How Many Steps Do You Really Need Each Day?

It’s no secret that the me that you see today and the one from two years ago are two very different looking people. There are a couple of things that I’ve become a firm believer in when it comes to weight loss and its maintenance. One, intermittent fasting. Read up on it. I think implementing it in your life is a game changer. And two, every day, do something to get your heart rate up and your blood pumping. There’s nothing I love more than walking a golf course when playing the game. There’s nothing that makes me feel better about myself than after I get off the elliptical machine after a vigorous hour (I built up to that over time). With either of these, I’m getting in 3.5-5 miles of walking and between 10-20,000 steps. The buzz term over the last few years has been, “you need to get in 10,000 steps a day.” But do you really? How many steps do you really need each day to be healthy?
A new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology pretty much says that whole 10,000 steps thing is a crock. In fact, less than half that number (3,967 steps) can reduce the risk of dying at a young age. Further, by walking just a little more than 2,000 steps a day (2,337 to be exact) one reduces risk of passing away from cardiovascular disease.
Researcher Maciej Banach says, “Our analysis indicates that as little as 4,000 steps a day are needed to significantly reduce deaths from any cause, and even fewer to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease. Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better. We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, sub-tropical or sub-polar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.”
Now, let’s get specific. Man cannot live on salad and water alone. Every now and again, you’ve got to indulge. I mean, the last thing I want is to be standing in front of St. Peter thinking, “Man, I wish I’d had that last piece of pizza.” However, what are we talking about in terms of exercise to burn THAT off? I thought you’d never ask. Wales Online recently published a list of junk food favorites and the steps it takes to get rid of the nutritional damage left in their wake.
-one beer … 5,361 steps
-one glass of wine … 3,961 steps
-a large bag of potato chips … 15,428 steps
-a Diet Coke and a McChicken sandwich … 4,140 steps
-a Big Mac … 16,083 steps
-a large Domino’s pepperoni pizza … 78,688 steps
-a hot dog … 9,799 Steps
-a chocolate bar … 16,262 steps
-a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream … 12,628 steps
No surprise, the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology had nothing to say about how many steps are needed for this at all! <g>
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Surprising New Poll Says This Is North Carolina's Favorite Junk Food
What’s North Carolina’s favorite junk food? A new poll from Casinos.com has a surprising answer. We’re talking about National Junk Food Day! They released a state-wide junk food poll on July 21st. Why? Because it’s National Junk Food Day! It only happens once a year and it’s a day worth celebrating for sure! If there was ever a day to leave the salad in the fridge and treat yourself to some fat, sugar, salt, carbs, and calories, this is it. In honor of this food holiday, a new report reveals Americans’ favorite junk foods.
For research purposes, they left out fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and KFC. Fast food places are worthy of their own nationally celebrated day (National Fast Food Day, November 16). Likewise, they didn’t include drinks or sodas, and basically, anything you can consider healthy.
The Website site used Google Trends to measure interest in 32 of the nation’s favorite junk food/snacks.
Fast food restaurants were excluded as I said earlier. This study instead refers to snacks available to purchase in stores. Sodas and chewing gum were also excluded.
I was shocked to find out what North Carolina’s was. South Carolina too!
This very important data was collected over a 12-month period from July 17, 2022 – July 16, 2023.
In the case where a state had equal levels of interest for multiple snacks, search volumes for each item using “Semrush” were measured in that area to determine a favorite.
My all-time favorite junk food is pretzels. Any kind of pretzels. Rods, sticks, chocolate covered, honey wheat, burnt and hot soft ones! I love me some pretzels! I’m also a sucker for Gold Fish crackers and Peanut M&M’s.
LauRen my co-host has her favs too. She said on the air the other day she loves Twizzlers, Pringles and assorted nuts. (BTW I said nuts is not junk food).
Casinos.com analyzed Google Trends and search data for the last year to determine what the most popular junk foods are in each state:
Charlie Nance is the Afternoon Drive co-host (along with his wife) of "The Charlie and Debbie Show" at WSOC, Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple have been with the radio station since 2006. Charlie has won the prestigious CMA (Country Music Association) Award for Radio Personality of the Year and has been a finalist for the Country Radio Hall of Fame four times. Prior to his time in Charlotte, Charlie (along with Debbie) spent more than a decade hosting successful morning radio shows in Greenville, SC; Augusta, Ga; and Birmingham, Al. As a content creator for Country 1037, Charlie writes about dream lottery windfalls, sports, restaurants and bars, and travel experiences in North and South Carolina.