So we’ve all heard that walking 10,000 steps a day will help you lose weight. But will it really? And just who on earth decided that 10,000 steps was enough?
It was actually the Surgeon General that decided that 10,000 steps was a sufficient amount of steps that would help you lose weight. But the number was actually derived from an approximation of the amount of how much exercise people should get if they exercise for thirty minutes or more a day. The number is not magic, and it may not even be the same for everyone. Some people may need to walk more, while others might not need to walk as much.
The idea of walking 10,000 steps a day to lose weight has received quite a bit of criticism. However, it has been proven that it can work. A study done at the University of Tennessee divided people into two groups. One group made sure to get their 10,000 steps every day while the other group was only told to walk briskly for thirty minutes every day. The group that was asked to count their steps found that they actually walked more than 10,000 steps while the group that stuck to walking alone only got about 5,500 steps in per day – and that was on the days that they did exercise! On the days that they didn’t it was proven that people only walked 3,000 to 6,000 steps a day.
In fact, people who don’t count their steps usually only walk 3,000 to 6,000 steps every day. Increasing your step intake isn’t that difficult. By simply slipping on a pedometer first thing in the morning, and wearing it throughout the day, you’ll quickly be able to find more ways to get more steps into your routine. Take the stairs at work, park far away from the mall or grocery store doors, and look for the longer routes to get anywhere. Pretty soon, you’ll find that you’re getting much more than 10,000 steps a day too!