The‘ exercise causes weight loss’ myth 97 you were doing normally, whatever is the lesser amount. Because our days vary, it is often easier to work towards 21,000 steps every three days. While this might sound like a lot, you will be surprised how quickly they add up. As I write this it is now 11.28 a. m. according to my computer clock. I started writing this morning at around 6.45 a. m. and put my pedometer on as I got dressed. I have not left the small unit I am in, but I have taken frequent breaks, paced while I took phone calls, made cups of green tea and breakfast. Currently my count is 1834 steps. Just wearing a pedometer will cause you to start increasing your steps because our minds are built to solve problems. Give your mind this challenge: How do I get the highest pedometer count without actually setting aside DE time? Attaching it to the nearest cat is one solution but there are others that will benefit you more. In our society we have been trained to think that not putting physical effort into day-to-day chores is a good thing. How many millions of remote controls have been sold on the idea that having to move is bad! Self-propelled mowers, electric mixers and golf buggies have all been seen as technological advances. They would not be a problem if we were eating less. Maybe one of the more useful technological advances has been cordless and mobile phones that allow us to pace while we talk. It drives the people around me at the time crazy but it is an easy way to get my step count up. Taking Longcuts We need to reverse the belief that we have been bombarded with from a lifestyle point of view: that less energy expenditure is better. As a society we have become obsessed with how we can do things in the quickest, most efficient way. We have all become experts on taking shortcuts. The challenge for those of us living with the obesity epidemic is to develop the skill of taking‘ longcuts’. In just the same way that our minds would