Sponsored Feature Step up to the mark Words by and photo courtesy of Janette Humphrey
Welcome back to our regular slimming column with local weight-loss and weight- maintenance expert, Janette Humphrey. This month, Janette discusses how pedometers can shock us into taking a step in the right direction.
Step counting is big news and pedometers can really help us pay more attention to how active or healthy we are – or could be! Government guidelines recommend that we take 10,000 steps a day, but continual advances in technology and increasingly sedentary lifestyles mean that most of us struggle to walk that distance, with the average office worker managing just over 3,000 steps a day!
The much touted 10,000 steps was introduced by Japanese fitness instructor Dr Yoshiro Hatano in the 1960s, based on research that focused on how many calories could be burnt up by brisk walking. He determined that the average person took 3,500 to 5,000 steps per day, and that increasing that count to 10,000 steps – a distance of about five miles – would result in weight loss and better health. The 10,000-step benchmark is now widely accepted as the equivalent to the Government guideline of 30 minutes of physical exercise per day.
A pedometer can be hugely motivating and the simple process of counting steps can help
in identifying sedentary habits. These habits can then be changed for options that involve walking more, slowly working you way up to the 10,000 step target. Simple things like getting off the bus one stop early or making sure that you get up and walk around the office several times a day all contribute towards your five mile target and better health.
Once realistic walking patterns have been established and achieved, the step count and the pedometer can take a back seat and the benefits of walking – how you look and feel – become the motivation instead. The good news is that taking small steps now leads to big changes, so get up and take a step in the right direction.
Janette is a counsellor for LighterLife, a weight- loss and weight-management programme designed for adults with one or more stone to lose. For further information and to book a free information session, call 01279 841478 or visit
www.lighterlife.com/janettehumphrey
LighterLife UK Limited Unit 19
Greenway Business Centre Harlow Business Park Harlow Essex CM19 5QE
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