2013- A Year for YOU!

Happy New Year! I love new beginnings- who doesn't? Whether it is the first of the month, your birthday, an anniversary, or yes, the NEW YEAR- give yourself the precious gift of a new start!
Since this is my blog about all things healthy, I wish for you specifically to give yourself the gift of a new start for health...whatever is most important to YOU.
90% of us struggle with our weight. Whether it is fighting that same darn 10-20 pounds that we battle every year, or perhaps the first time that our metabolism packed its bags and deserted us, Americans have big issues with weight (no pun intended.) What will you do this year?
Let me say right now, if you are not exercising at all, and eating out over half your meals, please do not commit to exercise every day & a brilliant, gourmet, healthy home-cooked meal three times per day! Whatever you choose, set yourself up for SUCCESS!
For 2013, I'd like to encourage you to pick ONE thing today to improve your health. Is it a goal of five servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day? Hooray! Choose it! Is it parking your car at the back of the lot? Awesome! Walking the stairs instead of taking the escalator or elevator? Buying a pedometer? Meditating 5 minutes each morning before you get out of bed? Amen!
My wish for each and every one of you is better health- spiritual, mental, and physical health. I am in the process of finalizing tough decisions in my own life to optimize not only my health, but my family's collaborative "health".
BOTTOM LINE: Start off 2013 with ONE simple step towards better health- choose it today!

Pedometers- Cheap, Easy & Effective!

Yesterday I mentioned getting a PEDOMETER, and I'd like to expand on that a bit. Here are a few things that I love about pedometers (and thanks to my walking buddy, Lorna, for my new one in the picture!);

1. They give only POSITIVE FEEDBACK: the more you walk, the more steps you get to count!

2. They are inexpensive (anywhere from a FREE app on your iPhone to around $35 for a really fancy one.)

3. There is NO special clothing to start exercising (though of course, I'd put everyone in comfy sneakers if I could!)

4. They are often a surprising wake up call that your lifestyle truly is "sedentary." From home-bound seniors to cubicle-dwelling techies, many of us don't realize how little we move, until we measure it. The great news here is that it becomes FUN to see how many extra steps you can sneak in during the day by spacing out or expanding routine chores (delivering laundry to the kids rooms, walking across the building instead of emailing, etc.)

How should you use one? To be most accurate, you will typically need to calibrate your steps by walking 10 paces and measuring the distance, then entering that in. However, most pedometers will accurately count STEPS (even if the distance is a little off) and you can set your GOAL based on increasing your total step number each day. I suggest adding 100-200 steps per day until you reach the often recommended 10,000 steps per day.

Pedometers come in clip on or slip in your pocket styles- find one that works the best for your everyday clothing styles, and wear it all day, every day, till you are consistently reaching your goal.

BOTTOM LINE: Purchase a PEDOMETER and GET MOVING in 2011!

There's an APP for that, too!

From previous blogs, you may know that I'm a big fan of pedometers. They are generally the least expensive piece of exercise equipment that you can purchase. I love that they give instant positive feedback, and that people of all fitness levels can use them. If you are very overweight and the thought of an exercise plan overwhelms you, get a pedometer and start with "a single step". Simply put it on, and measure your baseline steps today. Tomorrow, add on 100 steps and make that your new goal. Continue this each day until you reach a final goal of 10,000 steps per day!

Pedometers come in all shapes, sizes and prices. I prefer ones that clip on to my waistband, but obviously, that necessitates wearing clothing with a waistband! If you prefer dresses, you'll need to find a different style. They now make pedometers that look like a credit card, and you slip them into your pocket- how cool is that?

When I realized I had forgotten to bring a pedometer on my vacation, but wanted to be able to measure the distance of our hikes, my friend pulled out her iPhone and simply downloaded an APP! (Go Pedometer) Before you knew it, we were happily hiking and able to track our distance. Is it accurate? Honestly, not at first. There was some user-error, where we entered in her height incorrectly. (Okay, I'm OCD enough that I measured it against my bike odometer and even against the car odometer to be sure- but I wanted to confirm it before I recommended it!) Ultimately, it worked perfectly on me but did not accurately count her steps, though we could not figure out why.

However, the main point is not so much that you need to know exactly how far you've gone (get a GPS-based one for better accuracy on hikes), but that you need to have accurate step counts so you can appreciate how your activity is IMPROVING each day. And wear it ALL DAY, not just when you are exercising, if you are simply trying to increase your overall fitness!
BOTTOM LINE: Check out all different kinds of pedometers, including the apps for your i-everythings!