The Pedometer, 10,000 Steps, and Me

TEN THOUSAND steps? Did I read that right? To lose weight, it is recommended that a person walk TEN THOUSAND steps PER DAY? PER DAY...TEN THOUSAND steps. That, to a self-proclaimed lazy person, is A LOT of steps.

My son and I both got pedometers the other day and thought it would be fun to see how many hours it would take us until we hit the goal of TEN THOUSAND steps in one day.

When I got off work yesterday, I picked him up from school and we decided to compare steps. I told him I had walked almost TWO THOUSAND and then dared him to beat my number. I was pretty sure of myself...and then my son told me his number. His number was THIRTEEN THOUSAND. Yes, you read that right, THIRTEEN THOUSAND steps by five o'clock. My smug little son looked at me and said, "Well mom, you better get walking. You only have eight thousand steps until your goal, and only ELEVEN THOUSAND steps until you catch up to me!" Snicker snicker snicker.

I went home that night and started walking. And walking. And walking. I walked until it clicked over to the TEN THOUSAND and then I sat down and didn't move. I didn't move mainly because ONE: I didn't want to; and TWO: I didn't think I could. TEN THOUSAND STEPS. Are you kiddin' me?

My son ended up walking over SEVENTEEN THOUSAND steps yesterday and he wasn't sore, he wasn't tired, he wasn't anything. He was just fine. I hate pedometers.
Cindy Breninger
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