Studies have found that using a pedometer to count your steps almost invariably results in an increased level of physical activity.
But how many steps should you be taking? And how do you use your pedometer to lose weight? What if you just want to lower your blood pressure, or improve your circulation?
The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General recommends walking 10,000 steps per day. So, regardless of your specific health goals, you can use this as a guideline in designing your personal walking program.
Don’t start off trying to walk 10,000 steps per day. Instead, clock how many steps you normally walk in a day, and then try increasing that by 10%. After a week, increase that by another 10%, until you hit your 10,000 step goal. You may be tempted to change your step count more quickly, but this could result in injury. Gradual increases in step counts will gently habituate your body to exercise.
If you’re interested in losing weight, you should aim to lose roughly 1 to 2 pounds per week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound, so if you burn 500 calories per day, you should lose 1 pound per week. On average, walking will burn 100 calories per mile. Once you’ve determined your stride length, you can figure out how many steps it takes for you to walk a mile. To burn 500 calories daily, you could set a goal of walking 5 miles a day, tracking your steps with your pedometer, or you could set a lower goal and cut your daily caloric intake to make up the difference.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s better to set small, realistic health goals and succeed at them then it is to set dramatically high goals that you cannot yet achieve. With time, you can work your way up to doing almost anything!
