'Forget walking 10,000 steps a day'

Here's the thing... I got a fitness watch a year ago for Christmas and I love it. I am absolutely religious about getting my 10K steps in, which for me is about 5 miles a day. Is this a long amount of walking? Sure. Can it be done? Absolutely! For a little background, I am retired from the military but still working for them. I'm in my upper 40s and I am no longer required to do PT with my units. My exercise goes through cycles where I get too busy or even lazy and I find myself working harder to get back to par. What I discovered with my steps is that I am able to maintain a decent weight, without vigorous exercise (i.e. more than 2 times a week). Several months after I got the watch, I didn't change my diet much (I did eat less than what I normally do during the holiday's however), and I noted I lost roughly 5-10 pounds. By the summer it was closer to 15, which I have maintained 10-15 simply from the steps. My rule is to always get the steps (running counts) on top of what other exercise I do. What I have not been able to do consistently through the year is the vigorous exercise due to leg and foot issues (and some excuses on my parts). But I know for a fact that when I do, the pounds come off even more.

All that said, walking is easy for me. I use the time after I come home to finish what I have done through the day while working at a desk (usually 6 - 7.5 K steps left to go). I may walk with one of my kids if they want to come and talk about our day/week/life. If they choose not to come, I take my phone and listen to music, audio books, and/or even watch Netflix shows. Multitasking!

No matter what a person does there will always be someone to come up with a way to poopoo it and suggest something better or more effective etc etc. It is an exercise in futility to try & keep up. Physical fitness grues are a dime a dozen out there. Pick something which works for you and stick with it for awhile. Enough with the game of one-upmanship.

Seems to Me walking is a good thing to do and keep those muscles active. It is amazing how much walking I may do without even trying to keep track of it but it may well encourage people who don't walk a lot to do so. 10,000 steps a day isn't a bad idea in my opinion. Being a couch potato is something I'd be concerned about, A TV remote doesn't give You any exercise. Find a balance though, You can do both.