Walking 10,000 steps
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ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
The stupid answer is obviously walk more, if you work a desk job and find it hard that's BS cause I can pull off 20K steps in a day working my desk job.... 15 min break take the stairs up and down 8 floors twice... lunch ... go for a walk.... break again ... stair time!!! Someone emails you, you walk over and answer their question or speak with them...
Tons of things for you to do .... not sure why you are asking here, you know what you need to do just start doing it stop making excuses.-1 -
I have two dogs and I find that by walking them for 20 min 3 times a day it helps me achieve my 10,000 steps0
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I have a desk job and on a day without a meeting I usually make 7000 steps... of course I always intend to do more when I get home but by then I am usually shattered so its not often I break the 10,000 - but it has been known! And it feels great! Some weekends when out for a stroll somewhere nice I have done nearly 20,000 without really realising. My garmin vivofit started with a 5,000 step goal and it increases (and decreases) your goal according to how many steps you do. I still have 4500 to go today (and I have a meeting) so its probably an under 7k for me today.
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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I work for a big world wide corporation. In order to help their employees get healthy they are doing a challenge. Anyone who wants to participate can sign up and get a free Virgin Pulse Max. You can also sync in your Fitbits if you have those as well. The goal is to get at lest 7,000 steps a day. You get extra points if you get 10,000 day. The team at the end of the challenge with the most steps get a big prize. The challenge runs from 3/23 through 5/4 and then you'll have until 5/9 to upload your steps. I was so excited for this since I have just stated on my journey. All these wonderful tips for getting in more walking have been fantastic! Thank you all for them and wish me and my team luck!0
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christinev297 wrote: »
I'm really curious now. May need to invest in a fitbit. If nothing else it might spur me on...
Why not go to Sports Authority, Mo's, etc get a cheap old school pedometer? If you're just interested in achieving any step goal, and not for tech integration, you can get one for like ten bucks.
I tried comparing, the apps for smartphones were pretty far off from my belt worn pedometer, in some cases by hundreds of steps.0 -
ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
On Monday through Friday I can hit 10,000 steps however I work in a 500,000sqft manufacturing facility. If I didn't work in that type of environment I would have zero chance for hitting 10,000 steps. None.0 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
The stupid answer is obviously walk more, if you work a desk job and find it hard that's BS cause I can pull off 20K steps in a day working my desk job.... 15 min break take the stairs up and down 8 floors twice... lunch ... go for a walk.... break again ... stair time!!! Someone emails you, you walk over and answer their question or speak with them...
Tons of things for you to do .... not sure why you are asking here, you know what you need to do just start doing it stop making excuses.
I'm a stay at home mom who home schools my 4 kids. So I spend more of my day sitting at a table helping them learn things than I do anything else. I'm also a military wife so the luxury of taking long walks alone isn't there since he works a lot and can't always watch the kids. My kids wouldn't be able to do those kind of walks. Obviously I know I need to walk more but I was looking for out of the box suggestions on how to increase my steps not snarky remarks. Having kids makes this part a little more difficult for me. Not impossible. Just difficult. So I'm not making excuses I'm looking for ways to make this happen for myself so I can't make them!0 -
Hippychick5983 wrote: »I work for a big world wide corporation. In order to help their employees get healthy they are doing a challenge. Anyone who wants to participate can sign up and get a free Virgin Pulse Max. You can also sync in your Fitbits if you have those as well. The goal is to get at lest 7,000 steps a day. You get extra points if you get 10,000 day. The team at the end of the challenge with the most steps get a big prize. The challenge runs from 3/23 through 5/4 and then you'll have until 5/9 to upload your steps. I was so excited for this since I have just stated on my journey. All these wonderful tips for getting in more walking have been fantastic! Thank you all for them and wish me and my team luck!
That's awesome!!! Good luck. My goal today is to increase my steps. Ive only got myself to challenge, hence why I was looking for ideas and support, so that's great your team does this!!0 -
Leanbean65 wrote: »I have two dogs and I find that by walking them for 20 min 3 times a day it helps me achieve my 10,000 steps
I have 2 dogs also. I can't usually walk them both because one sucks on a leash lol. He's a little special but we love him. Yesterday I walked them separately for 10 mins each to increase my steps. But my hubby was home so that made it easier since walking with 4 kids plus dog is kind of a nightmare for me. Maybe I'll make this my evening challenge when hubs is home. Hmm...thanks for the idea.
