Monday, 12/31/12

It's the last day of the old year, and you've been logging steps for maybe 4-6 days. Does it feel like you're slipping into a routine? I know that the first thing I've been doing is to set up the day's post, so that it's ready when we want to post our steps. Here's more from Maria Popova over at The Atlantic, on forming new habits.

Sunday, 12/30/12

So, how is it going? Are the pedometers staying on? Are you remembering to put them on, and zero them at either the beginning or end of the day? I've been zeroing mine out when I first wake up, then logging my steps for the past day. What have you been doing?

Saturday, 12/29/12

So, maybe you're not back at work yet, but it will be interesting to see how different your count is on a weekend, as opposed to a weekday!

Friday, 12/28/12

So, how many steps for today? Are you starting to see a pattern? Or is it pretty random?

Thursday, 12/27/12

So, how did you do today?

Wed, 12/26/12

Looks like the pedometer is also counting movements. So, while I was composing this email and shaking my leg, it was counting. So, in order to get a more accurate count, take it off when you're not actually walking. Or, if that's too much of a pain, just keep it on, but look at your steps with a grain of salt. Either way, you'll know more at the end of the day about your activity than you did at the beginning.

A Step in a New Direction

Let's take a step in a new direction. We will all be better for getting more physically active in 2013, and counting and documenting daily steps is a great way to start. Using your pedometers, take a minute at the end of each day to make a comment to log how many steps you took during the day. There is no need to compare with anyone else other than yourself. At the beginning, let's just count our daily steps, and see where we are. I find that my daily steps can vary from as many as 11,000 (on a day where I'm very busy at work, or making an effort to exercise), to as few as 2,000 (when I'm concentrating on school). Let's get started!