How My Pedometer Is Changing My Life
In the movie "Supersize Me", the filmmaker goes on a pure McDonald's diet for month. He is attempting to test if McDonald's food is healthy for the average person. He also wears a pedometer to make sure he walks as little as most of us do in our modern car dominated society. This is where I first heard that a person needs to walk about 10,000 steps a day to stay fit and not gain weight. You can read about 10,000 steps here
After a very successful summer of cycling, I was struggling to find good ways exercise. I was not getting to the gym much because of my schedule, and the weather was not conducive to cycling. Picking up the point about walking in the movie, I decided to buy a pedometer and wear it all day to see if I was walking enough to stay fit.
During a normal day at work I seem to take about 5,000 steps. That includes walking to and from my car for the trips to work and back as well as lunch. It also includes many short walks up and the down the hall where my office is located to talk to my coworkers, attend meetings, get coffee, visit the water cooler, and go to the bathroom---too many trips to the water cooler. I notice on days where many of my coworkers are out of the office, I walk noticeably less.
If other things get added in during the day like a shopping trip or walk to the mailbox, I can add 1000-2000 more steps. So on most days I need to get on my NordicTrak elliptical exerciser and workout until I hit 10,000. The 10,000 steps website says that pedometers do not give accurate counts on elliptical, but my tests show that it does with my pedometer on my elliptical.
To get beyond that level I have to go and see coworkers who are located in remote parts of the office building. Luckily, we are in a big building and I do need to periodically visit people who are a noticeable distance away. Today, I had three meeting that were held down two floors and over a hall. I had to pop back to my office between the meetings, and I had a long walk to fetch the key to the conference room. I also visited each of the people who attended the meetings in the morning to go over preparations. When I got home from work tonight I had walked 9860 steps. That's the best that I have done at work so far. Shoveling snow when I got home put me over the 10,000. There will be no NordicTrak tonight for me.
Thanks to my pedometer, I now look for reasons to walk places. I also find myself sitting less. No more plopping down in front of the TV. I play ping-pong with the kids. (It actually doesn't have a big effect on steps, but it is a physical activity.) I pick up around the house. (The wife hasn't noticed yet.) I seem to be developing some sort of nervous energy. It has been a couple of weeks now, so I do not know if it will be effective or if it will last, but so far I am impressed.