Walking With Pedometers

crazyjkgirl

Used my pedometer for the first time today. Regular day of classes and walking around campus and a 45 minute workout on the eliptical. Totaled 14,909 steps or 4.7 miles. Didn't make a huge effort to go out of my way or anything. I'm pretty content with my numbers.

Peschuntz

Hi Guys,

I hope everyone is doing well. I got discouraged for a while, went to Weight Watchers and was told weight was up .4 of a pound (that's 4/10ths of one pound). I got discouraged and for the past few weeks, haven't been exercising (except with the trainer on Saturday mornings.) I decided to do something about it Thus far today, I have walked 12,925 steps or roughly 5.7 miles. In all fairness, several of those steps came from working out on the elliptical and some from talking my dog for a walk around the playground. I miss this thread and you guys. If anyone is out there, please say hi and let me know what you've been up to. :flowerforyou:

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: I'm still here and getting accustomed to my Omron.........I like the graphs it makes on the computer......I stay over 10,000 steps most days unless most of my exercise is yoga and stationery bike.

:flowerforyou: I am maintaining my weight pretty successfully although this week was my birthday and we went out one night for chicken curry and roasted a turkey for company another night so the big sodium influx and a few extra calories made a big difference.

:flowerforyou: I'm enjoying the nice weather and DH and I have been walking the dogs on the Discovery Trail.....we don't walk as far as we would alone, but the poodles have a great time.

:flowerforyou: I'd sure like to see the old gang start posting again.:bigsmile:

Peschuntz

So good to see you, Barb! A very Happy Birthday!

Peschuntz

Hi Guys,

Don't know if anyone will even see this but I hope everyone is fine and doing well with their exercise. I completed 12,533 steps today.:drinker: :flowerforyou: P.S. What has everyone been up to?

SusyC

Yeah, OK, it's been awhile since I've logged on! In January, I ended up with an inner ear infection which put me out of commission for a few weeks. I have not recovered all of my hearing in my left ear, and I now have tinnitis, a constant ringing in my ear. I got "back in the saddle" when my husband decided to start losing weight again. I thought I'd join him. We both had our own treadmills, so great, right? Well, within 3 days, he broke his old treadmill and started using mine. Within 2 days, he broke mine! Eek!

So, we went out and bought an elliptical (a FORTUNE!) and it ends up, I didn't like it nearly as much as my treadmill. So, I got my treadmill fixed. He does the elliptical and I do the treadmill. He works out for 30 minutes, does a little less than 2 miles. I jog 3 miles or more on my treadmill at a 4.0 paces and a 4.0 incline. I work off at least 450 calories at a time. He works off a little over 200.

He has lost over 20 pounds and I have lost 5. Every day I get to listen to him boast of his success. At first, I was glad for him, but, now, I just want to strangle him!

I thought that maybe I could get encouragement here, since I'm not getting it at home.

So, ladies, encourage away! LOL

I'm so grateful that Barb and Peschuntz are still here!

apromise2me

I quite regularly use my Omron pedometer and would like to join this group!

:flowerforyou:

HealthyChanges2010

bump

jaki521

I'm still not sure how to convert my steps into the exercise part of mfp. Is there a step converter to us or should I just record it as miles for the day?

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: I have been on a trip for over a week and somewhat out of wifi range so I made a decision to take a vacation from logging food and exercise. I've been careful about my eating and have done some exercise but nothing like what I do at home. I managed to get 10,000 steps or more each day even if if meant walking up and down in my son's living room for 30 minutes at bedtime.:laugh:

:flowerforyou: the way I record steps is as a number of minutes at a walking speed (MFP has several different speeds to choose from) and use the calories it computes. It may not be entirely accurate but it's close enough

---

I try to not overestimate either my minutes or my speed.

:flowerforyou: Susy, glad to see you exercising again and back with us...sorry about your health challenges.......you've probably heard it before, but never compare your weight loss journey with a man......you are so right to come to us....we will encourage you......I put a little sticker on my calendar every day that I walk 10,000 steps, last summer when I was walking more I upped the goal to 14,000. Now that I am walking less and have been trying to encourage myself to do yoga and pilates, I give myself a sticker if I do those workouts.

:flowerforyou: The pedometer I had before my Omron,recorded the motion of my exercise bike as steps and recorded a lot more of the movements in line dance so my step count was a lot higher than it is now with the Omron. I mourned my old one for a long time but now I am used to the new one.

