Jane from out network posts this report on her first few months with 10,000 steps a day. Hope it inspires you too!
Experiences from starting a 10,000 step a day routine.
Yep, its true walking more does make me feel good. It has very low “barriers to entry” for getting into good exercise habits.
I have encountered a few issues, 10,000 steps takes quite a lot of time, which needs to be planned into my day. Leaving kids at school and walking 2 metro stops makes 6,000 steps before ! Then lunch time I need to either have an exercise session or find a lunch restaurant a bit further away than the handiest one. I have sometimes had to prioritize exercise over eating and then eat at my desk.
I bought 2 pedometers and gave one to my partner; in the beginning we sent an SMS to each other when we had made 10,000; I find the competitive element fun. Some days I have forgotten my pedometer and I have to use my own judgement to approximate. To help I have made a simple spreadsheet where I put in the number of steps (about 20 days out of 30 per month; no-one is perfect!) and then I can take an average more easily. I have also found and adapted a conversion table so that I can include other activities such as swimming and aerobics in my step counting.
As I am already relatively fit and my weight has remained stable. The benefits for me are that I sleep better which has led to more energy and better mental balance during the day. I really recommend walking and aiming for 10,000 steps a day as part of a healthy lifestyle.
I would like to loose about 4 kilos (half a stone) so for the next 3 months I am going to increase the amount of “other” exercise I do and aim for at least 10,000 steps every day. More on my progress in the future.