MOVE

      Everything we read about good health practices talks about diet and exercise. The first tip will be a discussion on exercise  The key to excerise is to move. When most of us hear someone talking about exercise, we think of the hard working exercise like weights, running, biking, aerobics, and all those workouts that younger people do. While those exercises are good, they are not the only way to get into better shape. In fact, sometimes these are harmful, because of the impact to the joints and back from the pounding that they create .

      As stated above, the key is to MOVE. That means to move today a little more than you moved yesterday. There is one movement that most of us do everyday and by increasing the amount that we do, it is the beginning to a healthier life. That movement is walking. The fallacy of most walking instructions is stressing to walk “X” miles per day. Don’t worry about how many miles you walk. Just worry about how many steps you take.

     I recommend that you go to Wal-Mart or Target and purchase an inexpensive pedometer. I paid $5 for the one I am using now. Do not worry about one that tells you how many miles you walked or how many calories you burned. You need only one that counts your steps. Now, put it on every day after you get dressed. Do whatever you do for the day, and record the number of steps you take for that day at the end of the day, just before you go to bed. The next day, zero it out and do it again. After a week, average the number of steps you took each day. This is your base line.

     Now, on the second week, find some way to take an extra 250 steps each day that you would not normally take. Park further from the store when you go shopping. Walk around your yard every day. 250 steps is about 1/8th of a mile, so it is not far. At the end of the week, average the numbers again to make sure that you have achieved your goal.  If this amount of walking was comfortable for you, increase the number another 250 steps per day on the third week. When you are comfortable with that increase, do it again for the next week. Your goal should be to reach an average of 10,000 steps per day. As your work toward this goal, you will notice that you feel better, you sleep better and you may even see a weight loss beginning. Your blood pressure should start to come down if it is high. Your blood sugar level should improve. Your back pain will decrease.

    Just a few facts to go with this.... 2000 steps for most of us  will burn about 100 calories. If you make 10,000 steps per day, then you are burning 500 calories. If you burn 500 calories more per day than you take in, then you will loose about 1 pound per week.

    I’ll say it again; do not worry about how far you are walking; just how many steps you are taking. I started out at 6,000 steps per day and now, on most days, I get in 12,000 to 14,000. I can not believe how much better I feel!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (434)944-1567 or CLICK HERE to email me.

Reid Vass