There was a time in my life when I lost muscle mass. My weight on the scales was exactly where I ‘d always wanted it to be. Although my frame was soft and I was weak from lack of well being, I was excited to ‘finally’ be at a weight I had dreamed of as ‘ideal’. As an estimate I’d say my pedometer steps at the time would have rarely exceeded 1000 steps most days.
If you’re into pedometer steps then you know that this is almost the lifestyle of an invalid.
Diet for weight loss, alone, particularly reducing calories severely, when successful, often results in poor health, weakness and looking unhealthy. Most serious weight loss processes in 2010 talk about lifestyle change (good food, healthy habits including exercise, rest, stress reduction) and that having reserves of good health protects you against the everyday body ‘attacks’ that most of our bodies deal with automatically and easily. Health enables us to do all sorts of things without affect. Small things should not take you down i.e. succumb to frequent viruses, injury or sleep deprivation.
When counting pedometer steps specifically for weight loss it is imperative that you experiment with your diet for the best balance between achieving a calorie deficit (to lose weight) and empowering your body to increase exercise. A well fed body responds best to exercise increase. However it is certainly viable to increase exercise gradually while decreasing the calories eaten.
It takes a little experimenting to obtain the best balance for you but it is worth it! The results speak for themselves.
Now my idea of an ‘ideal’ weight for me has changed significantly. For a start it is much higher than I would have previously envisioned and higher than many popular indexes. Fat is very light by comparison but has a bigger volume than muscle mass. Many lists of ideal weights for a certain height assume relative inactivity. Walking or running use the large muscles of the lower body extensively and so a consistent lifestyle of this type of activity can develop strong muscles in these areas. For this reason I have also replaced constant weight reviews on the scales as it is misleading in many ways, with checking the fit of clothes and in particular keeping waist and hip belts for comparison purposes.
Keeping track in easy ways such as with a pedometer steps log and the fit of clothes enables easy monitoring of your lifestyle success in keeping weight gain away or weight loss happening. I am following the Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight program as I introduce running into my lifestyle to increase weight loss and to keep it interesting. Keeping motivated is one of the keys and it is better to associate with people who tell you that you’re losing weight than those who don’t-even if ‘the scales’ tell you otherwise.
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At Pedals & Pedometer Steps we support a feel good approach to walking for weight loss. Knowing that a holiday and lots of chocolate are on the menu how to get the best on both fronts?
Planning!
Are you up for it? My planning started before today but it’s not too late. Decide how to fit both activity and moderate Easter indulgences into the weekend. The ideal starting point: you’ve been eating less and walking, shopping, cleaning house a lot, in anticipation of events to come. Clothes are looser as a result.
To come out of it better off than today, use the Pedometer Steps way. Some tips for a Happy Easter!
- Easter eggs- plan to give away most of them! Keep only dark chocolate eggs and plain bars. Avoid the filled, milk chocolate and elaborate. Make yourself new friends at work or church by ‘donating’ them to morning tea, or give to your grandkids, but preferably people outside your house.
- At your home, if you have visitors over Easter, plan to substantially change the emphasis. Make alternate gifts or treasure hunts for the children- perhaps bunny rabbits stuffed toys.
- Think differently about the food. In most families there are many ’special’ needs. While it is difficult to anticipate every dietary need, it is possible to make some foods optional. For instance, have fruit for the table after the meal, not cheese and biscuits.
- Pretend this Easter is one which you want to be a celebration and at the same time be appropriate for a health check up the next day! I am doing this- the amount of food to be eaten by anyone is up to them, it is self selection or buffet style. My brother had a work health check the day after a visit once and it was amazing the changes that could be made without lessening the enjoyment.
- Provide activity options other than television and eating or drinking. It becomes easy to eat less, and be less affected by what you eat when there is the Wii or walking, and cleaning up the kitchen to do.
