Step goals and consistency

sammidelvecchio

In 2016 I was averaging less than 2,000 steps a day. I was dealing with an insane work schedule, chronic pain issues, depression and my dad had recently been diagnosed with late stage cancer.

Over the last few years, I have advocated for myself and my health. I have been in psychotherapy for over a year to work on my mental illness(es), finally found a doctor who will help with my chronic illness and got diagnosed and on the right medication, adopted and trained a psychiatric support dog, and learned to make exercise a priority in my life again.

Today I am averaging around 10,000 steps a day and I enjoy being outside or on a treadmill. I also participate in weekly step challenges on Garmin and usually place pretty high! Sometimes its a long road to becoming more active and it can take a lot of steps (LOL). We might face a lot of barriers but it is possible with dedication and self love!

What has your journey been like? Have you used step count to help you get back to a functioning place in society? What is your average like today versus the past?

NovusDies

For the last 2 years I have been on a quest to change my fate. I started sub sedentary in early 2018. Standing was difficult walking was extremely limited, both were painful. In early 2019 I was lightly active averaging 7k-ish steps a day and they were often hard to get due to a physical impediment that was waiting for me to lose enough to get surgery.

In the fall of last year I finally qualified for surgery and after a long recovery I am quite pleased to say that I almost always exceed what I could do in an entire day through most of last year before the sun is fully up now. My 7d average is a little lower right now due to rain and more rain but even still it is at 16,376. My 30d average is 17,481.

sammidelvecchio

@NovusDies that is awesome!

goalachiever2019

You both are inspiring. I just got on the bandwagon of step counting. I use the elliptical m-f 2 miles in 20 minutes.
My first week of step counting I averaged 4-5 k steps. Second week less due to me twisting my ankle ( a frequent thing with me). This week m-thurs I have already hit over 45 k steps. Averaging a bit over 11k a day.
I am planning on keeping up with the elliptical and hopefully hit 12 k steps a day m-f all of next week.

I know you need a clorie deficit for weight loss but that isn't my question. My question is... Do you find step counting alone helps with your weight loss? I ask as so many on here push weights (it's great if you can do them) but what about those of us who are starting out or have issues where we can't lift the weight amount that benefits.
Is walking good enough on its own?

ninerbuff

I shoot for at least 13,000 steps a day. As of late I've been exceeding that. I don't really like to do cardio, so to keep up my calorie burn, I try to stay on my feet as much as I can and walk to places close enough rather than drive if I need something.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

NovusDies

goalachiever2019 wrote: »

You both are inspiring. I just got on the bandwagon of step counting. I use the elliptical m-f 2 miles in 20 minutes.
My first week of step counting I averaged 4-5 k steps. Second week less due to me twisting my ankle ( a frequent thing with me). This week m-thurs I have already hit over 45 k steps. Averaging a bit over 11k a day.
I am planning on keeping up with the elliptical and hopefully hit 12 k steps a day m-f all of next week.

I know you need a clorie deficit for weight loss but that isn't my question. My question is... Do you find step counting alone helps with your weight loss? I ask as so many on here push weights (it's great if you can do them) but what about those of us who are starting out or have issues where we can't lift the weight amount that benefits.
Is walking good enough on its own?

Starting out you need a calorie deficit and the ability to stay within it without misery (at least most days). If you are capable, as you seem to be, among the next set of goals should be to rise above sedentary. It is not required to lose weight but that is shortsighted when it comes to overall health and, imo, maintenance. I looked at how little I would be allowed to eat at a goal weight if I stayed as inactive as I was when I first started and it was not much. One of my goals had to be to give myself more calories so that I could enjoy living the rest of my life while maintaining. Steps alone will get me there.

However, I am not just starting out and I have placed a high priority on strength training. A priority I should have probably been paying attention to sooner. Not at the beginning but sooner. There were things I could have been doing even with resistance bands that would have helped.

Make your changes over time. You don't need to jump from 5k to 12k. If you can do that easily fine but if not you may find yourself burning out trying to maintain that pace. I have experienced that a few times when I have tried to ramp up too quickly. Steps can be deceiving. I get most of mine from walking and I once foolishly thought it wasn't a big deal to keep pouring on more. It is a lot harder on you to suddenly start being that active and burning all those calories than you might think. Activity is cumulative and even leisurely walking is much more exercise than people give it credit for.

goalachiever2019

Thank you. I do enjoy my elliptical but due to asthma 20 minutes and 2 miles is my Max for the day. I love walking and do tons of it when weather permits. Snow is just leaving here and when it can get to 50°F and not be raining I will be enjoying my trails that are near by. Being active isn't hard unless I have set backs : ankle, asthma episodes, allergies, weather.
I found it easy to go from little steps to 11k a day. My first week I was not feeling up to par and second week sore ankle and so I probably should actually classify this week 3 as week 1 and go from there. I am a gram of 4 very active granddaughters. I may not walk as fast as some but I do a few miles outside a day from may -nov.
Bought a Fitbit to help me with this time of year and winter and now with the Coronavirus.
Toning cords , I do have but need to be cautious of what exercises I do as they over stretch my neck muscles. I have a completely straight neck and my muscles don't relax they are fully tight 24/7. There are some I do from what the physical therapist has had me do. But I can't over do it and don't feel it does much for toning just strengthen stretching those muscles and my bad shoulder.
Since this post was about steps , I wanted to see how others fare out with walking alone (obviously if one can do deadlifts and workout for an hour then by all means I think it is a tremendous help).
I do think walking is underrated on fitness forums.
Thank you for the response