more important to have a safe, secure and attractive, pedometer. This is important more to some than others.
Walking shoes-protection for your feet combined with temperature control, is an important combination. “Good” old fashioned walking shoes can be heavy and hot, leading to the popularity of the new style walking sandals or slides. It can take a while to get accustomed to a walking slide so don’t be turned off before trying if you can afford to test them.
Pedometer steps walking done on a beach can be beautiful at the right time, but generally not in the middle of the day when the sun is burning at its maximum and the sand is both hotter and reflects more heat. If this is something you can do a bit of for your regular pedometer walks then use and take sun screen, protective clothing and hat, sunglasses and flip flops, as well as replacing water lost through sweating regularly. Walking in soft sand or shallow water is fantastic exercise so do this as much as you can if you have the option.
Carry sun screen at all times. I prefer the roll on types (with maximum SPF) because they are easier to use when juggling bags etc.
When walking outside consider the surface you are on. White concrete can be very hot. Grass paths and shady routes are great at this time of year.
Pedometer steps is an activity based program so it relies on you choosing active options throughout your day. Your pedometer steps tally will be constantly increasing as you choose to take the ‘harder’ options such as walking to work, the bus stop or church. This often works better in some seasons then others so again look for inside options including the Nintendo Wii or exercise DVD. The local gym can supply classes or a treadmill.
Gym membership can be a real asset although casual use of a gym is also a good back up for those days when consistent hot weather means you need easy alternatives to prevent the “excuse creep of bad weather” causing decreased average pedometer steps. Don’t let the weather stop you from living your weight loss dreams!
It is worthwhile finding the right gym for your current circumstances. Membership options and flexibility changes all the time. I have found over the years that regularly checking what is new or changes to the options often reveals other alternatives to try. Your needs may change or the gym may have become more attuned to your unique requirements. Maybe suggest changes to the structure which might benefit a pedometer steps approach.
Be prepared for summer as walking for weight loss is a lifestyle and as such needs consistent availability of real pedometer steps counting options.
Pedals & Pedometer Steps has lots of ideas for making pedometer steps a regular part of a health conscious and active life. The level of activity will depend a lot upon your expectations and the time available in your life.
We talk often about the necessity to include walking and other regular types of activity into your day. Blend it and your other commitments into your lifestyle so the easier it is to meet your goals as a whole, the more likely it is that ongoing weight loss and well being will be achieved.
This can take some persistence. Pedometer steps counting is not every one’s favorite topic. Do yourself a favor and don’t make others who aren’t interested endure your enthusiastic monitoring of steps and activity. Just don’t talk about it unless they are also doing it or like to encourage and support you with increasing your pedometer steps.
As walking or activity based weight loss or management is an ongoing and vital part of your life strategy it has to be as important as other well being tactics. If this is not a shared interest with other family members or loved ones, simply don’t share it with them! It doesn’t need to be intrusive in that sense. There are other ways for you to talk, blog, forum, tweet about your walking and weight loss experiences.
Volunteering is one way of bringing activity and walking into your life without forcing it on your family and friends.
Initially when walking and counting pedometer steps becomes a focus for you it is often attractive to other people, friends or acquaintances. Spontaneous suggestions for joint walks or outings are made with the idea that both or several people can enjoy walking with you. As with many things in life one person’s walk is not always the same as another person’s idea of a walk.
A friend had the embarrassment of watching a new female neighbor struggling to keep up with the friend’s fast walking husband as he took off for an extended walk, much longer than the woman had expected. It was a good lesson because his ‘walking’ routine has become a shared joke, and the neighbor was discouraged without offense from wanting to join the man on his daily walks.
One way to find companionship or interest while counting pedometer steps can be to become a volunteer for events which need walking related tasks performed. Often walking events themselves can need volunteers to walk between checkpoints or be of general assistance and this activity of course registers on the pedometer. Prior to the event leaflet distribution around relevant neighborhoods can be required and obviously this can be a fun walking opportunity.
This sort of activity-related volunteering requires some ‘out of the box’ thinking if you have only thought of volunteer work as helping the infirm or baby sitting. On the other hand some types of traditional volunteer work can involve action. How many pedometer steps would register for an action packed fete or other fund raiser? Instead of cooking get involved with selling tickets or setting up. Part of your weight problem may be that your normal choices in these situations add to your problem not your solution!
