Have you ever counted your steps? Was it shocking?

[mrs-b]

Absolutely dancing counts! And it burns lots of calories too. Not that you need any help. You’re doing an amazing job. 2500-2600 Calories. Impressive!

Thanks, @missy! I'm working on it HARD. I do at least 2 types of cardio a day and something yoga or tai-chi-ish. Mostly, it's because I'm bored. Partly, it's because I let my fitness get riiiiight away from me after I had my year of back issues and gained so much weight. I still have a long way to go to get the band back together, but I'm hoping I make it. On the other hand, I have a telecon on Monday with a surgeon re the possibility or a repair for a strangulated hernia - so - as always - swings and roundabouts....

Here's a photo of me, half way through my Covid-10 Health and Beauty Makeover. I'd love to lose a bunch more weight - like - a bunch! But I'm happy with my progress thus far and am hoping to hit 60 in better shape than I crawled through 59.

 

[Missy]

Thanks, @missy! I'm working on it HARD. I do at least 2 types of cardio a day and something yoga or tai-chi-ish. Mostly, it's because I'm bored. Partly, it's because I let my fitness get riiiiight away from me after I had my year of back issues and gained so much weight. I still have a long way to go to get the band back together, but I'm hoping I make it. On the other hand, I have a telecon on Monday with a surgeon re the possibility or a repair for a strangulated hernia - so - as always - swings and roundabouts....

Here's a photo of me, half way through my Covid-10 Health and Beauty Makeover. I'd love to lose a bunch more weight - like - a bunch! But I'm happy with my progress thus far and am hoping to hit 60 in better shape than I crawled through 59.

Beautiful
you go girl!!!

 

[mrs-b]

Beautiful ❤
you go girl!!!

Thank you, dear girl - I'm trying. ox

 

[rainydaze]

You're lovely, @mrs-b , inside and out!

I got a FitBit years ago. My step count was low (sometimes under 1k, usually around 2k). It wasn't a surprise per se but I didn't love having that confirmation staring back at me. It did work to motivate me and I was able to get it up to 10k pretty regularly, with some 15k days thrown in. My exercise of choice is walking - we have a great neighborhood and trails nearby, so that made it easy as far as step-counting goes.

I stopped tracking for a couple of years. Just before the isolation started, I had decided to put my tracker back on. My daily goal is 10k and my secret daily goal is 15k . As long as I take a three-mile walk I easily hit the 15k mark, along with all of the other steps I take too. Several laps around our cul-de-sac also makes it happen, all the better if I do it two or three times a day (obvs). I've had a few 18-20k days now that the weather is nicer (we're not far from each other geologically) - y'know, that and isolation being quite the motivator lol! I'm also using Zoom to get healthy again, which allows me to track my progress in terms of calories, food patterns, step patterns, loss and gain patterns, etc. When I do 10k steps I stay the same or lose a little. When I hit 15k I always lose *and* I also get to enjoy a few more calories while still losing/maintaining.

 

[mrs-b]

Things have picked up, fitness-wise, consistently since I started this thread. I hit 10k most days now and today I got to 15k.

I occasionally have days of 2 or 3k - when my Crohn's flares and I can't leave my bedroom/bathroom, but on the whole it's 10k every day and regularly more.

I think that's awesome, given where I started! My speed has picked up also. I have significant arthritis in my knees, and walking was initially very painful. But the pain and symptoms have decreased over the months of exercising, to the extent where it's almost disappeared. When I first started exercising, I'd have to stop 3 and 4 times while walking the 1/2 mile around my block. With all the stops, it would take me 30 minutes. Now, 5 months later, it takes me 20 minutes to walk a mile, and today I walked 6 miles, all at the same pace, no stopping.

I'm *so* happy with my progress and hope to continue improving in the coming months. For people like me, coming back after illness or injury, or for those who have simply never exercised, I hope this gives some measure of encouragement. #GoOldLadies!

 

[jordyonbass]

I never did but last year when I got my new phone it had the step counter already setup and ready to go and was quite surprised, I also figured out why I lost 60lb a few years ago.

