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{Health} 120 Days of 10k Steps

Yesterday, when I was writing this, marked 120 consecutive days of getting 10,000 (or more) steps per day. I haven't missed a day since early May. It's become a mini quest of sorts and the longer my streak, the more obsessed I get with not breaking it. I guess there are far worse obsessions, right?

I thought it might be helpful to share some tips on how to make it 10,000 steps each and every day.

Get a jump on your steps early in the day. I make a point of getting in as many steps as possible before lunch. The closer I am to 10K before dinner, the less stressed out I am about making my goal.

Stop being so efficient. Pick the parking spot that's farthest away from your destination. Make multiple trips up and down the stairs when you're doing household chores. I find ways to add steps into my day and a lot of that is by being less efficient. When I'm putting away laundry, I take multiple trips to my kids' bedrooms, even though I could do it in a single trip. All these little inefficiencies add up to a considerable amount of steps.

Block out walking/running time each day. Add it to your daily schedule so it's clear you'll be spending that time exercising. We run three nights a week and walk the other four. Everyone knows that the time after dinner, but before bedtime activities is our time to exercise. We've built it into our routine and it's just something we do.

Get a buddy. My buddy is my husband, Mike,  and we motivate each other to make our step goal. If I don't want to walk one day, he pushes me ... and I do the same for him. It's made a huge difference to have someone else to be accountable to besides myself.

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Mike asked me the other day when I was going to stop, Was 120 days enough? I'm not sure when I'll stop. I think when it stops being fun and interesting to me. Then I'll stop. At the moment, I'm loving the quest. And happy to get my steps in each day.