If you want to increase your activity, measure how much you move. When people are assigned to wear a pedometer as part of randomized controlled trials, they walk at least one extra mile per day on average. Overall activity levels go up by 27 percent. Body Mass Index (BMI) decreases, and blood pressure goes down.
In addition to basic pedometers, which cost as little as $5, more sophisticated tools are available today. There are now hundreds of devices that can measure your activity all day long. They come in the form of wristbands, necklaces, GPS watches, and other clip-on or in-pocket devices.
Some of these tools even monitor the duration and quality of your sleep. Others track your heart rate and alert you if you are inactive for a prolonged period. You can also achieve much of this using the accelerometer or GPS in a smartphone. This book’s Welbe companion app will allow you to merge measurement and tracking data across many platforms and devices. It will also show you and your peers how your metrics compare, even if you use different tracking devices.
Whether you prefer high tech, low tech, or no tech, find some way to track or log your activity. This will prompt you to set specific goals — yet another key to adding movement. What could be even more beneficial is comparing your activity levels to your peers’ activity levels. At a minimum, tracking your activity keeps it top of mind.
Once you find a way to measure your movement, set a goal for your daily activity. The most common standard is the raw number of steps you take in a day. Almost any pedometer or device tracks and displays your total steps.
When I first started counting, my typical day was just 5,000 steps. Until I received this daily feedback, I had no idea how sedentary my lifestyle had become. After tracking continuously for a year, I was hitting 8,000 steps per day on average, and I now routinely walk more than 10,000 steps a day. Every night, the last thing I look at before bed is my step count for the day. This number is a decent proxy for whether my body had a good day or a rough one.
Based on the latest research, 10,000 steps per day is a good target for overall activity. This equates to roughly five miles, which is nowhere near as daunting as it sounds once you start adding up all of your daily movement. On the other end of the continuum, people who walk fewer than 5,500 steps are considered sedentary.
When researchers compared average number of steps per day across different nations, they discovered that the average American falls below this sedentary line at just 5,117 steps per day. In comparison, the average Australian takes 9,695 steps per day, nearly two times the average American’s steps per day. This helps explain why Australia’s obesity rate is just 16 percent, while the United States’ is 34 percent.
The good news is, going from the lower end of this continuum to the recommended 10,000 steps leads to significant health benefits — from weight loss to warding off diabetes. Start doing smaller things each day to increase your total. If you live in a city, walk to the second closest coffee shop. Instead of trolling for the parking spot right by an entrance, find one at the back of the lot.
Try to get a few hundred steps around your home or office every hour. Take a brisk walk during your lunch break for 30 minutes, which could add about 3,000 steps. Play an active sport for an hour to add 8,000-10,000 steps. Then if you have a day when you just can’t get to 10,000, aim for a weekly total of at least 70,000 to balance things out.
Arranging Your Day for More Energy
We are addicted to refined carbohydrates. One publication went as far as to describe carbs as “more addictive than cocaine” and concluded, “At the center of the obesity universe lies carbohydrates, not fat.” As a team of Harvard researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association, carbs are a “nutrient for which humans have no absolute requirement.” Another study suggests that eating fewer carbs even curbs cancer growth rates by as much as 50 percent.
Yet quitting refined carbs altogether would be an uphill climb. Most animals, humans include, have evolved to prefer the taste of carbohydrates over protein. Carbs also stimulate pleasurable dopamine centers in the brain. And they are cheap and convenient. Everywhere you turn, pasta, bread, chips, or a bowl of rice is staring you in the face. I guess this explains why it is still so hard for me to choose a salad over a sandwich.
Do everything you can to replace refined carbohydrates with vegetables when you prepare or order a meal. You get enough carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, and protein. Try to reduce your consumption of pasta, bread, rice, and chips in particular. Most restaurants will let you substitute a vegetable for a side of rice, pasta, or fries. Keep most of the refined carbs from making it to your plate in the first place. That way you won’t need a superhuman amount of willpower to resist what is sitting in front of you during a meal.
Instead of chips, crackers, or bars, find natural snacks like nuts, carrots, apples, celery, kale chips, or seeds. Then avoid the processed and refined carbs at all costs. Remember, this is one case where “refined” does not mean “better” or “improved.”
When food is served “family style” from large plates, bowls, or platters placed in arms’ reach, people simply eat more. One study found that women eat about 10 percent more. Men move even faster through their first helping and eat an additional 29 percent if the dish is on the table instead of on the counter.
To avoid eating more food than you need, leave the serving plates in the kitchen, on a counter, or anywhere else that requires people to stand up and leave the table for another helping. This will allow your family and friends to be selective and take only what they really want. It should also keep them from eating too much and becoming uncomfortably full.
Once you move the serving plates off the table, you might notice that people are less likely to get up and grab seconds or thirds. Some people will remain seated just to avoid the perception of overeating. Others will stay seated simply because getting up requires effort. Either way, sit back and watch how you have channeled social pressure in a positive direction.
Also, when you cook for yourself or your immediate family and you make extra food to save for leftovers, put those portions