Pedometered

I've been wearing a pedometer for a week now. A pedometer is a gadget you wear at waist level, clipped onto your pants or belt to count the number of steps you take. A step counter. Weight management experts say most Americans manage about 4,000 steps a day. But to maintain your weight, you should be stepping at 6,000. To lose weight, you need to do over 10,000 steps a day.

In the last week, there have been two days where I've stayed in and not done much more than putter around the house. On those days, I've come in around 3,000 steps. But on days that I go to the gym or go for a long walk, I do over 10,000.

I've gone for a walk twice to St. Clair and Bathurst and back. That little walk gets me over 7,000 steps. One day, I went to the gym and did various errands around the city. I hit over 17,000 steps. But was I sore the next day.

The thing I like about the pedometer is, I am motivated to move around more because I am challenged to get the number up. It gives my weight management efforts a concrete goal that is attainable daily, with a concrete indicator whether I've been successful or not. I had chosen to walk instead of drive to several destinations in the last week because I was wearing the pedometer. A part of me says, I don't want to be beaten by this little gadget.

I asked The Boy to wear it one day. He doesn't even take gym. But going to school, changing between classes, who knows what he does at lunch, and coming home, he racked up over 13,000 steps.

Bro Bro also bought a pedometer. His 9-year-old daughter wore it for a day and racked up 12,000 steps. He himself however, has trouble making 5,000.

I guess it's true that kids just naturally move around more than adults, even in the same spot.



As a kid, I had trouble staying still. Teachers often said of me, She'll settle down when she matures. I wonder if they meant that kids get more physically stationary as they get older. That must be true. Now, if you see an adult moving all about all the time, you think something is wrong with him.



So what is maturity then? It's the art of focused movement in body, mind and life direction. Yes? Yes.