Walk On, Brothers and Sisters

I have to make a confession. I am very inefficient in my movements. This is not so good when you have a "to do" list a mile long each day in which you need to have completed in a certain amount of time. How it is good for me is that I am fairly active without having to think about it. Do you know how I know this about myself? It's the pedometer. Yes, a small contraption that you wear on your waist that counts how many steps you take. The national recommendation is 10,000 steps per day (equivalent to 5 miles). On the days that I don't do a formal workout, my count is 11,000-13,000 steps per day. Other than my self-confessed inefficiency, I am also caring for and cleaning up after my 2 young children. So Moms and Dads, this is a great way to "appreciate" cleaning those toys up over and over and over again!

This is a HUGE thing I stress in my consulting practice when counseling weight loss clients. DO NOT FORGET ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING. We count our calories and we make sure we're exercising regularly, but we don't remember the POWER of the rest of your day. In one of my public speaking presentations, I have this slide with a picture of a 24 Hour Fitness - I believe it's in California. There is an escalator right in front of it along with stairs adjacent to the escalator. A person sat outside of that 24 Hour Fitness watching people go in and out. Would you believe that in one entire business day, not ONE person went up those stairs?? Yep, they all opted for the escalator!! This proves the point that we are so compartmentalized in our activity. Only when I "officially working out" will I maximize the burn. Do you think your body knows when you are at 24 Hour Fitness versus moving boxes out of a closet or mopping the floor? Instead of analyzing which burns more, my point is that we all need to remember that our bodies are made to move everyday. Re-think all of your to do items as opportunities to move your body. Limit your screen time like television and recreational computer time to 2 hours per day so you can allow yourself to do other activities that require movement.

How much do you move your body each day? If you are in a job that requires excessive sitting in front of the computer, you may need to be one of those that need to be more conscious about the other hours of your day. Get a pedometer and wear it everyday for 7 days. Take those total steps and divide them by 7 to get your "baseline" steps per day. If you are way off of the 10,000 step mark, make your own realistic goal to increase your average steps per day - maybe by 200 or 500 steps.

Invest in a good, solid pedometer. There are many cheap ones on the market that count 10 steps when you...sneeze! The University of Tennessee found specific pedometers performed the most accurately. The Kenz Lifecorder, Yamax Digi-Walkers SW-200 and SW-701, New Lifestyles NL-2000, and the Sportline 330 ranked among the best. If you want to get more technical, you can consider getting an activity monitor. It looks like a pedometer, but it actually figures the intensity of your movement and will come up with a calorie expenditure number when provided with specific information about yourself. At my practice, we carry the Lifecorder PLUS and many of my clients love the detailed information it provides in order to increase their fitness and calorie burn levels.

The America On The Move website lists 100 ways to add 2,000 steps to your day. Check it out here. I gotta go, I'm gonna go vaccuum. Yippee!