If any of this is unattractive for your idea of Easter then start preparing now for next Easter. A major part of the ‘battle’ is your thoughts. Decide that you want to change the way you enjoy Easter. Wear your pedometer, count pedometer steps, find ways to add more steps into your day, walk somewhere you wouldn’t normally if you can, etc. Create Easter your way. Change your idea of what is fun.
Hoping for a healthy, happy Easter & good news after,
Pedals & Pedometer Steps
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Intensifying your workout with pedometer steps is easy.
The benefit of doing high intensity exercises is that it increases the calorie burn and this is the attraction of the more extreme exercise sessions that dominate weight loss exercise since TV’s The Biggest Loser has become so popular. Calories burned must be greater than calories consumed for the weight loss to begin. The higher the calories burned the more weight lost.
In light of my last post where I point out that for weight loss to be effective over the long term i.e. the results last, the every day for a lifetime approach is more likely successful than a cramming effort reminiscent of school exams.
Having said that I do not mean that pedometer steps is limited to low intensity calorie burn spread out daily. There is a lot of positive effect in the strategic use of high intensity exercise.
For most people continued active living results in effective ongoing weight management after weight loss, therefore this needs to be established as a normal routine in your life. For this to happen it requires a consistent process done often enough to become a pleasure and desirable activity.
When enthusiasm for the desired results (quick weight loss) over rides ignorance about the level of activity then failure can often result. If you are not normally active then taking on exercise without finding your limits first can cause overload and giving up.
Measured use, and enjoyment of high intensity exercise, is a great way to stay in shape and increase the variety and options in addition to pedometer steps counting.
If you do want to try some fancy high energy program then:
1. prepare for it-find out what physical stressors are likely, and build up stamina, particular muscles to be used, and prepare by training in these areas.
2. alternatively take the class or do the event at a slow pace, gradually increasing until your fitness reaches the desired level i.e. over several sessions.
3. add high intensity to your pedometer steps by- walking hills; carrying weights (groceries in either hands are good); walking faster in sections by taking smaller steps more quickly (do not lengthen your stride); walk longer; add stairs; carry a child!
Many more options exist to make pedometer steps and other exercise a delightful, varied, favorite activity in a healthy lifestyle.
Sincerely yours,
Pedals & Pedometer Steps
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This is a vital strategy decision for anyone who wants to do regular exercise. Pedometer steps counting is less likely to be injurious and this is one of the reasons that walking is a great exercise choice for me.
I’m not a fan of bravely working out by ignoring a pain. With that, however, I do continue to exercise and use a pedometer while walking and being active. In fact pedometer steps can also be of assistance in keeping on the right side of ’enough’ exercise.
If walking, or pressure on the ground, is affecting a leg injury then having a cut off point can be helpful. Say your normal day is 10,000 steps then a decision to cut back on walking and other leg movement can be monitored with the pedometer. I might feel that 5,000 steps will be a maximum until I get a feel for how it’s healing. Once it’s on the mend I can slowly increase the number of ’steps’ judging how the leg is feeling and knowing exactly the strain I have put on it that day.
You might not get this right the first time, I didn’t. However over time as pedometer walking became a standard part of my lifestyle : I became less likely to be injured; my philosophy about injury changed. An inactive person tends to have only two ways of dealing with it- 1) “I’ll fight it. Can’t let it stop me.” or 2) coming to a halt. These are not the only tactics available and , in fact, are not likely to be the best for most injuries.
It all depended upon my starting point. When I first started exercising again by walking I was recovering from illness and my general condition was not resilient. Although frustrating injuries meant a stop-start approach to walking. As my resilience rose, an injury became less likely, and less restrictive. I became a better judge of how much this “incident” could affect my ability to move through a normal day, which for me, includes counting pedometer steps. I also substitute other exercises which I can do without affecting the injured part.
An understanding of the normal daily activity level for yourself or a convalescent, by counting their pedometer steps, enables you to monitor closely how much exercise to allow them to do. The person themselves is unlikely to be a good judge. This is not about aggressive target increases but avoiding over or under exertion.
