10,000 Steps!

My old pedometer broke. I got it for free at some event at Fry's that also had 25 cent hot dogs. I should have appreciated the opportunity while it lasted instead of leaving it in my purse stashed away in a drawer all the time, after a few months the display disappeared. Maybe it can still count steps, but I have no way knowing.

Kaiser recommends 10,000 steps per day. They have a program. It's called the 10,000 Steps Program.

I wondered how many steps I took in a day. My chance to find out arrived in the mail a few days ago.

  My new pedometer

I had returned my old first generation ipod in Apple's replacement program (yay for not throwing away useless things, my ipod could only hold a charge for 5 minutes, what a tease) and they actually sent me a new one, the current generation. It's so tiny I thought I'd never use it. But then, I discovered this program that tracks your running distances, times, etc. and how many steps you take while walking. It has a clip so I keep it clipped to my pants and counting all day.

You might think walking, versus activities like p90x or crossfit, wouldn't make a huge difference. But I have great hope in this 10,000 step plan. I think walking might be better than those other fitness plans for  a number of reasons:

Example A: I made it through one session of p90x a few weeks ago and could not walk properly for a week. Not only could I not walk right, I avoided walking and any form of movement because it was all so incredibly painful. Perhaps a continuous low impact activity like walking done all day everyday is better than a high impact activity that puts me out of commission for a week.

Example B: Jared from Subway.

Example C: If you don't believe in the story of Jared, I give you the story of my brother. When he returned from a two-year stint in Taiwan I thought he had starved himself for duration of his trip. If my grandmother were still around, I imagine she would have been quite upset and would sit by him each meal refilling his plate after each bite to make sure he was rehabilitated to his normal figure. I doubt he was ever officially overweight but he was always the chubby smiling kid with big glasses. Now I think he has to wear slim fit or he might look like he's drowning in his clothes (that might be a slight exaggeration). Also in recent years he underwent lasik, so no more glasses, no more cute cheeks. Oh how the times have changed. It turns out he did eat pretty well in Taiwan (how can you not?) but he didn't have a car so he walked... a lot. And since he wasn't working in finance, which means spending 18 hours a day confined to a desk, he went out and played outdoor activities like sports. No diet. No goal. It just happened.

Walking works.

My aim is not to look different or shrink my clothes size, I just want to be healthier overall. Less processed foods, more cooking from whole foods, and more walking. (Also, I am training to see the elephant seals. Maybe I will tell you about that another day.)

Yesterday, I finally walked 10,000 steps for the first time with my new pedometer.

I tend to sit in my chair at work, in front of my computer screen, and only get up for lunch and bathroom breaks. There isn't much walking or moving in my days. Yesterday had quite a few extra factors that helped me get in more steps. 1. A new Target opened near work so I went during lunch and did a few rounds around the store. 2. I intentionally took breaks to get up and walk around the building. 3. I went to a sporting event (to watch, of course). We had to walk all the way around the coliseum to get the basketball arena from the BART station. 4. Our seats were high up in the stands so all the going up and down the stairs to get snacks and bio breaks were a little something extra. Unfortunately, I ended up incredibly hungry after the game and ate my lunch for the next day. I blame the funny-smelling people sitting in the row in front. Oh well, I got in more than 10,000 steps!

Just having a pedometer on you is like playing a game or being in a competition and having a real-time point tally. It really changes your perspective on things. No parking spots near the store? Great! Extra steps entering and exiting- that's a double bonus! Need to climb lots of stairs? That's a lot of steps in a condensed space, you get extra steps in less amount of time. It's like a challenge round, you should race against the timer and double time them. The items you want in the store are all located in different sections? Instead of figuring out the shortest path, figure out the longest path and speed walk. Carrying the items around are like having special items like mushrooms, stars or banana peels in mariokart.

Pedometers are great! And if you think they are not cool... I think mine can plays music too.