Three Things I Learned Trying to Reach 10,000 Steps Per Day
My new health insurance offers an incentive program that pays me $20 every time I hit 10,000 steps 12 times or more in a month. I decided to accept that challenge and even recently purchased a new FitBit to help me keep track.
I am now a couple weeks into this challenge with relatively decent success. Along the way, I have learned three very important things.
1. 10,000 steps is not impossible to do. At first, I had some doubts about this, mostly because I sit behind a desk 8 hours per day and haven't been able to get out for my lunchtime walks because of the weather. I have, however, managed to hit that mark roughly once every other day.
2. It does, however, take some planning. A lot of it is really just shifting how I do things. For example, when I take mail to the mailbox, I make multiple trips rather than taking it all at once. If I need to use the rest room, I take the long way. And, when I'm at the ice rink, I make time to get some walking in (there's plenty of room) rather than just spending the whole time reading a book. I also will admit, my FitBit does a great job of reminding me to get up and move so I can keep the right pace throughout the day.
3. I need to do a better job watching my calorie intake. OK, this one actually did surprise me a bit because it's not like I shy away from food. But, when I first started doing this, I wound up pushing it a bit too far between meals/snacks and wound up with low blood sugar. I'm being careful not to necessarily add more calories to my diet now that I'm exercising more but to at least avoid a large gap.
I am now a couple weeks into this challenge with relatively decent success. Along the way, I have learned three very important things.
1. 10,000 steps is not impossible to do. At first, I had some doubts about this, mostly because I sit behind a desk 8 hours per day and haven't been able to get out for my lunchtime walks because of the weather. I have, however, managed to hit that mark roughly once every other day.
2. It does, however, take some planning. A lot of it is really just shifting how I do things. For example, when I take mail to the mailbox, I make multiple trips rather than taking it all at once. If I need to use the rest room, I take the long way. And, when I'm at the ice rink, I make time to get some walking in (there's plenty of room) rather than just spending the whole time reading a book. I also will admit, my FitBit does a great job of reminding me to get up and move so I can keep the right pace throughout the day.
3. I need to do a better job watching my calorie intake. OK, this one actually did surprise me a bit because it's not like I shy away from food. But, when I first started doing this, I wound up pushing it a bit too far between meals/snacks and wound up with low blood sugar. I'm being careful not to necessarily add more calories to my diet now that I'm exercising more but to at least avoid a large gap.
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