Is it true that each step counts throughout the day when adding up your exercise?   I never find the time or interest to do a scheduled 1 or 2 mile walk, but I do A LOT of walking throughout the day.   I thought I read someone referring to counting their steps or something like that. 

Yes exercise is cumulative, It's also habit forming. Your body will start to expect it. And if you don't move enough, you have pains in your legs as a reminder.

From a ww article: Cumulative Exercise: Why It Works

It seems that everywhere we look we are being told we should be exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. But what if you simply don't have 30 minutes to spare? Don't panic - it's easier than it sounds!

The Benefits of Cumulative Exercise
Current guidelines recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise a day for general good health and for weight loss, or to maintain weight loss. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) suggests increasing this to 60 - 90 minutes, 5 times per week.

This may seem a very daunting prospect to those of us juggling work, family and social time, and can feel like an impossible task. However, there is good news! You can break these workout times down into small 'bite-sized' chunks that will fit in and around your day.

Performing a series of short bouts of moderate intensity exercise lasting at least 10 minutes each and cumulating in a total of at least 30 minutes will provide significant and similar health benefits when compared to exercising continuously for 30 minutes. The crucial factor is the TOTAL amount of activity performed, whether it is continuous or not.

And There is More Good News!
Let's assume you're working towards weight loss and your goal is 60 minutes of exercise 5 times per week. By performing two sessions of 30 minutes throughout the day, you could actually burn more calories than in one single session. How? Here's the science bit!

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. Exercising increases your metabolic rate, during and after exercise (post exercise calorie burn is known as EPOC - excess post exercise oxygen consumption) by exercising twice in one day, you will enhance EPOC and may burn off more calories. But if you prefer doing your workout in one session, don't be discouraged, you can burn plenty of calories this way too!

Very interesting Lenore.

Thanks!

Vicki

thanks Lenore -- it's good to know I'm working out when I'm not working out :)