:flowerforyou: I'd love to see this thread revived with all of us checking in every day or so.

CALIECAT

I am so glad glad to see are back in town. miss you. I am walkin once a day around the block. Hope to get it up at ;east 2 times befor thr real hot weather shows up/


Marie

SusyC

I've missed the group! I really enjoyed checking in with you ladies often, and need to start doing that again. Your encouragement means a lot to me, especially as my husband continues to drop the weight, and what he insists is only "an update" on his progress, feels more like a jab at "why can't YOU seem to lose any weight?" I know I shouldn't look at it that way, but, it's so easy to feel discouraged in the first place. Then, to have someone else losing it so much more easily, it just multiplies the discouragement.

So, thanks for the encouragement! Warm weather ought to help, too, as I LOVE getting outside in the sun and warmth! C'mon sun!

Here's to friendship and encouragement! Love you ladies! Let's get out there and walk walk walk!

barbiecat

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: so far all my walking today has been unpacking the car from our trip and moving furniture in the house so we can sweep, wash, and wax the floors while the pets are still being boarded........I'm so glad to be home.....tomorrow I'll be back to my old routine starting with line dance class :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Marie, are you using your pedometer again now that you're walking more?

:flowerforyou: Susy, ignore your husband and get your encouragement from us :bigsmile:

julster324

I am going to try to join up. I need a different pedometer for everyday walking because i seriosly never sit down(except when the computer sucks me in). I use the nano pedometer for dog walks but its not really easy to wear all day etc. Does anyone have the Nintendo DS personal trainer? I think it has something you just put in your pocket and it tracks everything.

HealthyChanges2010

bump so I can find again

barbiecat

fewer than 6000 steps today, but a lot of my two hour line dance steps don't register on the pedometer....and I did yoga, pilates, and the exercise bike. :bigsmile:

SusyC

Barb,
Holy Cow! You are one workin' woman! You go, girl!

Yesterday I had over 14,000 steps! That's not happened in awhile! It was a busy day! Mostly because it was so nice out. Speaking of which, the sun is calling my name this morning. I'm headed out for some walking!

Thanks for the encouragement!

OhioDan

Im brand spanking new to this group so let me relay a little bit about myself. The company I work for has instituted a walking program as part of their "wellness" push and part of this initiative includes a step challenge. Those involved were issued an Omron HJ-72OITC Pedometer. I really like it and its fun to track your progress with the software.

Our corporate office tried this last year and the only involvement I had was to make fun of the people involved. SInce I can stand to drop a few pounds myself, I thought I would shut up and start walking this time. So far my progress has been good but we are approaching the midway point and it's seriously testing my resolve. It's so easy to find a million excuses NOT to do it but that's when I find it the most beneficial. First prize is $550 toward a bicycle or exercise equipment. I would really like to win so Im trying really hard. You chart your own progress so I have no idea how I stack up against others in the competition.

I went to a local park at lunch yesterday and met another guy walking as part of his company's wellness push. He asked me about my pedometer and I googled it and found this site.

Everyone's comments here are helpful and motivating. Great job and keep up the good work! I used to exercise a lot more and I hope to get back to that point. Unfortunately, I am probably the worst eater ever in terms of diet and timing so I hope this program can be kind of a springboard to a better lifestyle. However the bad side of me (we'll call him "Bad Dan") rationalizes my poor eating habits with the walking figuring it will all even out. I feel a lot better since I started walking and it's gotten a lot easier too.

I woudl really like some big numbers but lately I have really busy so it's been more and more difficult to block time for it. I will post my numbers as the days go by. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment as necessary.

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: Welcome, Dan, There's something motivating about a pedometer.......just carrying it in your pocket and knowing how many steps you've walked seems to be an encouragement to try to beat your own records, or at least walk a few extra steps when you might otherwise be sitting around. sometimes I walk up and down at night while the TV is on to get a few more steps before I go to bed.....tonight I volunteered to walk the dogs just so I could get some more steps.

:flowerforyou: I took the dogs to the dog park and walked so much while they chased birds, that a man who was throwing a ball for his dog, asked me how far I'd walked....I told him it was more than a mile So far today I have over 11,000 steps :bigsmile:

LuckyLeprechaun

Hi All! I didn't read the whole thread, so IDK if this has been mentioned, but iPhone has a pedometer app that is only 99cents. It's called footsteps and is pretty great! Accurate and motivational. You can use it while you listen to music. :flowerforyou:

OhioDan

Barb,
Thanks for the motivating words, they are appreciated. I'm much more of a nightowl than morning person so I tend to walk more in the evenings. Im fortuante to live a walk friendly city so that helps. I find myself walking for errands that I would have driven in the past.

