Is My Step Counter Making Me Sick?

For the last few years, step counting has been a very popular way of measuring whether you are getting enough exercise on a daily basis. Step counting has been encouraged by doctors, insurance companies, and even places of employment offer their employees a chance to compete for prizes with step counter challenges to encourage people to get in their 10,000 steps. 

Now, let me be clear: I am a huge fan of exercise (I am a personal trainer after all) and I love that these step counters are getting people inspired to stand up and get moving. HOWEVER, as with all things, step counters are not inherently good for everyone, and not everyone should have the same 10,000 step goal. Each person and each body is different, and has different needs. There are nuances to step counter usage that we need to pay attention to, and these nuances are not often discussed, which means that most people who use step counters are under-educated about the healthy and proper ways to use them. And for people living with autoimmune disease, the misuse of the step counters can cause exhaustion, pain, injury and flare-up.

The goal of this blog is to provide the information that you need to know in order to use your step counter safely and effectively, to protect your body.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with the way many people use step counters is that they get fixed on a step goal, and they attempt to reach that goal, regardless of how their bodies feel. They ignore the internal cues that the body is sending, like soreness, exhaustion, fatigue, and pain. It is this idea that we have to push ourselves to achieve a certain number of steps each day, regardless of how our bodies feel, is problematic.

When most people think of a healthy daily step goal, the first number they think of is 10,000 steps. That number has been popularized for some reason, despite the fact that it’s a TON of steps, and that not all bodies are capable of achieving 10,000 steps comfortably. We have become obsessed with this number, and for those of us who try to attain that number and cannot do so, we feel like we failed. OR, even worse, we end up in a lot of pain, because the steps we did take were more than our bodies could handle, and we end up with injury or autoimmune symptom flare-up.  

Additionally, walking as a method of exercise is not the best method of exercise for everyone. You see, many of us have postural issues, like weak glutes and hamstrings from sitting too much, or tight shoulders from typing and texting and driving. And these postural issues have caused pain, like back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain- you name it. So, we carry around these postural issues which lead to pain… and then we walk, which means that we are putting even more stress and strain on this unstable physical structure, which can cause even more pain and injury. And then, when we push ourselves to hit a certain number of steps, we are pushing ourselves through this pain, past our physical limits, and instead of achieving the health benefits we were promised, we have more problems than successes.   

So, does this mean that we should not use a step counter? Nope. In fact, step counters, if used properly, can be a great way to measure your fitness. Here are the 5 Autoimmune Strong tips to using a step counter safely and successfully, so that your exercise is healthy and beneficial: 

1. Evaluate your body before you begin your step counter journey. Are you struggling with an injury or pain? Do you have postural issues like tight hips and a weak core? Are you experiencing exhaustion and fatigue just from your day to day activities? Are you having autoimmune disease symptom flare-ups, chronic migraines, GI symptoms or other issues? If the answer is yes, then using a step counter to begin a walking program is not what is best for you at this moment. Instead, I recommend starting a basic strengthening and stretching routine to help fix those postural issues to prevent further pain and damage to the joints and to decrease your flare symptoms. Cardio, even walking, can make those symptoms worse rather than better. Once your body begins to feel better and those weaker muscles get a little stronger, then you can begin your walking protocol. (Don’t know where to find a good strengthening and stretching program? Check out the Autoimmune Strong exercise program, it’s is a great gentle way to start!)

2. If you have evaluated your body and you don’t have any pain or injury, then you can begin your walking program. The first place to start is measure your current activity level. Use the step counter to see how many steps you take in your current routine. Measure how many steps you take over the course of a week. Then, take that average. That is your baseline, and where you begin. 

3. Now, take that number, and add a little to it. For example, say you realized that you average 3,000 steps per day. A jump from 3,000 to 10,000 immediately is a huge jump and puts you in danger of exhaustion, flare-up, pain, and injury. A better way is to select a smaller step number to increase by. This will be less taxing on your body, and will feel way more doable. For example, add another 500 steps in the next week. 