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ashlygraves wrote: »Tedebearduff wrote: »ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
The stupid answer is obviously walk more, if you work a desk job and find it hard that's BS cause I can pull off 20K steps in a day working my desk job.... 15 min break take the stairs up and down 8 floors twice... lunch ... go for a walk.... break again ... stair time!!! Someone emails you, you walk over and answer their question or speak with them...
Tons of things for you to do .... not sure why you are asking here, you know what you need to do just start doing it stop making excuses.
I'm a stay at home mom who home schools my 4 kids. So I spend more of my day sitting at a table helping them learn things than I do anything else. I'm also a military wife so the luxury of taking long walks alone isn't there since he works a lot and can't always watch the kids. My kids wouldn't be able to do those kind of walks. Obviously I know I need to walk more but I was looking for out of the box suggestions on how to increase my steps not snarky remarks. Having kids makes this part a little more difficult for me. Not impossible. Just difficult. So I'm not making excuses I'm looking for ways to make this happen for myself so I can't make them!
Schedule recess! Field trips! Even something as simple as a walk to the park the kids can be a learning experience and exercise for all of you!
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ashlygraves wrote: »Tedebearduff wrote: »ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
The stupid answer is obviously walk more, if you work a desk job and find it hard that's BS cause I can pull off 20K steps in a day working my desk job.... 15 min break take the stairs up and down 8 floors twice... lunch ... go for a walk.... break again ... stair time!!! Someone emails you, you walk over and answer their question or speak with them...
Tons of things for you to do .... not sure why you are asking here, you know what you need to do just start doing it stop making excuses.
I'm a stay at home mom who home schools my 4 kids. So I spend more of my day sitting at a table helping them learn things than I do anything else. I'm also a military wife so the luxury of taking long walks alone isn't there since he works a lot and can't always watch the kids. My kids wouldn't be able to do those kind of walks. Obviously I know I need to walk more but I was looking for out of the box suggestions on how to increase my steps not snarky remarks. Having kids makes this part a little more difficult for me. Not impossible. Just difficult. So I'm not making excuses I'm looking for ways to make this happen for myself so I can't make them!
Schedule recess! Field trips! Even something as simple as a walk to the park the kids can be a learning experience and exercise for all of you!
Family fitness! Love it. Not sure why this wasn't my automatic way of thinking but I am inspired now. My poor family won't know what hit them!! Lol0 -
ashlygraves wrote: »Tedebearduff wrote: »ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
The stupid answer is obviously walk more, if you work a desk job and find it hard that's BS cause I can pull off 20K steps in a day working my desk job.... 15 min break take the stairs up and down 8 floors twice... lunch ... go for a walk.... break again ... stair time!!! Someone emails you, you walk over and answer their question or speak with them...
Tons of things for you to do .... not sure why you are asking here, you know what you need to do just start doing it stop making excuses.
I'm a stay at home mom who home schools my 4 kids. So I spend more of my day sitting at a table helping them learn things than I do anything else. I'm also a military wife so the luxury of taking long walks alone isn't there since he works a lot and can't always watch the kids. My kids wouldn't be able to do those kind of walks. Obviously I know I need to walk more but I was looking for out of the box suggestions on how to increase my steps not snarky remarks. Having kids makes this part a little more difficult for me. Not impossible. Just difficult. So I'm not making excuses I'm looking for ways to make this happen for myself so I can't make them!
Schedule recess! Field trips! Even something as simple as a walk to the park the kids can be a learning experience and exercise for all of you!
Yep. How old are your kids? My eldest is at school and they don't just sit on their backsides all day. (He's nearly 6). They do things like go on a dinosaur hunt, or go to look for bugs. They have half hour for break time and an hour for lunch time when they can run around on the field or their playground.
I'm a secondary school teacher and even teenagers get breaks so they can play basketball/football (soccer), run around etc.
Surely you could have trips out to look for things, or walk round a museum or something.
