A pedometer can be a fantastic tool for someone who is trying to become more motivated about exercise. There is something inherently encouraging about seeing the number of steps that you have taken in a day - or the number of steps that you need to take - in order to reach any given activity goal.

It is recommended that in order to fight off weight gain and maintain a healthy heart, people should aim for 10,000 steps per day. 10,000 steps per day, for a person with an average length stride of 2.5 feet, is roughly 5 miles. This daily distance is enough for someone who eats healthily and in moderation, but if you overeat you may find yourself putting on extra pounds over the years even if you adhere to a habit of taking this many steps daily. If you’re looking to lose weight, you may need to take even more steps each day.

You can buy very cheap pedometers, which more than serve their purpose, or you can splurge and buy one with enhanced accuracy and extra features such as fat and calories burned estimators that you can just wear in your pockets or carry in your purse.


How to use a pedometer to lose weight
Studies have shown that sedentary individuals who start wearing a pedometer for weight loss increase their daily activity by an average of 2000 steps per day. That’s nearly an extra mile walked every day. That translates to approximately 100 extra calories burned daily, which is a total of 36,500 per year, or almost 10.5 pounds lost. Here are a few tips on how to best use this simple gadget for this purpose .

Set a daily goal for number of steps taken
If you are looking to use a pedometer to drop weight, it is imperative to set a daily goal for minimum steps taken. A good example might be 14,000 steps per day, but it will depend on what your starting point is (how sedentary you are at the beginning of your exercise program), and what other kind of other fitness programs you might be implementing to try and get fit (exercise such as swimming, biking, or strength training will not be reflected on your pedometer steps, even though they burn a great deal of calories).

On days where you do activities outside of a walking program or running workout, you can always scale back on the number of steps you expect to take, and just make note of what other kind of physical activity you did.


Use your pedometer in conjunction with a diet journal to track and bolster your progress
Keeping a food journal has been shown to help people lose as much as twice as much weight as those who don’t track their consumption. Combining the analysis of your diet with a food journal and the monitoring of the number of steps you’re taking with a pedometer can be a great way to have a multi-pronged approach to your fitness efforts.

If you still have not lost any weight after a few weeks of what you feel has been a good diet with a good amount of physical activity, you will have a thorough record to look back upon to see where you might have any holes in your diet plan. With this kind of insight, you will be able to tell whether you need to increase the number of steps you take per day or cut back on calories (or both) in order to see results.


Start planning your days around activities that bump up your daily tally of total steps taken
Part of the reason why a pedometer helps people lose weight is because it forces them to become aware of how active (or inactive) they are throughout their daily lives.

You can use a pedometer to reach your goals by being conscious of reaching your daily step goal and making decisions all day long that lead to more movement. This decision to be more active can have twofold benefits. For example, suddenly if you decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator, there will be a record of that on the pedometer, which keeps reaching your weight loss goals at the forefront of your mind. In turn, wearing a pedometer might not only help you move a little more, it might also spur you to make healthier food choices as well–just because you are more conscious of your expenditure and consumption.


The pedometer is an extremely cost effective way to help keep your motivation towards exercise and weight loss high.

Have you ever worn a pedometer before? How many steps do you take on an average day?