10,000 Steps

I got a pedometer yesterday.  I've never had one before, and I love new gadgets, so it was probably more exciting than it should have been.  I was told that I'm supposed to get in 10,000 steps a day; seeing as how I have no idea what that really means, I was both intimidated and completely underwhelmed.  For the average American, it apparently equals about 5 miles.  I sit at work about 70% of the time, and at home, I cook dinner, clean, and watch TV.  On non-gym days I clock more couch time than I should.

I was given a new perspective on TV watching yesterday- it's not that it turns our minds to mush (well, it probably does that too)- but we SIT while we're watching!  After sitting all day, we come home and sit some more.  Humans weren't made for sitting all the time- we're built for moving around.  The average sedentary American gets in about 1,000-3,000 steps a day- between a tenth and a third of what we're supposed to be getting in.  That's a lot of movement that isn't being done.

Anyways- I got in 6,252 steps yesterday, after putting the pedometer on around 10 AM.  Better than I thought, considering it was a non-gym day.  I was also very aware of it- around 9PM when I had only taken 5,000 steps, I might have walked around the living room for a while- I wanted to get in at least 6,000.  The guidelines for increasing weight loss are a little more- it ups me to 12,000 steps per day- about double what I got in yesterday.  Looks like I need to start moving more.  Now- today is a gym day, so we'll see that that comes out to- but it's daunting to say the least.  It's also interesting to find out what you're really doing movement wise.

This is also my weekly weigh-in post- so here goes:

This week: -.4 lbs
Total: -10.2 lbs

Now that the holidays are over, I can be proud that I am now below where I was a week before Thanksgiving.  There was a lot of rollercoastering in the last two months, but I feel like I came through the holidays unscathed.  Or, at least, not fatter.  Go me!  Next week will be one year since I started this mess of a blog and I'm excited to see what I've lost and kept off after a year at this!