My kids can walk for miles too (well, not the 10 month old) so we go out a lot.0 -
I have had my Fitbit One for about 3 years now and LOVE it! I find it really pushes me to get in more steps. I aim for a minimum of 8K-10K steps per day. I usually walk in place most of the time - 15 minutes in the morning at home, as many minutes as I can when I get to work earlier, I have 30 minutes for lunch and will walk about 20 minutes of that. After supper at home I walk in place while I crochet 0
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I get up early come rain or shine and walk for 20 - 30 mins. It's a good way to start the day. I have a Fitbit and I pay attention to it lots. I get cross if I don't make 10,000 a day and will go out again for another walk in the evening to ensure I do. I've even hit 20,000 twice! October last year I struggled to walk around the block but now I can walk 13km. Just keep moving0
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When I first got my Fitbit (I have the Zip) I was getting generally about 2-3000 steps per day. I have a job that keeps me sitting at a desk or in meetings most of the day. But I slowly worked to up how much I was walking - both in taking short breaks from my desk to walk around, and also adding in exercise after work so I'm not going directly home and sitting on the couch the rest of the evening - and I now average about 20,000 steps per day.0
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I have a garmin vivofit and I try to increase my steps by 500 a week if I meet the goal I have at least 5/7 days. I've been sick the last month so I haven't been meeting my goal of 10,000 except one or two days when work is really busy, but I'm better now, so I'm back up to doing 10,000 a day and then I'll increase it by 500 a week if I meet my goal 5/7 days0
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Well, it's very exciting to increase your steps. It really does make a difference in a lot of ways! I look forward to your stories of family fitness and all those extra steps you figure out how to take! Sounds like you are a very busy mother, and you'll be doing a very good thing for your family by taking care of yourself now -- not later. Best of luck! 0
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christinev297 wrote: »Can anyone recommend a decent app for an android phone that can measure steps? I don't have a fitbit or any of those devices. I'd bet I wouldn't even reach 1000 steps a day
Runtastic Pedometer0 -
Its great to be more active and everybody should make it a goal. But I stopped stressing about the magical 10,000 mark a while ago.
If I don't get a run in in the morning, I never come close to 10k in the winter. Even with a 2 mile run, I barely hit it. I've still managed to lose 60 lbs and feel as though I'm getting decent work outs in 5-6 days per week.
That said, knowing your steps/daily activity level is crucial information to have in the calorie counting world. If you're barely hitting 3-4k steps a day, its important not to tell MFP that you are active and get extra calories that you don't typically burn.
Lastly, slightly related, there are great groups here that have exercise ideas for moms. I work full time, but still try to be active with my kids in the evening and weekends. Youtube some kids workout videos and do them with them. Or if you need a quick study break, I would recommend the gummy bear just dance video on youtube for all ages. The funniest 3 minutes of your day.0 -
ashlygraves wrote: »Tedebearduff wrote: »ashlygraves wrote: »MFP recommends 10,000 a day. I noticed my first 2 days I wasn't getting anywhere near that. In the hopes of encouraging myself I lowered my steps to 5,000. Then figured when I managed that regularly I'd increase it. But I'm barely hitting 2-3. Anyone pay much attention to theirs or have any suggestions on how to reach the goal?
The stupid answer is obviously walk more, if you work a desk job and find it hard that's BS cause I can pull off 20K steps in a day working my desk job.... 15 min break take the stairs up and down 8 floors twice... lunch ... go for a walk.... break again ... stair time!!! Someone emails you, you walk over and answer their question or speak with them...
Tons of things for you to do .... not sure why you are asking here, you know what you need to do just start doing it stop making excuses.
I'm a stay at home mom who home schools my 4 kids. So I spend more of my day sitting at a table helping them learn things than I do anything else. I'm also a military wife so the luxury of taking long walks alone isn't there since he works a lot and can't always watch the kids. My kids wouldn't be able to do those kind of walks. Obviously I know I need to walk more but I was looking for out of the box suggestions on how to increase my steps not snarky remarks. Having kids makes this part a little more difficult for me. Not impossible. Just difficult. So I'm not making excuses I'm looking for ways to make this happen for myself so I can't make them!
