Day 1: Wear your pedometer

Today was a little unusual in that I visited my mother in the hospital.  Dealing with breast cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation, having hip surgery was last thing that she needed.  Hopefully, my mother will recover and gain strength in her hip.  But enough of that.

Today, I want to talk about pedometers.  Pedometers are usefull because it tracks your natural activity which then can be applied toward your work out goal.  Ideally, one should walk 10, 000 steps a day.  That may include house chores, gardening, walking the dog or to the store; it does not have to be complicated.  The point is to just simply move.  More importantly, walking is natural, easy, and it is FREE!  So, instead of meeting your girlfriend at a coffeeshop, go for a walk instead.  Now, I live in Portland, OR, which rains like 300 days out of the year, so you really have to embrace the outdoors and the weather.  Still, keep an open mind!  So you ask where can I get this magic pedometer?  Well, odds are you might know someone who has one lying around the house; ask if you can have it.  Or ask your doctor's office.  Or maybe you already had a pedometer, dig it out of the draw and start using it.  Or you can buy one from REI, Fred Meyer (I live on the West Coast), Walmart, or Target; it is worth the investment.  Alright, I will stop now :)

Today, I walked 10,227, so I met my goal!  Here is something to get you started--this is a "virtual walk" published by Jenny Craig e-tools.  It is a 10-K "walk" around the Outer Park Drive Loop in Central Park, New York.  From time to time, I will post different "walks".
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0ByuTQz-rkscvNzBhYTdlMWItOGJhOC00ZmQzLWFmZTMtNmM4MWIwZDY3ZGQ2&hl=en

Last thing, I took a picture to log the start of my journey.  I currently way 247 lbs.  Yikes!