There are so many benefits of walking or being active in some way, every day. What do you notice when you’re more active?

Do you feel happier, sleep better, experience less pain? Or maybe you notice health benefits like improved diabetes management or weight loss? Find your “why” to motivate you to step up your fitness game this fall.

How many steps a day?

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Goals should be personalized. If you put on your tracker, and you notice in the first couple days that you’re only walking 1,500 steps per day, then try to take short walks throughout the day (such as a 3-minute walk around the building once every hour at work), and see how many more steps you can get. Let’s say you’re now at 2,500. Great job!

Now is a great time to boost your activity so you are ready for shoveling and winter sports, and motivated to maintain your fitness year round, whether indoors or outdoors.

Then, for the following week, make a goal to reach 3,000 steps per day every day. And when you’re ready, shoot for 4,000, and so on. If you are already walking 11,000 steps per day and you want to challenge yourself to get more fit this fall, make it your goal to strive for 13,000 steps per day.

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Stay motivated

Each day, notice how you feel in relation to the number of steps you take. For day-to-day motivation, use day-to-day feedback from your body and mind. For example, maybe weight loss is a goal of yours, but you are not seeing an immediate decrease. Instead of using the number on the scale or clothing size as your motivation to increase activity, use immediately noticeable outcomes such as feeling energized, the enjoyment of connecting with nature, sleeping better, and more. If you have a competitive side or want to win prizes, this October, you can use the walking challenge for motivation!

Walk and Win Prizes

The Walk-tober Community Walking Challenge is a fun way to increase activity. The virtual route travels the northern California coast from Bodega Bay to Monterrey. Your final destination is based on your average daily step goal, giving you the opportunity to personalize the challenge to your own needs and abilities. One winner will be drawn from each category, based on farthest point reached:

Half Moon Bay (average 6097 steps per day), souvenir magnet and insulated TFHS cooler bag

Santa Cruz (average 10,471 steps per day), souvenir artwork and insulated TFHS cooler bag

Monterey Bay (average 13,839 steps per day), souvenir artwork and insulated TFHS cooler bag + $30 gift card to Little Fish Company (fresh fish delivery to Truckee)

The person with the most steps will win a souvenir stainless steel water bottle and insulated TFHS cooler bag

The Tahoe Worx Wellness Portal makes the walking challenge extra fun and visual, when you use the interactive map tool on a computer (this option is not available in the device app, although you can see your steps on the app). Use Google Chrome to login to the portal to access the challenge dashboard and see your progress on the map. When you drag the image of the “yellow man” (bottom right of the map) to any point on the path, you get a real-life view of the location!

We look forward to seeing you being active around town this October. If you prefer other activities besides walking, the challenge guide in the portal has a chart to convert other activities to steps walked. Now is a great time to boost your activity so you are ready for shoveling and winter sports, and motivated to maintain your fitness year round, whether indoors or outdoors.

For help with the walking challenge, contact wellness@tfhd.com.

Dana Dose, RDN, LD, CDE, is a wellness dietitian for the Tahoe Forest Health System. You can reach Dana at ddose@tfhd.com or 530-550-6767.