Is this enough?

violasmith85

I can't get my steps up to 10000 per day. My job is causing weight loss simply because I went from very sedentary to pretty darn active. I work in a tower. I climb 8 floors to get to the top where I work, then I go up and down between two floors all day. I usually average about 35-50 floors a day. The issue is each floor is very small. Their little control rooms and I can't even walk back and forth across the rooms they're so small. I'm averaging about 5k steps a day and I'm usually walking back and forth down my hallway just so I can get the last few hundred steps in so I hit 5k before I go to bed. I keep reading that I need to be hitting 10k steps but I'm so tired after work that I can't make myself go out and take a walk to try and hit that number. Are the stairs enough to make up for that difference?

troytroy11

It is outstanding that you are able to do that many floors a day and get paid for it. What you are doing is more intense than walking; there are equivalent charts you can Google. It depends on a number of factors such as speed. You are also building strength with the stairs. Excellent!

TavistockToad

Why do you 'need' to do 10k? Outside of running I do between 3000- 6000 which has never harmed my weight loss?

tillerstouch

10,000 steps is honestly irrelevant despite everyone being so obsessed over it. What's important for weight loss is a calorie deficit which doesn't require any amount of exercise really (although it can help increase your deficit)

As for heart and other healthy body effects steps isn't important either, what's important is getting 30 minutes where you increase your heart rate. Studies even show that breaking the 30 minutes out into 3 10 minute periods has the same benefits as 30 straight minutes.

So really the question is what is your goal? If your goal is weight loss steps per day doesn't matter.

violasmith85

Thanks guys. That makes me feel better. I won't worry about the steps then. I think i'll take tillerstouch's advice and aim to get 30 minutes of increased heart rate. That would be simple enough if I go up and down the stairs for 10 minutes 3 times during the day. That will also boost up my floors per day count.

tillerstouch

I think the 10,000 steps is really just to encourage people to be more active in their day. Goodluck!

nordlead2005

Steps is a convenient way to monitor general activity, but it isn't the ultimate measure that everyone should aim for either. I'm lucky if I hit 4000 steps in a day and it is "enough" because steps doesn't translate to being fit directly.

If you want to be fit, pick your goals first and rank them, and then find activities that progress you to your goals. Steps can be a good activity to reach a goal, but it isn't working for you and that is ok.

kwtilbury

violasmith85 wrote: »

My job is causing weight loss simply because I went from very sedentary to pretty darn active.

There's your answer.