Sometimes, if I need just a few extra steps, I turn on some music and dance around, mostly in place. Totally something you could do while still in the house/watching the kids.
Everybody has challenges--just keep looking for ways that you CAN make this happen!
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OP I have two small kids, 3 and 6, and I have a desk job. I got a FitBit Flex about 18 months ago and was surprised just how many steps I get in day to day life without concentrated exercise. Getting up and getting my two kids off to school in the morning, I usually have 3,000 steps by the time I get to my office. Add in another 3,000 in the evening with picking them up, getting dinner ready, evening activities, etc. So that's 6,000 without any real concentrated effort - I call those my "sedentary" days.
To those who have desk jobs - I find ways to fit in walking at work. Even if it is something as simple as walking over to talk to people instead of sending emails or calling people on the phone. I walk the long way to the restroom, I walk back to the cafeteria to refill my water instead of going to the water cooler right by my office, I walk on my lunch break outside when the days are nice (just hit my 10,000 steps and it is only 1:30 here), and when the days aren't nice, I do zig zag laps throughout the building.
If I can't walk at work, didn't have time to exercise, and am short of my step goal (mine is set to 10K but I aim for 12-14K daily) I often will just do laps around my house in the evening until I feel the thing buzz. I think I have failed to hit 10K steps twice since getting this FitBit, once when I was deathly ill and once when I was on an extremely long road trip.
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Get up early go for a walk, walk everywhere. I get 30,000 a day 4 times a week & 40,000 3 times a week. Then once a month 100,000 in a day. I get up at 4am if I have to in order to get my goal before I start work at 7am.
By the way.... buy a Fitbit or a Garmin Forerunner 15. Count your steps easier than a phone.0 -
SexyKatherine73 wrote: »they don't count steps ... eg fitbit is on your arm so it's counting your arm movement, and not your feet.
Fitbit One & Zip are on your hip not your arm.0 -
I have a desk job so I get my 10,000 steps in by walking for 30 minutes on my lunch break and taking a short walk around the building every hour0
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On the days I work I usually walk 25,000 to 30,000 and my off days barely 1,000 sometimes I think it's not accurate but I really just use as a motivational tool0
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My jawbone buzzes if I sit too long. I don't usually have a problem hitting 10k, unless its couch day, in which I hit about 8k.0
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I've managed to break 5!!! I'm so excited about the progress. Still learning but I'm doing better than a week ago!! Thanks for all suggestions, encouragement and info!!0
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When I first started here and shortly afterwards got a FitBit, it was a reality check. I knew I wasn't getting many steps in, but it was crazy to see how little I was walking. I started a thread just like this one to get advice from people here on MFP as to how I could get to 10K steps.
I've started walking around the building when I take a bathroom break, and this helps a lot. There are mornings that I get to work early and when I do, I go walk before starting at 8:00. I have now started walking 2 miles either on my lunch break or after work on Monday, Wednesday & Friday. On those days I get my 10K steps, and if I walk my 2 miles (in the evening after work) and have not reached 10k steps, I don't stop walking until I do! It was motivating for me to see "CHAMP" all over my FitBit dashboard from hitting my goals and it made me want to continue - especially after seeing all of the extra calories I earned from my hard work.0 -
TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »i do the treadmill
But a fun way to do it is trough Youtube. Some Leslie Sansone video's do the trick easily too
15 minutes for a mile of 3 miles or 2
I do the treadmill most days and next to it i do a couple times a week 30 minutes of dancing or walking video's
Great with some weights and fun.
This is my go to! I use Just Walk DVDs (I like the newer music). You don't need equipment. It doesn't matter if it's raining, or dark outside. Just pop in a DVD and go.0 -
I have a fitbit and love it. I started out closer to 4000 steps a day and now hit 8000-10000 pretty easily, depending on weather. I park at the far side of the next parking lot over, walk to farther drinking fountains and restrooms, etc. I'll go for a quick walk around my office--just through the wings of the building when I need a quick break. I'll take 15 minute walks after dinner or at lunch. I find that it just makes me get up and move more, which is the point! Keep working on it and you'll get it! I also have it synced to MFP and I eat back my calories, so if I hit my 10K steps I get about 300 extra calories to eat. That's an incentive for me, too!0
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