How To Walk 10,000 Steps As A Busy Mom

As a busy mom, walking 10,000 steps a day can seem daunting and outright impossible. Between keeping up with housework and taking care of your kids, finding time for leisurely walks can be a challenge. But honestly, it doesn’t have to be hard. I’ve been walking at least 10,000 steps a day for over two decades now, and having a child didn’t change that. Walking is just part of my lifestyle! I forget how awful it feels NOT to walk every day until I’m in a situation where I’m forced to live a sedentary lifestyle, like on a long plane ride.

I don’t have any superpowers that you don’t have. If I can walk 10,000 steps as a busy mom, so can you. In this post, I’ll share my methodology and tips for sneaking in 10,000 steps daily. I promise that if you follow my tips, you’ll easily hit your 10,000 daily step goal, whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom.

So, get your fitness tracker ready (or Apple watch or pedometer app) and let’s go!

The Importance Of Daily Walks As A Mom

As the saying goes, “a person’s best doctor is their own two feet.” I firmly believe this, and there is ample scientific evidence to support its accuracy. The benefits of walking have been thoroughly researched and are essentially indisputable at this point:

• Walking significantly decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality
• Walking helps increase emotional and mental health
• Walking helps reduce cognitive decline in older women
• Walking is as good as running for reducing all-cause mortality, diabetes, kidney disease, and heart failure
• Regular walking helps improve cholesterol profile, control hypertension, and reduce anxiety and tension
• Walking can help reduce global healthcare costs, especially in the elderly
• Walking improves recovery from mental illness and reduces the chances of strokes
• Walking 2+ hours is significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality risk
• Brisk walking improves cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and body composition
• Waking 10,000 steps a day enhances weight loss

The list goes on… a simple search on Google is enough to show you the countless studies on walking and its health benefits.

And you know what? The best part about walking is that it’s FREE, requires ZERO equipment, and can be done by people at ANY fitness level. You can do it with your own two feet at any time and any place. As a busy mom, if you don’t have time to get to the gym, then walking to get your 10,000 steps a day is one of the best ways to get the benefits of exercise and improve your overall health without the added stress of exercise.

Not only that, but as a mother, your health and well-being will be reflected in the health of your family. If your children see you staying active and prioritizing your health, then they will follow your lead. Moreover, when you prioritize your health, you feel good about yourself and it reflects in how you parent. This means less frustration, anger, and resentment from the demands placed on you as a mother. Instead, you will have the energy to show more love, appreciation, and gratitude for being gifted the sacred role of motherhood.

Now that we’ve recognized that walking 10,000 steps a day is a worthwhile goal, how can we consistently achieve it day after day?

Do You Have Time To Walk 10,000 Steps A Day?

If you’re already swamped with your daily routine and barely keeping up, it can be tough to figure out how to fit in walking. Let’s crunch some numbers to determine exactly how much time you’ll need to dedicate to walking 10,000 steps a day:

Assuming we walk at a pace of 3 miles per hour (not too fast, not too slow), it takes 20 minutes to walk 2,000 steps. This means that 10,000 steps would take 100 minutes, or 1.8 hours.

How the heck will you manage to fit in 100 minutes of walking EVERY day? Well, to start, you probably already take some number of steps. So the additional minutes you need to walk are based on the remaining number of steps required to reach 10,000 steps. For example, if you currently walk 5,000 steps a day, then you only need to add 50 more minutes of walking.

If you’re starting from a very low number (e.g. you only take 2,000 steps a day), then it will be more challenging to make this change in the beginning. However, if you keep it up for a couple of weeks, I promise it will get easier over time. Eventually, you won’t want to go back to your sedentary lifestyle.

Now that we have some numbers in mind, let’s figure out all the ways to get those steps in!

My Top Tips For Walking 10,0000 Steps A Day As A Busy Mom

Tip #1: Start early

The optimal time for taking a walk is early in the morning. You can wake up early and complete your walk before the children are awake. Additionally, walking in the morning establishes a positive rhythm for the rest of your day. Personally, I don’t consume coffee because taking a walk in the morning is my coffee! The first 10 minutes may feel sluggish and fatigued, which is normal as the body and mind need to awaken after a long night’s sleep. However, after 10 minutes of walking, I feel my body become lighter and my mood improve. After approximately 45 minutes of walking, I return home with my energy levels 10 times higher than before the walk. What a fantastic way to start the day!

By taking a 30 to 45 minute walk in the morning, you can easily achieve 3,000 to 5,000 steps. Depending on the duration of your walk, you may not need to take another long walk for the remainder of the day if you follow the rest of my tips below.

Tip #2: Take a 5 minute walk after each meal

After a good meal, our blood sugar rises and can cause fatigue. I’ve found that taking a short walk is a great way to reduce this sluggish feeling. Studies show that walking after a meal helps balance blood sugar levels (see source). In fact, walking before a meal is not nearly as beneficial as walking after a meal (see source).

