Recently, I replaced the batteries on my pedometer and decided to get back in the habit of wearing it. In the past when I have worn the pedometer, I did not always manage to get my 10,000 daily steps, but I came close. When I was really in the zone, I would do things like walk in place while watching television to get extra steps; walk to the mail box on the corner after Bub was in bed; and do my best to walk everywhere that Bub and I went (parks, CVS, Jewel, Einstein's bagel, etc.).
Being reunited with my pedometer has not yielded impressive results so far, despite the fact that I have purposely taken walks a few times to take advantage of the spring-ish weather (temperatures in the high thirties now feel like spring to me). Here are my stats:
Sunday: 4103
Monday: 1294
Tuesday: 1078
Wednesday: 1745
Thursday: 1774
Friday: 3352
Saturday: 3385*
Sunday: 919
TODAY: 1550
As you can see, "not to brag" is not a necessary caveat for these stats.
What conclusions can be drawn?
1. I need to move more throughout the day. I feel like I am going up and down the steps hundreds of times a day, but it seems unlikely based on these stats.
2. Winter is tough, and I am less active in this season than I ever realized. However, if the weather is at all decent, I need to bundle the boys up and strap them into the stroller for some walks. Easier said than done but certainly not impossible.
3. I need to find a way to blog and check facebook while walking . . . just kidding. Not going to happen, but I can do some walking in place while I watch television (though, truth be told, I haven't had much television time lately).
4. Moms who attribute their great figures to nothing more than "keeping up with/chasing their little ones" may not be telling the whole truth.
Though my steps are fewer than I expected, I am kind of excited to have this much room for improvement. You know how when you read weight loss articles and you think "But I already drink skim milk instead of whole and diet soda instead of regular. I already avoid crispy chicken sandwiches. I'm already aware that a salad is not going to help me lose weight when slathered in full fat ranch dressing. I know to avoid the bread basket. And on and on" and you wish you had some big changes like that you could make. Well, now I feel like I have a big change I can make. New mantra: "Move more."
What about you, have you ever worn a pedometer? Any suggestions for ways to extra steps in throughout the day?
* I did walk more on Saturday, but we went out that night. Since we so rarely go out on weekend nights (or ever), I opted not to sport the pedometer on my waist band. We ended up walking home from the bar even though my feet really hurt. When I started mentioning how badly my feet hurt, hubby noted, "This is just like old times." So then we had a moment.
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8 comments:
Love those moments! :-) The freezer jam is SO easy. I use the recipe on the Sure-Jell package. You cook the sugar, sure-jell, but you don't actually cook the berries. That's what keeps it bright red.
I laughed out loud at your moment with T-baby.
I figured out that I walked 1.7 miles every work day when I was pregnant, which made me feel like a rockstar (and much better about the fact that I never went to the gym during pregnancy.) These days I go out once in the afternoon, but rarely go beyond a 5 block radius. My apartment is so small, that I figure I probably take about a quarter of the steps you've been taking.
Oh, and we have an elevator, so I don't even do steps.
I have a pedometer on my phone but the paja.., I mean, clothes I wear don't have pockets, so it's tough to carry it all the time. One of these days, I'm going to have to get dressed first thing and stick my phone in my pocket, just to see how many steps I actually take in a day. I too feel like I am going up and down our stairs all day. I'll bet my numbers aren't that great, though.
I keep the laptop on top of our CD/DVD cabinet, which is a little taller than waist height, and I stand at it in the mornings. I'm generally not walking in place or anything, but at least I'm burning more calories than sitting. I hope.
This post is motivation for me. I do not have the nerve to wear a pedometer at my current level of physical activity. It's crazy how easy it is to quit moving and not even think about it. m
Your numbers horrify me. Not for anything you did or did not do, but because I KNOW you have to be walking more than me. I never leave my driveway not in my van, and when I'm in my house, I don't really leave my kitchen. I know what you mean about knowing all the food tricks -- I feel like I can't really make any other quick calorie fixes (I guess except to stop eating all the Cheezits). I loved the walking home with Hubby story. So something J. would say to me as well.
Very eye opening post. With the cold and snow of winter, I rarely even wall out to the mailbox (I call bb on his way home from work and as him to grab it when he pulls in... Pathetic!). Plus I barely leave the house because of little peanut.
Love your mention of the popular weight loss recommendations that magazines keep reprinting... Your take on it is so true.
Never worn a pedometer myself. I will say that after I had my winter baby a few years ago, I went to malls to walk quite a bit and I did a lot of pushups, planks, and jump squats (squat down, jump up). I did not lose any weight doing this because the bottom line was that I was eating too much....just tired all the time, so consumed a lot of cookies! Good luck "moving more."
Love the new look on the blog spot...very you! Rita
conclusion number 4 sounds right to me. and what about all that baby fat i was supposed to lose just by breast feeding? i'm happy it happens that way for some women, didn't happen for me...
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