Log: Day 16
Feeling: Tired
WebMD says approximately 61% of adults in the USA are overweight. And according to the Surgeon General, about 300,000 deaths each year are linked to obesity. Those are sobering numbers, and a little scary.
The Surgeon General and the National Academy of Sciences recommend that we get an hour of physical activity every day in order to lose weight. Others say we need to exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3-5 days a week. And I’m doing that, at least in as much as I get about 90 minutes of water exercise. My current plan is to go M, T, Th, F, Sa.
But what if I can’t get myself in gear for more?
It’s hard to make a healthier life change when you’re trying to change all of your habits fairly dramatically. I don’t want to set myself up for failure! I’ve cleaned the cupboards, purchased the healthy foods, going to the pool, and now what? How do I make additional exercise so easy that I barely notice I’m doing it? According to Fitbit, it’s as easy as adding extra steps to my daily routine.
Step counting programs have been gaining popularity thanks to devices like Fitbit – simply tracking the steps you take in a day. Log your steps to figure out your average, then work to increase them. Nearly every step program suggests an optimum number as 10,000/day. What?!?! The week I started, I was averaging 1000. In all fairness, this isn’t because I’m lazy, it’s just that walking is quite painful – the more steps, the greater the pain. So I set my goal for 1500. I’ve gradually increased that over the past four months and am now at 2500. In busy weeks, I’ve managed a few days of 3500, but my body reminds me of that the next day. My Fitbit gives me a little celebration when I hit my goal, and also recently sent me a happy celebration email – just to let me know how I’m doing over time – 70 lifetime miles, which isn’t too great.