Many Million Steps

***Please scroll down for the newest updates!***
If you know me or have seen pictures of me here on my blog, you know that I'm overweight. I have not been overweight all my life, but I have been for quite a long time.

It's not so much what I look like that bothers me but the limits that my weight puts on the things that I enjoy doing or would like to do. Need examples?

• Sitting in airplane seats is a tight fit
• I'm too big for most of my favorite roller coasters
• I'm too heavy to tandem sky dive
• I'm too heavy for a Segway
• I sweat. All. The. Time.
• I can't enjoy outside activities because I get overheated easily
• I avoid activities that involve being less than fully dressed
• I suffer from heat rashes, chaffing and other uncomfortable skin conditions
• Shopping isn't all that much fun

Instead of setting a "weight loss goal" I've decided to set a concrete, long term fitness goal. Instead of miles or a certain number of workouts a week I thought I'd do something a little more flexible, and I've settled on one million steps in the next 12 months.

To most fit folks, and regular exercisers, one million steps is no big deal. I bet my friend Matt Huseman runs a million steps in just a few months. But me, I spend most of my time on my tukus, at work in front of the computer, at home in front of the T.V., reading or crafting. I bet some days I don't get more than 500-100 steps in. So, one million steps for me is plenty, and I think it's a reasonable goal.

The  "gold standard" in steps is 10,000 a day, that's the number health professionals suggest a person walk each day in order to stay fit as a fiddle. For an average length that's about 5 miles of walking. Honestly, that's crazy ambitious for me. I'll be shocked if I have more than one or two days in the entire year that crack that number. After all, my goal isn't to become a cardio marathon running machine and I'm not going to push myself until my feet bleed.

I will be taking these steps mostly on a newly acquired treadmill in my own home. To aid in my tracking I've signed up for Walker Tracker. I may invest in a cheap pedometer to help me count steps when it's nice enough to walk outside with Paxton.

I will only be tracking and counting my "extra" steps. I'm not counting steps I take at work, to the car, around my house or grocery shopping. The point is for me to take EXTRA steps, so the million needs to be in addition to whatever I'm already doing.

If I want to stay on track I'll have to average just under 2800 steps a day. Some days I'll do less than that, some days I'll do more, but eventually they will all add up to ONE MILLION STEPS!

If I lose any weight, that'll be a bonus, but again, that's not the goal and not my focus.

I'm not going to be blogging about this much, unless there are any major changes or updates to my goal (like breaking my leg, or hitting my goal earlier than planned.)

If you would like to join me in taking one million steps don't hesitate to let me know! The more the merrier!

*** Day 24 UPDATE***
I have invested in a pedometer. So far it's running pretty close to the number of steps that the treadmill is counting so I feel pretty confident using it for outside walking.

Also, I've discovered that walking is almost exactly like being fat; my legs hurt, my feet hurt, I have heat rashes, chaffing and other uncomfortable skin conditions and I sweat, all the time.

***Day 86 UPDATE***
Superfro and I got a new treadmill. Our hand-me-down one broke and we were unable to fix it so we did a little research and got a new one here locally. So far, we both love it. It was nice to have the used one to test out our mettle. It proved that we would actually use a treadmill so we were not unhappy with making the investment.

I just passed 300,000 steps today, about 20 days ahead of schedule. The mild November weather has made it possible to walk to and from work, giving me over 4000 steps those days, instead of the 2800 which is my minimum goal per day. I've only been able to make it over 10,000 steps a couple of days. It's just too much for my body right now.

My feet and legs hurt less than they did in the beginning and the cooler weather has made it a little more comfortable, although I still like to have a fan blowing on me when I'm on the treadmill.

I've also been trying to eat better. It helps that Superfro is doing the same thing, he's a very good motivator. I'm staying aware of calories and doing my best to spend them on foods that will sustain, rather than refined sugars. But, golly, is it ever hard. And sometimes make me crabby. We'll see how I manage through the holidays, fingers crossed!

***500,000 Step Update!***
Please see my 500,000 step update here.

***5 Months Plus Update***
Yes, I am still walking! Every day! I did skip New Years Eve, but otherwise I'm on that treadmill Monday through Sunday. I've noticed that my starting speed has gone up, I used to start at about 2.0 and work my way up to 3.0 but now I start at 3.0 and work my way up to 3.3 or 3.4, with my cool down being at about 2.5. I'm also going for longer durations, with 30 minutes being a minimum. In fact, I sort of feel guilty when I only go for 30 minutes.
Superfro and I are also still eating better, treating ourselves only occasionally and keeping sweets out of the house.
I'm getting ready for a little mini-vacation at the end of February, a cruise with 16 of the female members of my extended family. I plan on packing the pedometer and committing to exercising on board the ship as well as making good food choices. I will let myself enjoy desserts, but not many. A cruise isn't the greatest place for a person who is so easily tempted so I imagine it will take all my strength plus some extra to get though without packing on some pounds. Wish me luck!
On with the steps!

***7 Month / Weight Loss Update!***
The pounds are coming off slowly but surely! I posted a new blog about it HERE.

***ONE MILLION STEPS UPDATE***
As you can see, I have reached my One Million Steps goal and have kept going. If you'd like to read more about how I felt when I reached my goal, please visit Tree.Com for an exclusive story!

Now that I have reached this goal I am trying to get to TWO MILLION STEPS by December 31st, 2011.

I am still walking seven days a week. Right now I have been doing 3 days that average about 4000, 2 days of 6000 steps and then 2 more days where I focus on as many steps as I can get in 60 minutes (usually 8000+.) Those 2 days where I get up on the 8000s I usually try to do some outside walking too, bringing up my total to 10,000+. It's nice to get a few of those days in every week instead of just once a month or so like I was in the beginning.

***TWO MILLION STEPS UPDATE***

Look at me! I'm still walking! And I reached two million well before my December 31st goal. I'm not even sure what to do for a goal now, I just want to keep going and going and going.....

I've decided to change the name of this page to "Many Million Steps" hopefully that will keep me motivated. My weight loss has tapered off, but to be fair, my eating hasn't been stellar. I still eat well, but I treat myself more often. I'm willing to keep waking and doing 7 day-a-week cardio if it means that I can have treats when I want to. It's a totally fair trade. I still hope to lose some more weight. Right now I'm stuck, I can't seem to break below 180. I'd like to be at 170 or lower before Comic-Con 2012. New goals! New motivation!