How 10,000 Steps a Day Changed My Life
Like many people approaching middle age, I’ve started giving a lot more thought to how I can improve not only the duration of my life but the quality my life will have as I continue to get older. So needless to say, when I read a study saying that adults who take at least 7,000 steps a day reduce all-cause mortality by 50–70% it caught my attention.
I used to sit a lot during the day. Most of my work and many of my hobbies involve time in front of my PC or laptop. So I made the decision that I was going to move around more. After walking 10,000 steps a day or more for the last 6 months (minus a day here or there) my life has changed in profound ways. Some expected, some not so much.
My mood improved — This one was a little unexpected. I knew of the connection between exercise and mood but I was just generally happier. Things that used to irritate me quickly rolled off my back and I found myself smiling and laughing more.
My waistline slimmed — I’ve also made some dietary changes that contributed to this, but in the last six months I’ve lost over 25 lbs and had to buy new jeans and shorts. Walking is a very simple and effective exercise that requires no equipment and I can even walk indoors easily if I don’t want to be outside.
My hunger dissipated — I found going on a short walk after meals kept me from wanting to have a sugary dessert or have a snack later. I tend to go for frequent shorter walks throughout the day as opposed to longer walks and I hypothesize that since I’m taking frequent breaks from sitting in front of the monitor I’m experiencing less desire for the snacks I used to associate with long sitting sessions.
My health markers improved — I track my resting heart rate, heart variability, and other markers via my WHOOP strap but any fitness tracker like an Apple Watch, FitBit, or Oura Ring should work as well. My resting heart rate has gone from 65 bpm to 59 bpm in the last 6 months and my heart rate variability has gone from 49ms to 59ms. None of this is earth-shattering but I’m still seeing month-to-month improvements since I started.
So how did I take the idea to walk 10,000 steps and turn it from an idea into a habit?
I did a Jedi Mind Trick on myself. I’m a huge podcast and audiobook fan, so I just made it so that my walking time was associated with my listening time. So instead of HAVING to walk 10,000 steps a day, I GET to listen to my favorite podcasts and stories while getting some exercise!
I also made sure to prioritize getting my steps in early in the day. I knew that if I reached 9 or 10 pm and I only had 3,000–4,000 steps in, there was zero chance I would finish before I went to bed. By prioritizing it early in the day I often was done early or just had a few thousand steps tops to finish off at the end of the day.
Will I continue taking at least 10,000 steps a day?
YES! I’ve found this to be one of the best life changes ever made. I can easily do activities like going to amusement parks with my family and not get winded or worn out easily, and I get some audiobook/podcast time in regularly. I’ve also found some of my most creative ideas come while I’m walking. I have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
I can only speak to my personal experience and I’m guessing that as long as you incorporate some sort of movement into your daily life you would reap similar benefits. My only real regret is I wish I had prioritized moving more in my daily life sooner. It’s easy in the modern world to get overwhelmed with things to do and not focus on self-care. In prioritizing myself more I’ve not only improved my health but I find my work more productive and my creativity heightened. If you’re on the fence about adding more movement to your life I would highly recommend it!
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