I average around 10k per day
A lazy day means I don't crack 6k
My largest single day - 27k, just under 15 miles on the sides of two mountains

 

[rainydaze]

That's awesome mrs-b! It's incredible that you fought through the arthritic pain, and wonderful that it's nearly/all gone. I have heard that before, that walking can be one of the best remedies for that.

Indeed, your update is inspiring. I get sick of wearing my tracker and inevitably take it off after a few months. I know my count goes right down when I do (where I am at now). You have me motivated to put it back on and get moving more again. It really does make a difference (I have an autoimmune with inflammation and joint problems myself)!

 

[pearlsngems]

I do about 5,000 steps on the treadmill every day, plus whatever other walking I do in the course of my day. Nowhere near 10K though, now that I am staying home and having all my groceries and other supplies delivered.

I suppose I could add a second walk every day, but I'm not sure my aging joints would appreciate it.

 

[Missy]

Not counting steps right now but working out daily (elliptical and weights and balance exercises) as well as cycling as often as we can. We hit 5,040 miles on the bike since we started cycling this year in Mid May. Not bad. We are behind last year's cycling miles but that is because I am now doing weights and weight bearing exercises before we cycle so not as much time to cycle. Still not too shabby IMO.

Yesterday's tally of the total miles so far since May.




So not counting steps but counting miles.


And why we love cycling so much. It feels like flying. We are free and it is a marvelous feeling cycling by the sea.

 

[voce]

Thank you for posting that, Missy! I was going to look for it myself. I saw that some months ago, that longevity benefits leveled off around 7500 steps, so I set the goal of about that many for my "intentional exercise" steps, with the assumption that I probably get another 1500-2000 per day in other daily activities. (I don't know for sure because I just use the step counter built into my phone, and I only carry that on me when I leave the house, including for running and dog-walking.) As mentioned in the article, that number only applies to overall longevity, not to specific disorders such as heart disease or dementia. I did see another study a few years ago on male Scottish postal workers, if I remember correctly. Ones who reached or exceeded an average of 15,000 steps per day had significant improvement in various tests of markers for cardiovascular disease, regardless of age or family history of heart disease, so I tried to hit that as a goal - but, boy oh boy, was that really, really hard! Not much success.

My goal is set to 7500 steps too, and for the same reason! I'm walking at least 5 hours on the treadmill a week to stave off my other health issues.

However, I don't much care what the step counter on my Fitbit HR says, reason being...

I use a treadmill desk where I've set up a laptop, and while my steps easily gets to 9k-10k while I'm swinging my arms on the treadmill for an hour, if I happen to be playing World of Warcraft instead of watching Netflix to keep my mind occupied (having NOTHING to do on the treadmill is dreadfully boring and kills my willpower), then my arms lie flat while I take steps, and my steps don't register!

I'm happy that my record steps per day was 33k-ish, on a day I went shopping and walking around downtown Boston and Newbury St. Frankly I'd be happy to do it again from a physical exertion standpoint (my arms were sore too from holding my own bags), but my wallet would disagree!

 

[mrs-b]

I've been pushing it more lately because I've found I just feel so much better when I go a little further, do a little more. And, altho I always exercise in the morning, I also save half an hour of aerobic indoor walking for after dinner (a 2 mile programme), because it works my evening meal through my body more effectively and I sleep way better.

In the morning I walk around our local area with my husband for half an hour, which I really enjoy, and I try to get a yoga class in at least 3 times a week, sometimes 4. And every day I do 10 minutes of abs exercises as well. All up it's a well rounded routine and is working for me nicely.

 

[lilmosun]

Good for you!

Admittedly, I am NOT a physically active person by nature (aka lazy). I do wear a fitness tracker to get savings on my health insurance. Unless it's to get somewhere, the only way you can get me to exercise is if I make the commitment and sign up for classes.

Before COVID, I easily tracked 10,000 steps/day when going into the office (downtown). Working from home, I was shocked that it was more like 2,000. I now make a point of walking the dog at lunch so I can get past 5,000.

Fortunately my studio has been offering virtual livestream classes, so I am doing (vinyasa) yoga 2-3 times/week and a barre class once a week. I really find that yoga also takes away a lot of the mental tension of working from home.

 

[kenny]

The only time it was shocking to count my steps was when I walked from my cell to that electric chair.