S'o, WHY the Failure to ACHIEVE the HIGH STANDARD ?

For about a week, I've failed to achieve the high standard of 10,000 steps/day in my daily low-stress exercise workout.  It's just not happening.

Given a graduate thesis to do, I'm finding that my schedule is barely negotiable when I spend all that time walking around.  One hour in a gym is a little different from two hours walking around town.

Of course, I spent an hour in a grocery store, and usually my round trip to the grocery is in itself 2000 steps.   Somethings wrong.  I walked up (should have been 1000 steps) in the afternoon, but after climing all those three levels of stairs, I saw EXACTLY 1000 steps.  Hmmm, I'd been walking around all morning.  After half a 2000-step trip, how did I only have exactly 1000 steps?

Then I walked an hour in the store, checking on prices - but it was all walking around at a pretty good clip.  After I checked out in the self-check express lane, I had exactly - WHAT? - 10005 steps.  Something is wrong here - with my $20 pedometer!

Then I walked back, then walked back and forth a few times between home and the office - and did lots of steps at the office - but WHAT? - still less than 1000 steps more (under 2000 steps).

I MAY be realizing health benefits I'm unable to document.  We'll see in time.  By now, given all that walking and 90 minutes on a rebounder, I should have about 8000-9000 steps, but I don't.

This pedometer was THE MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PEDOMETER - but I'm really frustrated with what I've noted.

My daily goal of 10,000 recorded steps - steps recorded on my pedometer - has been quite challenging for me, but friends have already told me that I'm losing weight (even when I'm not achieving my daily goal).

My pedometer 'NUDGED' me to "take more steps!"

I bought my pedometer - through eBay, then through Amazon.com, then at CVS (only $5.29 after the clerk stared me down with "Well...!?!?!?!" after I asked him where his pedometers are - then he showed me).

And now I'm walking...  One round-trip to the grocery is one-fifth of my daily quota, which is great - better than 30 round trips to my office across the street.

But more important, I used to dread walking INEFFICIENTLY from point-to-point inside my studio, but now I'm thankful for the exercise, however I get it.  Since I have a 10,000 step daily quota, everything counts.  And my rebounder is getting lots of use now - while listening to NPR or watching the nightly news.

"Take more steps!" Dr. William Zucker of Winchester, MA, urged me as we chanced upon each other near Harvard Square on Thanksgiving Day, and that's exactly what I've been doing.

Even over-eating somehow SEAMS less deadly because I feel like the abdomen is much more fit than it once was; and I'm less interested in just eating to 'push' the inside of my belly.  Instead, I can WORK to get my abdominal muscles to do some of that same forceful inside pushing.

The insights from Buddhist meditation ALSO are finding new applications like I'd never before thought.

Yep!  Just keep it up.  :"Take more steps!" - Dr. William Zucker, Winchester, MA, vegan MD