A while back I read an article in a newspaper that said walking 10,000 steps was the key to a healthier lifestyle. Most people only managed to walk between 5000 and 6000 a day which is considered to be part of a sedentary lifestyle and is one of the causes of the obesity epidemic here in the UK.
Mamilein had given me a pedometer that she no longer needed, so I decided that I would use it to see how far off 10,000 steps a day was, without putting in an extras. No parking further from walk, or walking to the supermarket. This was my control, to find out how many steps a normal day consisted of. I was surprised to find in the first couple of days I was walking about 8000 steps, that was just day to day business at school. So I decided to step it up a gear (pun intended) to see what I would need to do just to increase my step count to the illusive 10,000.
I began by being more mindful of times when I could increase steps. I would park further away in the supermarket car park, I ran up and down the stairs a few times to add steps to my counter, I walked the long was round to get to the corner shop.
Soon enough I was reaching the 10,000 plus mark on my counter on a daily basis. I haven't worked out what this is in kilometres and miles, yet. I feel so much better for doing this, I know that if I can't be bothered to go swimming or to aerobics I don't have to feel guilty as I am walking a lot in my day to day life. Some days its easy to reach 10,000 steps, particularly when I take the bus to walk and have to walk up the hill at home time. Other days it's a struggle to get past 8000 steps, but I feel on the whole they balance each other out.
Today I returned home after a long day, I travelled on the bus and decided to get off a couple of stops earlier so that I could get a Chai Latte for my walk to school. I knew I had a first aid course after school until early evening and just got on with things. By the time I had walked up the hill and got on the bus (at the wrong stop according to the bus driver) and collapsed into my seat, I had managed to clock up and impressive 13,000 steps and by the time I got home it had just past 14,000. I feel very proud of myself and think I deserve a well earned soak in the tub. Which id where I 'm off right now, ciao.
XXXC
Check out these sites for more information on the benefits of walking 10,000
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