I ate a horrible dinner (hello Taco Bell chicken salad and large coke) but then went biking after that with the family. After that I went out on my own. As soon as I started out, my headphones broke (argh) BUT I found a $20 bill so that was cool. I got some decent (not great) numbers in and came home and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and a Reese's peanut butter cup plus a glass of milk right before bed. Not the best thing but I was happy.

My biggest downfall is soda. I am nursing a 1-2 can a day habit. I hate coffee so I turn to my mistress coca-cola to get me through the day. I am trying to switch my addiction over to iced tea. Its hard with today's go-go-go lifestyles.

I try really hard not to be one of those people that obsessively quantify their lives but this pedometer makes it impossible not to. I find myself calculating how far into the program I am (41.2%) and how mant days left (54 days). So far Ive dropped 7lbs. and it feels good but my late, bad eating habits are slowing my progress.

I also find it difficult to walk in the rain and bad weather. I really dont have any exercise equipment at home (other than a 4 year old and a 1 year old) so that makes it challenging to keep my numbers up. But so far, Im able to meet and ususally exceed my goals. Are my numbers (and expectations) too low?

Another problem is that I slack sometimes during the week a little and figure I will make up on the weekend. But the weekend comes and Im busier then during the week. We have not really had a great weather weekend so that makes it challenging too. Ok, Im done blabbing, time to get walking!

Iv eread over some past reports and you guys are amazing! Congrats to those who are sticking to walking and your posts are motivating and uplifting! Thanks for posting and wish my luck for good numbers!

Dan

SusyC

Dan,

Far be it from me to offer much advice, since I'm STILL trying to lose the same 30 pounds for the past several years. Down 10, up 15, down 20, up 10. However, I'm quite experienced at losing and gaining. :laugh:

I'm a night owl, so I know what you mean about that being a bad time to eat. Everything gets quiet and calm, and suddenly I'm thinking, "Hey, I deserve something good for myself after a long hard day paying attention to everyone else's needs" and the reward is almost always something to eat.

So, here are my tricks: first of all, I try to eat most of my food earliest in the day. I hate eating breakfast but I make myself eat something protein filled. Scrambled eggs with broccoli and cheese seems to get me through the day well. Lunch is a bunch of little snacks throughout about 3 hours since I don't have time to sit and eat lunch. I try to keep almonds on hand. I found some cocoa coated almonds! Woo hoo! Not chocolate covered, but cocoa powder covered. Not as many calories, it's actually healthy cocoa, and pretty satisfying to my ever chocolate sweet tooth.

I eat a smaller dinner than breakfast, and try not to eat pasta. That leaves me bloated right after dinner, and wanting more food later. I hate that because I LOVE pasta. So, I try to eat any pasta I might have during my lunchtime grazing period.

I do usually have a sweet snack a little bit before I go to bed. I usually take a chunk from one of those 85% cacao bars. I've gotten used to the bitterness. I feel less guilty while I satisfy that chocolate need again. And, again, it's a healthy-ish chocolate. I can't possibly give up chocolate, so this is my compromise.

I also use my pedometer like a life-guide. I try to do more than 10,000 steps a day. I usually do about 7,000 on my treadmill. If I have a day where I've eaten especially too much, I try to get up to past 14,000 steps the next day. It's not scientific, but, it's sort of a mind set: If I overeat one day, have to pay the price the next day.

Keep moving. That's what I keep telling myself. It's important to keep moving. THAT should be a lifestyle, not just to lose weight or win a contest. I try to keep moving.

Good luck to you! Keep working at it! Don't make it miserable because then you'll not continue after the competition's over. Make it reasonable .... doable. Make it a life style you can keep forever. Then, no matter what, YOU win!

Keep walking!,
Susy

jennb5255

Hi everyone,

I would like to join this group and start logging my step with everyone. I found this topic a few days ago and have been reading the post. This has inspired me to go get a pedometer and get to walking. I spend a lot of my day walking through my house doing chores (with 5 kids it adds up quickly :laugh: ) and walking a lot at the ball park when my kids are playing. I started using my pedometer around 4pm and so far today I've already walked 2760 steps. I'm excited about joining everyone and can't wait until I am also logging at least 10,000 steps daily.

