30 Day 10K Steps Challenge

This April, I decided to participate into a 30 days global challenge of walking 10000 steps a day. As a part of my health goal, I wanted to be more active and was very inspired by Jenna Fisher's 30 hikes in 60 days. challenge for herself. I wanted to do hikes as well but it is almost impossible for me to get out of the city for a hike at least 30 times due to work and other priorities. The 10K steps was one of the things that I knew I could manage if I put my heart in to it and also did not really require me to go out of the city.

I have had this app on my phone called Pacer for about 3 years now but I never really explored it. On a boring day towards end of March, I decided to explore the features of the app and noticed they have several challenges like 10K steps in 30 days, 5K run, a distance challenge and so on. It is one of their motivational tools, I guess. One can participate in any of the challenges. I realised that I barely challenged my self with anything. So, decided to give this a shot.

I had been walking regularly even before I took up this challenge but I never paid close attention to the number of steps I was taking or the distance I was walking. Also, note that I do not eat sugar like I used to. I have almost given up sugar and eat a bit of it on specified days of the year and so far have been good.

Example of a Badge- They had one for every week we complete successfully

Pacer would give us their dose of pep like victory badges at their predefined milestones etc. It was to help us stay motivated and coast through the challenge.

I started very upbeat and walked as much as I could consistently. There were a few hindrances which I encountered during the whole journey:

1. First, somewhere in the middle of the month, I was taken quite ill and slept for a big part of the day. It definitely helped in my recovery as I walked in the evening, albeit it was slow walking indoors. I must have walked about 11K steps for 3-4 days until I felt all better and could step out for the real thing.

2. The next hurdle I would say, is when I had to change my shoes. I was walking with an old pair of really comfortable shoes. It helped me with the pace and was really comfortable on the feet. However, I guess I had been walking a lot for a long time and it lead to wearing off of the soles of the shoes. I continued wearing it until there were giant holes in the soles and pebbles and cement and dust particles started entering into my shoes and made the walk uncomfortable. When I would take the shoes off, my feet would be coated with something really black and it would cling on to it. It was quite a chore to restore my feet's original colour. Though the news shoes are not bad, they are quite different from my older ones and my feet are not yet used to them.

3. One of the days, towards the end of the challenge, I walked excessively at a stretch, so much, that the entire stretch of my not so long legs began hurting and in the next few days, closer to the close of the challenge made it only worse. I have decided that until the first weekend of May,2019, I will relax and not walk a lot in order to recover.

I am really proud of myself that despite all these hurdles, I was determined and did not give up on a single day and on most days crossed 10K steps, even on the days when I was sick.

In terms of the results, though I could not see the weighing scale tip in a negative direction, some of my colleagues at work mentioned that I seem to have lost weight and looked leaner, and that it was quite visible. I am not sure if it is anything to do with the walk or the fact that I have not eaten sugar in a long time. On a personal note, some of the clothes which felt tight a year back, seem to fit me again well- mind you, I had not worn them a whole year and tried them on around mid-April, so cannot say definitively that it had anything to do with the challenge. My mom noticed that I have become leaner and look taller as well. Another thing that I practise is restrict eating outside. As much as possible, I try eating home cooked meals. I notice that I eat just enough and not too much when I eat food at home compared to when I eat outside.

I would post my progress as Instagram stories and really thank everyone who supported and encouraged me through this journey. It gave my confidence a boost and in a way tested my will-power and I think I came out in flying colours.

My Best Performance in the challenge