Why 10,000 steps a day will not get you to good health?

In the past few years, I noted many people get obsessed with this magic number 10,000 ... the 10,000 steps to good health. This number is ingrained into their minds by government health agencies and social media, and by their peers and friends. Because it will be a chore to count to 10,000, many started to wear devices to help track the achievement of this magic number .. from the simple pedometer with only one single function to track steps to wristbands that not only tracks the count, and also tells time and creates a fashion statement.

The end goal of 10,000 steps is about improving health. Does it really work? Basically it alone will not help you achieve that.

First, lets understand why 10,000 steps. The number is derived to get people with sedentary lifestyle, which forms the majority of the population, to be more active. A sedentary person clocks in 3000 steps on average daily. Triple this amount to about 10,000 should be very achievable for everyone ...by taking the staircase, instead of lift and escalators .. by alighting a short distance away from destination and walking the rest of the way .. by spending 30 minutes a day to walk.

An average person will burn about 100 calories for 2000 steps. So by walking an extra 7000 steps per day could help burn 350 calories. Er... calories equivalent to half a plate of noodles.

Have you walked 10,000 steps daily for the past few months? Did it really work for you to lose some weight or enhance your health? Have you met others who achieve the goals with this routine?

Do not believe those who said that the 10,000 steps have helped them lose weight. They did more than walking. They "walked" differently. They also made some changes to their dietary intake to healthier choices. The extra calories burn daily from the walking will not contribute much to weight loss, if you still maintain the same food intake habits.

How to make the 10,000 steps work for you:

1. Walking faster for a sustained period, instead of distributing the steps over the day by casual walking . Get the heart rate up to 120 per min for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Drink lots of water
3. Have healthier nutritional choices

What I know about the magic number 10,000 even it does not help you achieve your weight and health goals is that it creates a consciousness to good health ... that may be good enough for most people.