Women Require an Hour of Excercise a Day

In a recent study it was found that as women get older only those who are already their goal weight and getting at least 1 hour of moderate exercise a day could maintain their weight.

If women are already overweight, they'll need to restrict their calories in addition to getting 1 hour of exercise.

I don't know about you Dear Readers but I think this makes perfect sense!  The idea that 20 minutes a day is sufficient was probably leaving a lot of people feeling like exercise wasn't working for them and that their weight loss goals were hopeless.

Take heart, your goals are not hopeless, just harder to attain than previously thought.  So how about we book a 1.5 hours of moderate exercise a day, cut back on our consumption and watch the lbs fall off?

Pokemon SoulSilver with Pokewalker

Dear Readers, you know by now that I'm on a quest for the holy grail of fitness equipment.  Something that combines strong motivation with great technique to get to fantastic results. 

In my previous searches I found things like Wii Active and Yourself Fitness which are all great games that incorporate the techniques of a personal trainer but require a level of motivation and commitment that is somewhat lacking in my busy days.

Enter the popular game from my childhood: Pokemon.  This new edition of SoulSilver and HeartGold incorporates a pedometer in the guise of a Pokerwalker. You see, you clip this Pokeball to your belt and it tracks your steps all day.  The higher the number of steps at the end of the day the better the prizes you'll find in the game. 

My husband, a big Pokemon fan, bought HeartGold for himself and later bought SoulSilver for me so we could trade.  I found that I'm striving to beat his steps, much like the Personal Trainer: Walking game for the DS did but with more of a collaborative feel.  And it's been great in convincing him to go on walks with me after work. 

"Honey, do you want to go on a pokewalk?" I say.

Checking his pokewalker, "Sure, I'm only at XXXX steps."

The best part about this game is the pedometer is easy to carry integrating into your everyday life while the actual pokemon game is somewhat addicting in it's cute characters, puzzling game play and the compulsion to catch them all.  It's motivation in a video game!

Now, this isn't going to get you ripped, but if you're a gamer having a hard time getting the right level of physical activity, this game could be the answer to your prayers.  And if you're a parent worried about the lack of exercise your video game addicted child has been prone to this game is the perfect solution.

Personally?  I've been carrying it around for about a week now and I've already started increasing my steps in a subconscious way, now only falling short about 2000 of my daily step goal. 

I'll get them all in today because I've Gotta Catch 'Em All!