Good luck to everyone and keep up the walking!!

Jen

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: Susy, your advice about how to curb the late night snacking is right on.....thanks for sharing all your good ideas in such detail....:bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Jen, welcome, I walk at the off leash dog park while my dogs play so I loved hearing that you walk at the ball park while your kids play.....I also get a lot of my steps from doing chores around the house......"if you're moving, you're losing"...sometimes I walk up and down the hall at bedtime to get my pedometer to over the next thousand :laugh:

:bigsmile: I'm almost at 10,000 steps but I've done yoga and my stationery bike so I've gotten a lot of exercise :bigsmile:

SusyC

Welcome, Jen! I have to say, having the pedometer makes me more accountable!

And, Barbiecat, I'm just like you. If I'm close to a round thousand number, you can find me taking the long way around the house to get to something, or using the furthest bathroom, or ANYTHING to get it past that next thousand. I don't feel so crazy now that I know there's someone else doing the same thing! It's not a lot of extra steps, but, there's something so satisfying seeing it go past that next thousand number!

jennb5255

My first day with my pedometer and I had 8497 steps!!! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings since I'm going to be at the ball park most of the day watching my daughter play. I'm loving this pedometer already!!
Jen

OhioDan

Susy,

Thanks for the advice on eating. I will fully admit though that the sensible eating train jumped the tracks and plunged into the valley this weekend. Weekends are pretty bad for me as I have other obligations that get in the way. That being said I was able to stick it out and get a few steps in yesterday but Friday was a bad, bad day. I wasnt able to walk during lunch and I was busy all the way until bedtime. I tried to make up for it but I was busy installing ceiling fans in the porch and it was a lot more involved than I thought. I did eat good sometimes but its the bowl of ice cream at midnight and the 6 oreo cookies right before bed that takes its toll.

But you didnt come here to read about ceiling fans, did you? Let's talk numbers.

Mon (5/17) 25447
Tue 27163
Wed 34185
Th 28086
Fri 6700 (ugh)
Sa 29074
Sunday 31417

I am trying to maintain a 26000+ average but Im hovering at that point. This walking thing is starting to dominate my life. I have to make sure I block off a lot of time to keep this up. Im at the halfway point of the program and I hope I can see it through to the end. Another day, more steps,

Dan

PS I got up early today and walked so Im at 12743 for the day (so far).

Soon2beskinny73

Hi,
I am new to this thread and new to walking with a pedometer so I hope I can join?

I just bought a go smart omron pedometer and I really like it so far. I got it by Friday 5/21 so I had the weekend to try it out I find myself trying to walk more now that I have it on me and that is a good thing. On Saturday I only got in 800 steps Then on Sunday I got in 1568 steps so I think that within time I will be able to get in lots more.

The neat thing about this pedometer is I can download the information into my computer with the software it came with so I can see my progress and even print it out. I am excited about getting lots of steps in with it!!!

shariguymon

Susy,

Thanks for the advice on eating. I will fully admit though that the sensible eating train jumped the tracks and plunged into the valley this weekend. Weekends are pretty bad for me as I have other obligations that get in the way. That being said I was able to stick it out and get a few steps in yesterday but Friday was a bad, bad day. I wasnt able to walk during lunch and I was busy all the way until bedtime. I tried to make up for it but I was busy installing ceiling fans in the porch and it was a lot more involved than I thought. I did eat good sometimes but its the bowl of ice cream at midnight and the 6 oreo cookies right before bed that takes its toll.

But you didnt come here to read about ceiling fans, did you? Let's talk numbers.

Mon (5/17) 25447
Tue 27163
Wed 34185
Th 28086
Fri 6700 (ugh)
Sa 29074
Sunday 31417

I am trying to maintain a 26000+ average but Im hovering at that point. This walking thing is starting to dominate my life. I have to make sure I block off a lot of time to keep this up. Im at the halfway point of the program and I hope I can see it through to the end. Another day, more steps,

Dan

PS I got up early today and walked so Im at 12743 for the day (so far).

I wanted to comment on your excellent walking. My goal is 20,000 steps per day and I thought that was high. You are absolutely super, blows me away.

What do you do to avoid shin splints? I've gone to using my elliptical more to relieve the stress, but I really love walking outside , especially in the early morning at about 3.5mph, but I always seem to develop some shin splints when I do that, and I have been stretching out after.........Open to listening to your experiences with the matter.

viliberty1957