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What a walkover!

A wannabe slimmer is helped by a pedometer on her daily beat of junk food joints

As much as I hate to admit it, my pedometer's rather fascinating. A small, pager-like device, worn on your waist, it records the number of steps a person takes in a day, translates that into the distance covered, and then tells you how many calories you've burned. A brilliantly simple tool for joggers, health buffs and people out to lose weight, the pedometer's also quite a cool toy.

How it works

Of course, it does take some getting used to. First of all, the calibration, which I was reckless enough to attempt pre-caffeine on the first morning, involves some ghastly calculation, and — even worse — actual stretching and bending. Since a pedometer works by sensing the up and down motion of your hip by counting steps, it needs to be attached to your waistband, but before that, you need to record the length of every step you take, with a measuring tape. Once that's done, you have to key in your weight, and then, you're ready to go.

According to assorted enthusiastic websites, which insist that the pedometer's the best thing that's happened to fatsos since the invention of chocolate brownies, the gizmo works as "a motivational tool to remind you to walk more and be active and is an excellent recorder for tracking your activity level throughout the day". The same cheerfully deluded sites also state that an average person walks about 6,000 steps a day, and you need to hit 10,000 if you want to lose weight. After all those figures, I felt so faint I decided to take my pedometer to Pizza Hut, as a special First Day on the Job treat.

Despite walking into five stores, in and out of Cookie Man, and then — as a special favour to the pedometer — taking the stairs instead of the elevator, by the time I reached my table at Pizza hut, I had just about managed to burn 30 calories. And it didn't help that my dining companion entertained himself all through lunch by energetically shaking my pedometer over our double cheese pizza, increasing the step count by about a 100 steps by the time lunch was done. Dessert — a devil's food cake — however, took care of another 20 steps, and at least a dozen more calories.

By the end of the day, I had burned 500 calories, and consumed at least 2,000.

And that, is precisely how a pedometer could help you if you're on a quest to lose weight, or even become a lot more fit. Most people have no idea about how little they walk, and as a result burn calories, every day. Especially considering what they eat. And while it's true that calorie counters are notorious for being incorrect (mine started doubling my `calories burnt' after two days, much to my delight, until I realised it showed six steps for every three I took), a gadget like this does motivate you to walk more.

You can wear it all day, every day, and record the total number of steps you take, or just wear it when you take your walk, or go for your workout. Using it will also help you set and reach daily targets, since you can sneak in 10 minutes or more of walking at every opportunity, whether it's taking the dog out for a run, or just taking the stairs.

Pedometers are available at every sports store in the city. In America too, pedometers are gaining new life, being marketed by government officials and (hold your breath) fast food outlets and potato chip companies.

As for me, I think I lost mine in a bucket of fried chicken. From the looks of it, I have miles to go before I'm sleek!

Using a pedometer

Under 5000 steps: A very sedentary lifestyle

5000 to 7,500 steps: Low active

7,500 to 10,000 steps: Active

10,000 to 12,000 steps: High. Essential for weight loss

SHONALI MUTHALALY

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