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10,000 Steps Challenge – A Followup

10,000 Steps Challenge – A Followup

Two months or so ago I invited you to join me in a 10,000 steps a day challenge. As promised, this is my followup post to let you know how I am doing and to find out how YOU are doing. I have had some success for the last 60 days, with an emphasis on the some part. I have also decided I do like keeping track of my daily steps with the free app I downloaded onto my smartphone. 

I am not a person who likes to keep track of stuff. I am not an organizer. At all. I am not a tracker of data either. I don’t care to track all the things I could track with this app. And I know there are many fancy gizmos out there which allow a person to track a gazillion things, fitness-wise, but I just don’t care about doing that.

The only piece of data I want to keep track of is the number of steps I get in on any given day. That’s it.   

10000 steps

And I have discovered that doing this does help keep me a little bit more motivated.

And as we all know, sometimes a little turns out to be a lot.

Whatever works, right?            

So, what were my results?

And yes, I only kept track because I knew I was writing this post, but actually this app did all the tracking for me. All I did was plug in the totals here.

February results:  

Total steps for the month:  252,502 (sounds sort of impressive, right?)

Number of days goal reached:  20 (I thought I did better)

Highest number of steps achieved:  17,204 (yes!)

Lowest number of steps:  1,118 (couch day)

March results:  

Total steps for the month:  185,646 (nothing to brag about)

Number of days I reached my goal:  14 (oops… however, to be fair, I was over 8,000 on some days. Just sayin’).

Highest number of steps achieved:  13,045

Lowest number of steps:  1,031 (not so good)

My conclusions from collecting this data (and then looking at it) were:  

  • I didn’t get in as many steps every day as I thought I did. I’ve been kidding myself about my activity level.
  • I had a few days where I did very poorly, but this is okay. It’s not about judging; it’s about motivating.
  • Some days I actually did better than the numbers show because I didn’t always remember to have my phone in my pocket. (I’m forgetful).
  • I found myself wanting to count my steps and check my totals each day. Motivation matters.
  • I discovered my favorite sweats do not have a deep enough pocket for my phone! (I might have to notify someone about this ‘cuz I cannot be the only one with this issue).
  • I need to be more consistent. (With a lot of things).
  • I realized steps can really add up just walking around the house, buying groceries, shoveling snow, or whatever. Of course I knew this, but this was good visual proof.
  • I will keep doing my best every day. We all will, right?

Ultimately, this challenge wasn’t about getting in 10,000 steps a day, my phone app or whatever. This post was about motivating you and me to MOVE more because movement matters.

So did I move more during the last 60 days?

Yes!

Did the scale move (in the right direction)?

No.

Darn.

But as we also all know, exercise movement is not just about weight management.

It is about a whole lot more.

So keep on keepin’ on everybody!

Because no matter where you are in your personal cancer maze, movement matters.

So how have YOU been doing?

In a recent email/newsletter I invited subscribers to send me photos of themselves doing their favorite sort of exercise movement. I received one photo (thank you, Terri!), so it appears this was a really dumb idea or else everyone was very shy! Guess you’ll have to put up with a few more pics of me now.

Have you been participating in my challenge, and if so, has the challenge helped you?

Do you like tracking data regarding exercise movement?

What’s your favorite form of movement?

Sign up for emails/newsletter from Nancy’s Point.

 

desert walk

Terri out for a stroll & she looks quite serious about it, don’t you think? Terri is an educator/blogger at Diepcjourney – Reconstructing A Purposeful Life Thanks for the photo, Terri!

 

Beach walk selfie

Hard to beat a stroll on the beach with dear hubby. Makes getting those steps in lots more fun.

 

Stair climber at the beach

Beach stair climber – 125 steps & I’m still smiling (& clutching my phone).

 

Ready to go!

Nothing like having a dog to help motivate you to get out the door. Thank you, Sophie!

Keep moving everybody!

 

Rebecca

Thursday 28th of April 2016

Good for you, Nancy! I am embarrassed to say I haven't been exercising. I am aware of how important exercising is but I've been feeling emotionally down. I need some encouragement. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I am planning to go biking. I took my bike to the shop last week (did a tuneup) and I am ready. When I exercise I don't track my time but I can tell you I can bike for 3 hours straight! I enjoy it so much. It's my favorite movement. It's also peaceful.

I hope to give you an update soon. And continue with the good work! xo

Nancy

Thursday 28th of April 2016

Rebecca, You've had lots of stuff going on, so you have to cut yourself some slack. I'm sorry you've been feeling emotionally down. I think, no I know, the nicer weather will help me get more active, so I'm sure it'll help you too. It's great that you love biking. Three hours is impressive! Thank you for sharing that you haven't done all that well with exercising. It's important to share that too! 'Cuz who among us doesn't relate to that, right? So thank you. xo

Lindsay

Friday 22nd of April 2016

I love all the photos you posted. Great job on setting these goals and being more active. I had goals for myself the last few months about doing certain exercises on certain days. It worked out pretty well. Now that we have a puppy I threw that out and am just sticking to walking him for now.

Nancy

Monday 25th of April 2016

Lindsay, Glad you liked the photos. I am trying hard to be more active, but some days it's still a challenge due to a variety of reasons. And yes, now with your new puppy, you'll be getting in tons of walking, not to mention, all those trips up and down stairs taking him out for potty breaks! :)

Beth L. Gainer

Friday 22nd of April 2016

Hi Nancy,

I love to exercise, but I dislike counting my steps with any gizmo. I had a fitbit knockoff, but the problem is I obsess when I don't make a number of steps. My goal was to exercise 5 days a week, and I only made 2 to 3 days a week. Oy. I'm going to keep trying.

I must say, I'm proud of you my friend! You increased the amount you walk, and exercise is indeed for more than just weight loss. Keep on going....

Nancy

Monday 25th of April 2016

Beth, You've had a lot going on with your parents (on top of work and being a mom!), so I'd say getting in 2 to 3 days a week is pretty darn good. Thank you for your encouraging words. I will try to keep on keepin' on.

Cathy

Friday 22nd of April 2016

Well, your challenge has definitely helped motivate me. As I mentioned in the challenge post, at the end of January I decided I had to walk 5 miles a day to counteract the Aromasin weight gain, and shortly thereafter you posted your challenge. In early March, the bone density scan showed bone loss, so I decided to up it to 6 miles. I'm one of those people who can't give themselves a pass on something, or before long there's always a pass on it! So, I'm happy to say that I haven't missed my goal a single day! Yay! (of course, that meant sometimes I was out trudging up and down the driveway at 11 pm in the sleet!) 159.92 miles in February, 197.53 miles in March, and 144.37 to date in April! And, even better, I've lost 7 pounds! So thank you! You really helped me do this!

Nancy

Monday 25th of April 2016

Cathy, It's great to hear my challenge helped motivate you! Now YOU are motivating me. Gosh not missing a single day, that is impressive! And good for you for losing 7 pounds too. I'm envious. Thank you for the feedback and for giving me some further motivation. I need it.