weight loss, fitness equipmentWhen I think of fitness equipment, I just look down at my feet and realize that it all starts with movement. Fortunately, I work at home so between tasks, I can get up and walk around the house or the yard. I've heard that people who want to achieve weight loss should walk about 10,000 steps a day, so I ordered a pedometer online today. I have no clue as to how much I walk every day, so when I get this, I'll have a clue.

Over the winter I put on a few extra pounds and this is the perfect time of year to hike, so I'll be tossing my boots in the trunk and headed for the trails until it's just too hot to walk outdoors. Then I'll use the fitness equipment at our community's gym. They keep the temperature inside the workout building at a cool 70 and I keep the house at 82, so I'd rather be getting my 10,000 steps in at the clubhouse than pacing the living room.

The pedometer I ordered is the Electronic Step Distance Pedometer. Not only does it count steps, it also keeps track of the distance covered and the calories burned. That's going to be valuable information that I can put in a spreadsheet file and track my weight loss over time. If we didn't have fitness equipment in our community center, chances are I'd join the gym at the shopping mall a mile away to achieve my workout goals for weight loss. It's too important to be a healthy weight than walking around with 10 extra pounds, especially when hanging out at the pool to cool off.

I know I'll have so much more energy if I use the fitness equipment and then hit the pool for relaxation. I love how exercise makes me feel. When I come home after a hike, I feel just jazzed so this summer when it's really hot out, I'll still have the pedometer clipped on my shorts and hiking away, not on the trails, but on the treadmill watching daytime TV instead of the birds flying overhead and the wildflowers blooming in abundance.

I found the pedometer at Healthy Choice USA at http://healthychoicesusa.com, a site where they have a lot of products to help weight loss and building muscle. Once I see the results of my workout with the pedometer and my diet, I may go back to see what they have that would hasten my weight loss if I get impatient with my results. I don't know if I walk 500 steps a day or 6,000, so the pedometer is my first step toward being educated about how much exercise I am currently getting and how much more I need to do. I'm hoping that my time on the fitness equipment gives me great results, but if not, I know I can use Healthy Choice USA to find a Plan B.