10,000 Steps A Day? Ozeri Pedometer Review

I'm trying hard to stick to my diet and do more exercise in January - and for the foreseeable future - and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Exercise is an important part of my week - not that I enjoy it at all, but I go to the gym at lunchtime as often as I can, and see a personal trainer twice a week, and walk just over a mile to the train station most mornings rather than drive.

I wondered how much good that walk in particular was doing me and whether I am doing the recommended 10,000 steps a day and if I wasn't, whether making sure I got to 10,000 would help my weight loss. So I was pleased when I was offered this Ozeri 4x3 Razor Digital Pedometer for review.

The only pedometer I've used before was a very cheap one that counted steps every time I so much as breathed, or at least that's what it felt like. So I was impressed by how many functions and how accurate this one was.

It comes with a detailed instruction leaflet explaining things like how to set your stride length so the pedometer measures the distance you have covered in km as well as steps. You also set the date and time which is a great function- as well as telling you the time when you glance at it, the pedometer keeps track of how many steps you take each day. When you pick it up for the first time in the morning it has reset to zero.

The pedometer claims to be the world's thinnest and lightest and I barely noticed I had it on. It comes with a belt clip and according to the website also a lanyard though I didn't see a lanyard in the packet and now I read there was meant to be one I wondered if I missed it but I have now thrown the packet away! A lanyard would have been useful as I mostly wear dresses to work and had nothing to clip it onto other than my sleeve, where it looked quite obvious. My office pass is on a lanyard so I found myself wearing that around my neck and clipping the pedometer to it.

If you are on a bus or train or driving, you can hold down the 'mode' button to effectively pause the pedometer and stop it from counting steps when you are standing on a packed train trying not to fall over every time the carriage rocks (or is that just my commute?). That's a really good idea, but I found it hard to remember to press the mode button every time I got on a bus or train (I take at least two of each every day). You've also got to make sure you wear the pedometer somewhere that is accessible, e.g transfer it from your waistband to the lapel of your coat.

I also discovered that the screen isn't backlit so when I got into the car on a few occasions and it was dark I couldn't see whether I had held the mode button long enough (a little padlock appears after you hold it down for a few seconds).

I think this pedometer is streets ahead of a lot of others on the market, but technology has moved on so fast. I keep reading about the 'Fitbit' and similar devices which you wear on your wrist - which I would find a lot easier than trying to find somewhere to clip a pedometer - and which can monitor your heart beat, your sleep pattern and connect in with your phone to let you know when you have an email. Admittedly they cost a lot more but I do wonder if the days of the traditional pedometer - no matter how lightweight it is - are over. If you're in the market for a pedometer though (after all, a lot of people don't want complicated technology) then I would recommend this.

This was from the weekend where I forgot to put it on for half the day!
Other days I walked over 10,000 steps, honest!

So how did I do? I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was walking just over 10,000 steps a day on weekdays - on weekends it was rather less, but it didn't help that on Saturday I forgot to put my pedometer on until lunchtime! Again I don't think I'd have had that problem with a wristwatch style device as I always wear a watch. Now my challenge is to increase how many steps I take a day and see if it has any impact on losing weight!

Disclaimer: I was sent the Ozeri razor pedometer to review. All opinions are my own.