4. Then, evaluate again. How do you feel? Does that extra 500 feel too hard? Too easy? Are you having any problems? If the answer is yes? Then drop down to an extra 250. If the answer is no, stay at the extra 500 for a week, and then if you are still feeling good, you can increase it by another 500. 

5. Compliment your walking with a well-rounded self care routine. Drink water, eat healthy foods. AND… you MUST incorporate stretching into your walking routine. Stretching before and after will help keep your muscles flexible and limber so that you can walk with more ease and less chance of injury. (Autoimmune Strong teaches the perfect stretching routines to pair with this walking challenge). 

When used in this way, the step counter can actually be very useful, and can help you build up endurance over time! 

I hope this helps you as you get back to walking. However, while I do think that walking can be great exercise, I do encourage you to incorporate strength exercises to your weekly exercise routine along with the walking. It is the best way to keep those muscles, bones, and connective tissue strong, healthy, and flare-up free! Check out Autoimmune Strong to learn more!

Why Simple Errands Are Not So Simple When You Live With Autoimmune Disease

When my kids were little, I lived in Providence, RI. It’s a very small city, and everything is close and easy to get to. At this time, I was in deep with my autoimmune disease. I had been diagnosed with hashimotos and fibromyalgia, but hadn’t yet been diagnosed with celiac or mixed connective tissue disease yet. My flare-ups were constant, and I was living day to day, just trying to get off the couch and participate in life. I was so exhausted and in pain that I quit my job… and during the days, since I was at home- one of my most important tasks each week was to go grocery shopping.

The grocery store where I lived was around the corner from me, which was great because I didn’t have to drive far. But that is where the convenience part ends. Every time I went to the grocery store, I would have to walk through the giant parking lot, up and down the aisles, reaching and bending for the things I wanted. And then, I would head to the checkout line, pay and leave with all my bags. I would have to wheel the cart to my car, unload the bags into my trunk, walk back through the parking lot to return the cart, and then drive home and carry all of the bags inside, and unload them into the fridge. It doesn’t seem like much- but for me it was more exhausting than running a marathon. And that comes from someone who used to be a long distance runner!

I would DREAD this errand. This was before step counters, but I am sure it was a lot of steps. And it would totally exhaust me. Not just that day, but it would take me days after to recover. By the time I recovered, it was time to go do it again.

I tell this story in detail for an important reason.

If you are struggling with any errand that seems simple, basic or routine, you are not alone.

If housework is exhausting for you, you are not alone.

You are not lazy.

You are dealing with exercise intolerance, which is a common side effect of autoimmune disease, and it’s not limited to exercise in the gym. It can affect you during any kind of physical activity.

Exercise intolerance means that we have a lower tolerance than “normal” to handle the requirements of physical activity, and as a result, if we do more than we can tolerate, we have an exercise induced symptom flare-up. This means that over-doing it physically can be linked to many uncomfortable side effects like exhaustion, fatigue, muscular pain or discomfort, insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, nausea, GI issues- the list goes on.

So, the next time you feel mad at yourself for struggling to complete a so-called “simple errand” remember this- your body is trying to tell you that you are overdoing it. Rest and recovery is essential. If you don’t take the proper rest and recovery time your body needs? The symptoms will only grow worse. So it’s best to take proper precautions early, so that things don’t get worse later on.

AND… also know this. It doesn’t have to be this way forever. Our levels of exercise intolerance can be increased over time, with practice. You can train your body to be able to handle grocery shopping in the same way an athlete trains for a big game. Want to know more about this? Read this blog about training your body for everyday life.

Recovering after you overdo it

Facebook Live May 13, 2019

Andrea discusses recovering after you have pushed too far or faced a set back. Topics covered (with timestamps) are:

• Building slowly after a big set back [3:40]

• Approaching cardio after a flare [8:11]

• Dealing with consequences and adjusting expectations for yourself and explaining that to others [9:40]

• Making conscious choices about exercise [14:48]

• Planning time to recover [18:10]

• Helping others to understand [22:30]

• Building a routine and dealing with guilt [26:13]

• Getting back to the gym after proper recovery [30:35]

• Navigating life choices and choosing when to say no [34:11]