If the idea of un-sitting your life and moving about more through your day seems uninviting, consider motivating yourself by counting your footsteps. An easy way to do this is using a FitBit or VivoFit. Suddenly a chore can become a challenge.
I didn’t realize I was addicted until I lost my VivoFit at LAX. Suddenly I wasn’t getting credit for each footstep I took as counted by the band on my wrist. I wandered through the day without that rush of satisfaction knowing how much I was contributing to my own health. Lacking that dopamine release I immediately ordered another one.
FitBit and VivoFit are wearable fitness trackers, basically an accelerometer on a wrist band that measures and reports foot steps. The band on your wrist can display instant feedback or your Smartphone can receive reports. They can do more but I’ll focus on the simple here.
Count your steps/build your health. Here’s what taking steps can do for you.
• Every 1,000 steps = 16% smaller waistline, 12% better HDL (good cholesterol), 15% better triglycerides
• Every 1,000 steps = 65 calories expended if you weigh 120-pounds/100 calories for a 180-pound person
- Add 2,000 steps/day and you’ll maintain your weight. Add more, you’ll lose weight
- Taking 6,000 total steps per day significantly reduces risk of death
- 7,500 steps/day = better self esteem, confidence, productivity; experience improvement in quality of life; lose weight, feel better / more satisfied about their physical appearance
- 10,000 steps a day for 8 months = decrease in waistline circumference by 2 inches, weight loss of 10 pounds, reduction in high blood pressure by 34%, decrease by 69% the odds for men of having cardiovascular disease
For a hilarious take on wearing a FitBit see David Sedaris’s article in New Yorker magazine (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/stepping-out-3)
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