12,500 Steps A Day to a Better YOU!

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-three today and we don't know where the hell she is. ~Ellen DeGeneres

Do you know how many steps you actually take every day? (I didn’t.)

Walking is great exercise- I actually find it quite tolerable. So, when my company announced a walking challenge recently, I didn’t hesitate to sign up.

The challenge runs from June 14 through July 25. You commit to walking a certain number of steps each day and at the end you get a t-shirt, entry into a drawing and, hopefully, a greater appreciation for walking. There are 4 different options provided when determining how many steps you will accomplish each day, and they throw in a great little pedometer for good measure!

Because I didn’t know for sure how many steps I take during any given day, I (naturally) chose the highest level: 12, 500. No one can accuse me of being a lightweight (er...I mean, when it comes to challenges- I usually do not do things in small ways.) but I sometimes jump in head first on these things without truly understanding the gravity of the situation and I did not really think that 12, 500 was excessive….

…Until yesterday, when I walked a whopping 1771 steps ALL DAY. That is 10,729 steps short of my daily commitment for this challenge. While I think yesterday was NOT typical (I am sedentary, but not THAT sedentary!), this does tell me that 12, 500 is a helluva lot of steps. I am now struggling with my decision to stay in this category, but on the other hand -I think it will be good for me to at least try.

Today I decided to pick things up a notch. I wanted to see if I could find ways to increase my walk time…only I proceeded to lose my pedometer before my lunchtime walk. (It was recovered by one of my co-workers later in the day.)

I considered a few options for getting in steps!

1. Walk in the morning before work (means getting up early though- ugh)

2. Walking over to talk to people rather than sending an email. (time consuming, but good for building rapport)

3. Walk at lunch (I used to do this and quite like it.)

4. Take more breaks during the day (already do this –getting up to walk every hour)

5. Walking in to office from furthest parking lot (this can easily be 10 – 20 minutes each way)

6. Walking at home after dinner with hubby.

7. My normal C25K run can count towards steps.

I am going to give this a go tomorrow - see I can't come close.