10,000 Steps a Day for a Year!

This is a special blog entry. One year ago, I started my first Wellness Challenge at the local YMCA. Part of the requirements for the challenge were to walk 70,000 steps each week. Thus began the journey of all the stepping... and walking away all those extra pounds!

The pedometer you see pictured here is actually the second one since the challenge. The first pedometer broke a few months ago. I purchased the same kind and I highly recommend this pedometer. It's by Sportline and sells for about $20. You just can't kill it, as it's been dropped, stomped on, etc. I'm amazed how it keeps going!

The American Heart Association recommends walking 10,000 steps a day for optimal health. This is the reason I kept at it even after the challenge ended. There is only one day that I didn't get my steps in; on March 8 of this year, I had the stomach flu.

I was in a second challenge at the Y in the fall, along with a challenge sponsored by the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce. In Bridgeport, after ten weeks, I came in at number five overall with steps well over a million.

So you might be wondering how many steps does this mean that I did in a year? Well, I would say about a third of the days had over 15,000 steps and there were some 20,000 steps as well. I know it's well over 3,650,000, that's for sure. If you convert the estimated number I just gave you that would come out to be 1728.2 miles. To put that in perspective, it means that I could have walked from Connecticut to Florida with steps left over.

I feel exhausted just thinking about how much walking that is! But to those of you that are trying to lose weight, try not to get overwhelmed. If you walk an hour a day, that's roughly 10,000 steps. Between taking the dog out for a walk and maybe walking during lunch, you can get those steps in easy!

I don't know if I want to continue wearing a pedometer every day. I really wanted to go for a year, but I'll wear it for a while longer. I don't really need the pedometer now as I can judge when I've gotten enough exercise.

It feels great to know that I reached my goal, in my steps and my weight!