Hand Over the Pokewalker

I needed to jumpstart my fitness routine as I am turning out to be an office-chair potato. No couch here, hence the new name. Hehehe. Seriously, since I started this blog, I'm really bent on continuing what I have started, and that is pushing for a healthier lifestyle. There are two basic things I'm targeting: eating healthier and exercising. Very basic if you ask me, and yet to be honest, I have not been consistent with those two. And I am sure a lot of people do struggle with these as well. I know I'm not alone.

For the past week, I've been talking about food and finding a diet program. That's an on-going thing and I'll have my update on that sometime later. Along with that, I have also started counting my steps. I have read that to be fit, you have to have at least 10,000 steps a day. I began by counting how many steps from my rented pad to the office. Approximately 300 steps, one-way. A total of 600 steps back and forth, plus walking around the factory area on my usual rounds, that translates to about a thousand steps only. What??? 

Of course I can't be sure because when people greet me as I'm walking, I lose count. Bummer! So I began to obsess having a pedometer. I started scouting, first through the internet, then when I had the chance to go around the mall, I made a trip to Toby's. They have two kinds, one around 700 pesos and another at 750 pesos. I handed both back to the sales lady. I wanted a pedometer that's not bulky (like those I've searched online) but the ones they have at that particular store both looked like your regular stopwatch. So I continued walking.  I passed by a stall that sells batteries mainly, all kinds of it. But something caught my eye. Yep, they also have a small pedometer that costs 300 pesos. I didn't make the purchase as I'm not done with canvassing yet. Days after, I still count steps, or should I say, lose count?  I really got to have one of those.  Then I remembered something...

I went home to the province just last weekend with one important purpose in my mind: To kidnap the Pokewalker and simply "walk away."   Kidding aside, I miss my family as I only go home twice a month.  I don't miss out on this schedule unless there's a storm coming. I just thought that I'll take this opportunity to also borrow the Pokewalker from my nephews. They were given a hand-me-down Nintendo DS and it comes with this round thing called the Pokewalker. Typically, it's a pedometer. It's to encourage sedentary kids to walk around with their chosen Pokemon. But since my nephews don't use it, I borrowed it for a while, until I have my own pedometer. 

So here I am with my new "toy."   Isn't it cute?  I'm walking with Bellsprout.  I wish I could get Pikachu instead but I don't know how to reset it.  I might accidentally delete the saved game of my nephews, in which case, I have to switch from walking to running for my dear life hahaha!

It's not as accurate as those pedometers used by fitness buffs and that cost thousands of pesos, but it's a good start for me.  I have more or less made 2,000 steps already since this morning, from six in the morning until now, eleven a.m.  So I have 8,000 steps more to go.  Actually, I have read (while surfing) that the 10,000 steps is when you want to lose weight.  But if you just want to be active, a minimum of 6,000 steps is already enough.  I'm still trying to develop a habit so, I'll take it one step at a time...literally.  

I just want to share some tips if you choose to jump start your fitness through walking:

• Know your baseline.  Start by counting your steps (manually or with a pedometer) as you go on your normal daily routine.
• Make it a habit to record your data.  Monitor your progress for a few days or a week.
• Once you get significant data, you can compare your total steps with the target.  
• If you find that you're already hitting the minimum required (6,000 steps) then start setting higher goals.
• Keep monitoring your progress.  Later on, you will need it for more in-depth fitness analysis (but that's going ahead of things)

Very basic huh?  The challenge is actually in being consistent about this simple habit.  So, are you ready to walk your way to health?  I am! Let's get some walking, Bellsprout.