Counting calories and steps pays off, big time!
posted by on August 23, 2010
posted in Active Living, Weight Loss Goals
By Michelle Meyers
I’m on a roll. For the past few weeks I’ve been faithfully wearing my pedometer. It has become my new best friend (BFF), and some would go so far as to say that I’m bordering on obsession.
I received the device as a gift over the summer, and I have to say it took me a little time to warm up to it. At first I’d peer at it from across the room … making sure it wouldn’t bite. I wore it for a couple of days each week, only to be sadly disappointed that it didn’t magically register thousands of steps that I had not taken. In fact, it was a good day when I finally reached a whopping total of 4,000 steps. Ugh.
But as I realized how sedentary my lifestyle was … at the computer all day or in the car driving my kids around to their events … well I figured I’d better make nice with my new tool. I was no dummy. I knew that I should be reaching 10,000 steps a day in order to see results.
I also knew that even if I was faithful about counting calories and reducing food intake, I wasn’t going to get in shape without the exercise. As if I needed further proof, I stumbled across an article about counting calories on www.mayoclinic.com that specifically stated:
"Despite all the diet strategies out there, weight management still comes down to the calories you take in versus those you burn off. Fad diets may promise you that avoiding carbs or eating a mountain of grapefruit is the secret to weight loss, but it's really all about calories."
I now have a very close relationship with my BFF, and clip it on the minute I wake up. My husband and I walk a three-mile loop in our neighborhood six days a week, which helps keep us motivated. In fact, he is envious of my BFF and wants one for himself. I hope I won’t get jealous.