I was very excited to hear that the Gruve was developed with the help of the Mayo clinic. Reviews of differing programs and weight loss systems are everywhere. Readers of Pedals & Pedometer Steps blog will know I am always looking for an activity based lifestyle program for those who want a full and satisfying (long lived) life.
I”m a fan of the pedometer steps system because it is so versatile and is a lifestyle rather than an exercise program.
When this system is practiced the individual’s targets become independent of the accepted 10000+ pedometer steps daily for weight loss, and can alter according to the weight loss or well being status of each person.
Another aspect that appeals aboutGruveis that the depth of the system is attractive for use beyond the required weight loss itself.
Again, regular readers will know that I consider an essential part of permanent weight loss is the continuation of a modified form of the lifestyle (and exercise or pedometer steps counting) which achieved the weight loss.
Pedometer steps activity is a natural as it is easily integrated into most lifestyles.
Emotions are not taught intentionally often. The ‘rule’ book does tend to promote action over feeling which means we can keep our inner most self hidden. Pedals & Pedometer Steps has written about the benefit of watching outstanding performers (athletes, dancers, The Biggest Losers) closely to learn about handling emotions positively, and for success. This is important for those introducing exercise, weight loss or pedometer steps counting, as tiring, injuring and depleting the body, has an emotional affect.
Everyday people must cope with this on top of their job, family commitments and other frailties. If your life is independent and successful then you may find that a period of extra commitment does not create a strain on your existing arrangements. One also suspects that you may already be on top of your fitness, health and well being also.
Many are not in that situation. Overwhelm in a number of areas may be the catalyst for the over weight lifestyle. Someone trying to add an exercise program into an over committed life can’t be blamed for wanting it to be fast and easy-and not cost much. These commitments may be for your time or even your emotional energy.
Handling the emotion of the exercise is also about handling the emotion of the lifestyle change. Although most people hope it can be a temporary change it requires a permanent change. That’s why we generally want it to be fast. Like a pill which we take until the problem is healed. With a lifestyle problem the only pill which does work is a belief that changing creates a better lifestyle.
Sometimes it seems better not to know the extent of the changes you will need to make until you are ready for each of them. Then the next step becomes obvious. Trying to rush and anticipate changes to come may rock the boat before you are able to contemplate the change with ease.
Long term weight loss with activity based, diet moderation style programs work effectively with ongoing commitment to this lifestyle which has resulted from the change. A friend was an avid pedometer steps counter and big eater for a small girl, but balanced the two successfully, from her family home and at work. She conscientiously monitored her weight and exercise and any weight change was quickly obliterated. A great success.
Then she got married. Yes the motivation for her intense interest in her waist measurements. She had loved the lifestyle and her fiancee was fully aware of it. He was not a problem. So she moved her home location and travel times increased. Her new family (in laws) had different criteria of behavior (food must be eaten), time away from her husband was questioned.
Again lifestyle change is necessary. This is not a difficult thing to do once you have a basic understanding that it requires a lifestyle plan. With the same dedication she has previously shown, she is now applying herself to making her schedule around the new requirements in such as way as to include activity. The style has to be modified and she is doing it so she can continue enjoying well being within a new lifestyle. The important point is that lifestyles do change many times over a lifetime. While there is a tendency to cling to one which is particularly satisfying it is better too move on. The new lifestyle can be sculptured to be even more satisfying, perhaps in differing ways.
Becoming a pedometer user introduces much more activity into your daily life. This can be tiring. Pedometer steps counting is addictive and it is great to get the target you want. Over time your resilience increases and you can do more without getting over tired. The best way I have found to get through any difficulties with pedometer steps within your normal daily framework is to follow some of these tips:
If you have made a mistake of some sort, move on. Do not dwell on it. You’ll do better when you can.
I have benefited most from others’ attitudes and advice more so than instructions and techniques. Getting instruction of pedometer step’s counting, walking or running, is easy on the web. Easy diet advice abounds. It is often the daily advice of what to do when…which is most helpful. Talk to other pedometer steps users.
Stop and take a breather if it suddenly seems too hard. Think of as many positive reasons for doing it and having fun with it that you can. This is not the time to throw up your hands and say I may as well overeat now. Have a small indulgence then look at Step 1.
As usual Pedals & Pedometer Steps wishes you well on your lifestyle journey.
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...
Plan for your summer months of pedometer steps. You know your climate and if it includes hot and humid then unless you’re experienced at walking and being active in the heat it is a good idea to think of alternative ways to exercise in comfort and with limited heat exposure.