I recommend walking for at least 5 minutes after a meal, but ideally for 10 minutes. This will boost your metabolism and help you get rid of that sluggish feeling.

Personally, I take my whole family, including my baby and two dogs, for a brief walk after each meal. Getting some fresh air, especially after lunch, helps me stay alert throughout the rest of the afternoon.

If you take a 5 minute walk after every meal, you can get nearly 2,000 steps from three meals. When you add this to your morning walk, you’ll be two-thirds of the way to reaching your daily step count!

Tip #3: Take some of your phone calls while walking

My husband thinks I’m strange, but I like to pace around the house or backyard during phone calls or work meetings. Of course, there are some meetings where I need to be at my desk, but there are others where I can turn off my video and walk instead.

Whenever possible, take advantage of meetings and phone calls to get some extra steps in. Even if you just take one twenty-minute phone call while slowly pacing back and forth in or around your house, you can easily get up to 2,000 steps in!

Tip #4: Waiting time is walking time

There are many instances throughout the day when we find ourselves waiting for things. For instance, we might wait for the pan on the stove to heat up, or for the oven to reach the right temperature, or for the rice to finish cooking. You get the idea.

Instead of simply sitting and waiting during these times, use the extra time wisely. Start preparing the next part of the dish or take a quick trip to the living room to tidy up while you wait. In short, stay active and keep moving throughout the day as you go about your household tasks. By doing this, you can easily add up to at least 1,000 steps a day, and maybe even more!

Tip #5: Turn household chores into a walking workout

As a mom, you’re likely active in the house and rarely sitting down, so don’t dismiss the steps you’re racking up with household chores.

To get extra steps in while doing laundry, you can place the basket a bit farther from the closet and take 10 steps to put away each item. This is a great way to achieve your step goal!

Another way to get some extra steps in is to put dishes away one at a time. And you’re probably already getting your steps in by vacuuming and mopping the floors.

Top #6: Use playtime as walking time

Rather than sitting on a bench at the park while your child plays, take a walk around the playground to get your blood flowing.

Similarly, if your child is in a swim lesson or other extracurricular activity, don’t just wait in your car. Instead, take a walk around the complex. The idea is to take advantage of any opportunity to walk while your child is busy playing or in a lesson.

Overcoming Common Challenges

No matter how good your intentions are, there will be times when you simply cannot go for a walk outside. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Rain and bad weather

If it’s raining or too cold outside, it can be discouraging to miss out on your daily steps. That’s where I suggest investing in a treadmill. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a fancy one. Amazon offers good options for less than $300! Check out here, here, and here. This small investment can pay off big time for your long-term health. It’s definitely worth the money!

If you live in an apartment and can’t get a treadmill, you can walk the hallways of your building or go up and down the stairs. I did this all throughout college when I lived in a dorm and sometimes didn’t feel like walking to the gym in the cold weather.

Traveling

When you travel, you may not have control over your schedule, making it hard to find time for a walk. In this scenario, I reduce my expectations and aim for just one walk a day. Usually, I go for a walk in the morning while my son and husband are sleeping, and then I call it a day! There’s no need to stress about getting steps in while traveling if you’re getting your steps in most of the other days. A single day or even a couple of days of not walking won’t make a significant difference in your health.

That said, the one thing I make sure to do on days I can’t walk or exercise much is to get my daily protein in. This regulates my appetite and prevents me from gaining weight from excessive eating while traveling. You can check out my example day of eating to see how I get my daily protein.

Bad night of sleep

As a mother, our sleep can be erratic, especially if we have an infant or a sick toddler. Not getting a restful night of sleep can make it feel difficult to get up and go for a walk. You feel like you just don’t have the energy or motivation. However, I disagree. Going for a walk is exactly what you need after a bad night of sleep. It will boost your mood and energy. I always find that I have more energy after a walk than before. Soaking in some sunshine and nature around you is revitalizing and greatly helps reduce stress.

Are there any other reasons that are stopping you from walking 10,000 steps as a busy mom? If there are, please let me know in the comments and I’ll help you with them!

Conclusion

That sums up my methodology for achieving 10,000 steps by the end of each day. The tips I provided above are not the only way! If you find different ways to get your steps in, then go for it. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you do it.

Walking is so easy and lightweight that there’s no excuse for not getting your steps in. Don’t let the amount of time it takes to reach 10,000 steps in a day (~2 hours) discourage you. As I showed you in this post, there are many tips and tricks you can use to sneak those steps in and hit your daily goal. The benefits will compound over time. You’ll be very grateful when you’re older that you got your steps in. Unlike the average elderly person who is weak and frail, you’ll be strong and agile.

So, what are you waiting for? Go get your steps today!

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