Pedometer Challenge: Day 2
Although this is my 3rd day of participation, it’s only the 2nd official day of the challenge, and frankly, given the stormy weather we’re currently having in my neck of the woods today, I was worried that I wouldn’t put in a good showing. However, it was a *very* busy day at work today and that, apparently, paid off in the step department.
That said, what’s even more exciting than the numbers I’m achieving each day, are the changes that I’m already making in what I do, each day, just to be sure that I get a few *more* steps in. For example, today, instead of sending several emails, I took a trip down the hall or to another building to deliver said messages in person. I parked as far away as possible when going to a meeting in the afternoon, and instead of sending students to run various errands throughout the day, I was more motivated than ever to get off my fat ass and do them myself.
The thing is, thinking about the overall changes that you have to make to your life in order to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off, can be difficult and discouraging. There’s nothing more daunting than allowing yourself to watch that particular pile of “to do’s” grow into a mountain that seems absolutely impossible to scale. That’s why, whether you’re doing it just for fun or because you’ve got that killer competitive instinct, something like this challenge can be so positive because it helps to prove how simply changing one or two little things can make a big, big difference in your overall attitude and in your ability to reach the bigger goals. For me… this is just the kind of nudge that I needed.
Of course, I have no idea if it will translate to actual pounds lost, but there’s no doubt that simply moving more is better for you than sitting around — even if you’re not stuffing your face while doing it.
One last thing: I think it’s important to note that even though this a “competition” I really have no clue how many steps the average person walks each day. I know that the American Heart Association pushes the goal of *at least* 10,000 steps a day, which is what I am trying to achieve. I’m sure they’ll be many days when I don’t make it there, but each day that I do feels like a pretty big victory. So, in the end, I’m really just looking at this like a competition against myself. I’m hoping to keep up a strong pace while also maintaining enough motivation to use exercise to pick up the slack on days when I don’t naturally meet my 10,000 step goal.
Anyway, thanks again for FBM for stoking the fire under my butt. I think this is exactly the kind of thing that makes having a “blog community” such a crucial part of doing this. I might’ve been able to do this alone… but geez, it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.
