Pedometers - Can they really help you in your goal to lose weight, tighten up, or just get in better physical shape? They tell us that you should walk 10,000 steps in a day for optimal good health and activity. Well, I'd have to put a jet pack on my back to get in 10,000 steps in a day.
I'm a pretty sedentary person. I'm retired, don't get out much, like to sit at my computer for the most part of the day. Even my hobbies like knitting, sewing, gardening, watching TV tending my orchids, playing the piano, and making crafts of all kinds are rather solitary, and non-active activities.
So how does a person like me (and I can't believe that I'm the only one out there??) get more active? I don't enjoy running, jogging, or walking as activities (can you tell?), and I'd rather sit and watch an exercise video than get up off the couch to participate. However, I am sorely aware that my activity has decreased over time (if that's at all possible), so I was on a quest to find something that I enjoyed.
I love to dance, and actually met my husband dancing, so for a number of years we both loved to go out and dance. However, in our area, most of the dance places we frequented have closed down, and as much as we say, lets just dance in the living room, it just hasn't been happening so I was forced to come up with an alternative solution. I decided to buy a Pedometer.
Now there are many brands and models, so you'll have to look at the features to find the one that's just right for you. One thing I do recommend that you look for is one that has a small lanyard that you can clip to your pocket, or clothing so that it won't fall off and break in case you do decide to go the jogging route. Also, remember that you will need to actually SEE the screen in order to monitor your progress, so find one that has a large enough display so that you won't be squinting to see the screen.
I've developed a program whereby I put on my Pedometer every day as soon as I get up and dressed. Because I don't get out much, I have to start by recording my activity in and around my house. I got a small pocket calendar from the local bookstore and each day I record exactly how many steps I took.
At first it was quite depressing to see how much, or how little as the case may be, my activity really was. It was an eye opener! I tried for the first month not to change or increase anything. What I was doing was creating a baseline. Its always good when starting any exercise or diet program to have a baseline to compare with. This is the only way you can accurately gauge your progress.
Once I had filled in my first month, I was ready to go forward and try to increase my activity, after all this was the ultimate goal. Monitoring and comparing Day by day was near impossible. Some days you go shopping, others you sit at home, so that wasn't going to work. Week by week was also not working out for the same reasons. Some weeks just tended to be more active than others, so I decided on a month by month progression.
On the first day of the second month (after recording my baseline), I recorded my steps. Then I looked back at the previous month, and tried to find a day close to, but not exceeding that number. For example if on the 1st of Feb. my pedometer showed 1,000 steps, I looked for a day in January that was close to, but not more than 1,000. I then drew a line through that number on my January calendar page.
This was an excellent plan, and it seemed to be working. All I had to do was to look to the previous month and find the absolute lowest figure, and then I'd know that for today, all I had to do was to beat THAT figure.
Having the baseline month was great because there were some high dyas and some low days which allow me to always have some days that I can be a little more sedentary (which is my basic nature anyway) yet still be on a consistently improving path.
I watch my pedometer throughout the day to keep track of how I'm doing, and it seems to be working quite well. Its a great incentive to actually have a number to strive for, and I know that if I was able to do it last month, it should be no problem to continue doing that much this month.
So how am I actually doing? Well I started out being very impressed if I actually got in 1,000 or mores steps in a day (I told you I wasn't very active, so don't look THAT surprised!) - - - and now 4 months after I started using my Pedometer on a daily basis to monitor my activity, I have 2-3 days with 3,000+, and even one day that I've reached 4,000+. I'm very happy with my progress, and I haven't had to change my lifestyle all that much. I just keep on eye on my pedometer, and it gives me an instant reading on my activity and what I need to do in order to get more healthy and fit!
I don't know if I'll ever reach that 10,000 steps in a day, but it doesn't seem that impossible anymore!
After all, I have a plan
