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Battery-powered devices called pedometers monitor your hip motion and electronically record each step. Information is conveyed to a computer chip that calculates helpful health information. Why use a pedometer? Because it gives you feedback about your activity level. It allows you to gauge the number of calories you have burned and to follow your progress as you become more fit.
Fitness experts at the American College of Sports Medicine say that everyone should walk 10,000 steps a day (the equivalent of about five miles) for minimum fitness. To lose weight, most people need to take between 12,000 and 18,000 steps a day. Studies show that most individuals get only 3,000 to 5,000 steps in their daily activities.
To measure your beginning level, wear a pedometer for one week. Then build up to the 10,000 step goal by adding 500 to 1,000 steps to your total each day. Try walking on your lunch hour and during commercial breaks, take a three-minute walk each hour, and take the stairs rather than the elevator. Mow your yard using a push mower, or take up a new activity such as ballroom dancing. Most people can walk 1,000 steps in about 10 minutes of activity.
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