Lifestyles have changed drastically from the prehistoric times, through the Victorian era, up until the present day. In fact, in the last 5 years the changes are considerable. Every year, as technology advances, jobs become more sedentary and pure laziness of society is on the increase, we have become very lax when it comes to exercise. This and the increase in convenience foods, fast food and ordering food via an app, has meant a decline in the population’s general daily activity.
Back in prehistoric times when we had to walk, run, sprint to find or capture food we were healthier. Then when you think about the actual physical activity of carrying, skinning, preparing and cooking our food, we were seriously stronger and more resilient to the physical demands of just feeding ourselves.
During the Victorian era, we were still quite physically healthy with the demands of the working day. But it all changed with the development of machines and as a result the creation of pollution and reduced physical activity. We became less active, more prone to illness and more focused on the creation of sweet treats. Up until the war, during the war we became a fitter nation, as sugar was limited, fresh food was at the core of any household and we had demanding physical jobs to survive the battles to come.
All in all, we are now becoming very inactive and the thought of having to do more just to be at a basic level of fitness is very daunting to most.
I didn’t realise how many steps I did until I got my first Fitbit. Compared to other people in my friendship group I was seriously inactive. This and the time management of working long days, trying to eat and trying to train became an impossible task. I became demotivated and started to fall into sitting on the sofa, eating fast food and avoiding going out. Then it changed, I wasn’t happy with the way I looked. I stepped up to the challenge and made sure I hit a 10k day. Then with a change in career, I found myself tracking up to 25k of steps a day. This really focused me on what I needed to do to be a better me. This wasn’t enough as I still wasn’t shifting any weight. Diet had to change; mental state had to change. I became focused on walking along the beach, through the woods, cooking nice fresh clean food. Finally, without even stepping into the gym, I lost weight and I toned up.
Just this small change of checking my daily activity levels, had significant impact on my physical appearance, my mood and general fitness. Small changes such as tracking your steps has a massive impact on your daily calorie expenditure, the competition with your friends adds motivation and overall you will become very conscious of being sat down and not moving. My minimum daily step count is 12k and I still average between 22k and 30k a day being active in my job, my lifestyle and being outside enjoying life.
I challenge you to get in your 10k a day and let me know how you feel and look after a month. Let’s see what results we get from just a little focus on such an easy way to stay active.