New ticker for this month

I'm resetting my pedometer for 6,000 steps a day. Our weather has been so warm that so far, I've been able to exceed that, although the cold is coming back this week-end. Yesterday I did 10,700. I walked around the parking lot when I bought groceries, and around the condo in the afternoon with some classical music. Most of the articles I've read on using pedometers recommend 10,000 a day. I plan to work up to that, but not being an exercise-role model like Joanne, I'll not set my expectations too high.

The challenge

I'm glad I didn't set this any higher than 5000 steps a day, because I'm barely scraping by.

My pedometer goal

In November I wrote about the advantages of wearing a pedometer. During this high calorie Christmas season when it is cold and drippy outside, I'm setting a goal of 5,000 steps a day through January 5, 2008. If I can do more, I will, but if I set it too high, I'll get discouraged. My computer download is a bit slow, so as it creeps on screen, I get up, walk through the living room and kitchen and return to my office, adding valuable steps instead of fuming at my CRT.




Update: Because the ticker will forward each day, I'll note here that my first day was 2527 steps, so I didn't meet the 5000 goal--maybe if I'd gone to the supermarket, but it was too nasty to leave the house.

Yesterday I walked five miles

Yes, but before I break my arm patting myself on the back, let me tell you I was wearing a step pedometer, and only one mile was "exercise" done outside. The rest was my normal activities at home, and going out twice to shop. This week I read, "Using pedometers to increase physical activity and improve health" (a review article) in the Nov 21, 2007 issue of JAMA (many public libraries have a subscription). The researchers had reviewed 26 published studies that reported on pedometers among outpatients, 8 randomized controlled trials, and 18 observational. The conclusion was that use of a pedometer is associated with significant increases in physical activity and significant decreases in body mass index and blood pressure. This was across all ages, races, gender, and state of health.

Some guidelines specifically recommend 10,000 steps a day, although I don't know that this goal would change the outcome. So, ladies, clip on that pedometer. I'm not sure why it works, but people, me included, seem to increase their activity level when using a pedometer.