How may steps do you take in a day? Unless you are wearing a pedometer and verifying it, you may be overestimating it by two miles worth of steps. That's what the Energizer Reality Check Survey found. Of the 473 participants, 42% took fewer steps than they estimated and over a third of them were off by 4000 steps. For most of us, that's a half hour or more of brisk walking -- and the difference between gaining weight or maintaining or losing weight.
Wearing a pedometer continues to be the best reality check for estimating your daily activity level. One of the 10 things I hate about my pedometer is that is won't tell me a white lie that I've taken more steps than I actually have. So, if you've checked out your pedometer to be sure it's working right, you're just going to have to believe it when it tells you that you are a slug.
The Energizer study also surveyed 1000 people about their attitudes towards exercise. They found that 90% want to exercise more, and 60% of them want to take more walks to increase their activity level, including walking rather than driving. Ways to add 2000 more steps to your day.
I've joined in a local program to track my walks through August to average 10,000 steps per day. Yes, even the walking guru needs an incentive and a group effort to work more walking into her day. 10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Walk
Photo © Wendy Bumgardner