10,000 Steps to Losing Pounds
Last week, on my way back to the office from lunch, I overheard in the elevator a woman asking her colleague if he's still "accomplishing" 10,000 steps a day. They guy answered in a dismayed tone that he had lost his pedometer but he still tries to achieve his goal everyday. At that time, I realized that I have read before about this "10K steps a day" and how it helps us lose pounds without the complexity of going to the gym. A few more research and I chanced upon this site which gives a background on this program.
According to the www.accustep10000.org site:
The 10,000 Steps-A-Day program was developed in Japan in 1965 by Dr. Hatano. This program was started as a way to get people moving and to have people start thinking about leading an active lifestyle in all that they do.
Why 10,000? The Surgeon General for years has advocated that people get at least 30 minutes of exercise, equal to brisk walking, a day. The Cooper Institute calculated that brisk walking (3-4 mph) 7,000 steps a day (minimum) to 10,000 steps a day (optimum) would easily meet the lifestyle goals of 30 minutes a day of moderately intense physical activity, the level also recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General.
The great aspect of the 10,000 Steps-A-Day program is that it creates a lifestyle of being active, instead of trying to block out a time each day to get your 30 minutes of exercise; you can be active all day in your normal daily activities.
At the same time, they also listed on that page some simple ways to achieve these 10,000 steps (I listed below those that apply to the Pinoy lifestyle):
At work:
Of course, you cannot count your steps manually so I also looked for where I can buy one here and I chanced upon this blog where the writer talked about where he bought his pedometer. Thoughts guys?
According to the www.accustep10000.org site:
The 10,000 Steps-A-Day program was developed in Japan in 1965 by Dr. Hatano. This program was started as a way to get people moving and to have people start thinking about leading an active lifestyle in all that they do.
Why 10,000? The Surgeon General for years has advocated that people get at least 30 minutes of exercise, equal to brisk walking, a day. The Cooper Institute calculated that brisk walking (3-4 mph) 7,000 steps a day (minimum) to 10,000 steps a day (optimum) would easily meet the lifestyle goals of 30 minutes a day of moderately intense physical activity, the level also recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General.
The great aspect of the 10,000 Steps-A-Day program is that it creates a lifestyle of being active, instead of trying to block out a time each day to get your 30 minutes of exercise; you can be active all day in your normal daily activities.
At the same time, they also listed on that page some simple ways to achieve these 10,000 steps (I listed below those that apply to the Pinoy lifestyle):
At work:
- Park at the end of the mall that’s farthest from your shopping destination (in the average mall you add 4 minutes round trip to your total time-it only feels shorter when you park closer and the extra four minutes of activity add to you health and wellness.)
- Always park farther from the entrance
- Take the stairs whenever possible
- Go for a 5-minute “nonsmoking” walk when co-workers take a smoke break
- Get up from your desk and take a 3-minute walk every hour (good for the eyes and back)
- Deliver messages to co-workers in person instead of using inter-office mail or e-mail
- Use a cordless/cell phone and walk while you talk
- Do upper body or leg exercises while watching television
- Have “walking meetings” at work
- Play music and dance around the house
- Spend an evening dancing instead of at the movies
- Spend time with friends and family, walking at the zoo, at the museum, through the botanical gardens, or a park
- Have an exercise date-walk, play a sport, visit a park with a friend
Of course, you cannot count your steps manually so I also looked for where I can buy one here and I chanced upon this blog where the writer talked about where he bought his pedometer. Thoughts guys?