Injuries from normal activity which certainly includes walking can be categorized as routine incidents from a normal life.
Learning to continue with pedometer walking and counting pedometer steps while dealing with the injury is a natural part of a resilient personality. Being aware of balancing my divergent needs to both exercise and heal has extended my options to live an active life which I didn’t have in the past.
Please comment about your own experiences in dealing with injuries.
Love to hear from you,
Pedals and Pedometer Steps
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I like to keep my emphasis on exercise when discussing weight loss, and within that category, have chosen pedometer steps as a means of achieving healthy activity every day.
In itself this combination of mental commitment-keeping track of the pedometer steps-as well as physical doing of the exercise helps in two ways:
It normalizes activity.
It helps distract me from using eating as a hobby.
Depending on where someone starts i.e. their level of activity, it may take some time, but eventually using a pedometer all the time, becomes a way of structuring your day.
The major element in this weight loss approach is increased body movement throughout the day. The easiest way for most of us is to walk or do other similar activity.
Food becomes secondary-in both ways. Pedometer steps counting should be combined with a sensible calorie counting “diet”, gradual reduction of excesses such as full sugar sodas, and with a de-emphasis on eating in your day.
There are other methods of food reduction such as eating half the food on your plate and the Japanese recommendation to stop eating when 80% full, etc. Some more are mentioned here: Top 5 Healthiest Diets in America
When a goal of 10,000+ steps is actively pursued throughout the day by adding steps into your lifestyle whether at work or play, it means more time in activity and less time for thinking about or actually doing, eating.
In other words, an active person (which you are now) can only achieve the steps total required by walking (gardening, cleaning, dancing) most of the day. This is not dedicated walking which can achieve the target in a few hours but using the pedometer steps as a guideline of how to get more of the daily tasks done and get your body moving as well.
The gym or walking for exercise is also a great way to go. It can make the 10,000+ daily steps achievable in an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. It can rescue a day which has fallen behind on its steps total. It may be that it fits your lifestyle better- sometimes or all the time.
The key here is to control your diet during the times you have free for eating. The concentrated calorie burning can create more time for calorie consumption, and even a reward mentality. Spreading exercise over your total week offers its own rewards in increased achievement, more fun and a better fit with your lifestyle.
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As January ends the pedometer steps newbies are having differing issues which affect their abiities to keep on track. Not to say that there hasn’t been great success. One man has lost 4 kilos (8.8 lbs) and is ranging from 5,000 to 17,000 steps a day. The significant difference in those numbers relates to the vagaries of back to work behaviour.
Another pedometer steps starter has just found the delight that comes from having a ’special’ day, one where the normal range of 3,000 to 8,000 was unexpectedly broken with a landmark 11,000 step day!
These deserve celebration! The object of walking for weight loss is to make those significant days, where results peak over the 10,000 pedometer steps in one day, the norm.
Extras Tips:
Sometimes the pedometer will record extra steps if an activity is jerky. For instance, if you are dancing and moving your arms vigorously, this may make a double action which increases the steps recorded. Should you have a day where the steps seem out of proportion to the amount of exercise you did think back to what sort of activity may have made the difference. The reverse is also likely where substantial exercise is under reported by your pedometer.
Another benefit of keeping track of the daily pedometer steps total is to note the types and length of activity to give yourself an idea of what contributes most to the number of pedometer steps recorded.
You will learn that a 9,000 step day with a weights session is a lot better than a 9,000 step day without the weights class, etc.
If during non-working days of the paid variety you find it difficult to generate steps within the work day, you can add dedicated walks designed to get the pedometer steps up on those days e.g. before, after work or at lunch hour.
An alternative is to use the averaging process and track each day’s steps but look for an average of 10,000 plus. This might mean that for 5 days at work steps are slow, maybe around the 7,000 mark, but over the 2 day weekend with a hike or long walk, or extra activity just from household chores and a social life you are able to generate enough extra steps to make up for the poor week day showing.
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