I Walked 10,000 Steps a Day for a Year (Then Quit)
Here's why & What Changed
I Walked 10,000 Steps Every Day for a Year—Then I Quit
April 1, 2024-April 1, 2025, I walked 10,000 steps a day every single day.
Even when I was sick.
Even when I was at a party.
Even when it was 11:30PM and I had to pace my living room.
And then, on day 366… I stopped.
Not because I failed.
But because I finished.
The Milestone That Became My Identity
When I first started, it was about weight loss. I figured walking was the easiest, most sustainable habit to build. And I did it. For an entire year. Without missing a day.
But here’s the wild part:
👉 I didn’t actually lose weight.
👉 I did learn discipline.
👉 I did build a new identity.
👉 And I did push myself farther than I expected.
What Walking 10,000 Steps Taught Me
Here’s what I learned from this year-long “tiny experiment”:
Habits are identity-based. I became “the person who walks daily.” And when I let go of that identity, the habit disappeared overnight.
Consistency is hard—and it matters. I followed the “don’t miss twice” rule from Atomic Habits, and that mindset kept me going.
Walking wasn’t the magic fix. It helped maintain my weight, not lose it. Strength training + food changes were the missing pieces.
Hypermobile bodies need a different approach. I learned that overexerting myself actually made things harder on my joints and recovery.
Tiny Experiments > Big Goals
Around the same time I ended the challenge, I started reading Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.
It completely reframed how I think about self-improvement—especially as someone with ADHD and autism.
Instead of massive goals that feel impossible, the book encourages pacts:
💡 “I will do [action] for [duration].”
That’s exactly what my walking challenge was.
It wasn’t a forever lifestyle—it was a 365-day experiment.
Now I’m applying that mindset everywhere:
→ I’m going gluten-free for a year
→ I’m lifting weights 3x/week
→ I’m building my routines around what works for my brain and body—not what “should” work
So, what now?
I didn’t keep walking 10,000 steps every day.
But I did walk away with something better:
➡ A new mindset around discipline
➡ A deep understanding of what actually moves the needle (hint: it’s not just cardio)
➡ And proof that showing up daily changes you—even if the outcome isn’t what you expected
These days, I’m doing what actually works for me:
⚡ About 7,500 steps a day (still moving, just not obsessively)
🏋️♀️ Strength training 3x/week
🧘♀️ Sprinkling in posture work, mobility, and recumbent bike sessions
It turns out, goals don’t have to last forever to make a lasting impact.
And the best ones? They evolve with you.
If you’re curious about how I’m using this same mindset to optimize the rest of my life, check out my recent podcast interview on The SOS Show with James Lott Jr. where we dive into:
🧠 How I used ChatGPT to reorganize my entire house—yes, even my fridge magnets
🛠️ Why I consider it a “get unstuck machine” for ADHDers
📚 How I sorted my bookshelf by the Dewey Decimal System (with ChatGPT’s help!)
🎯 The importance of prompting and how to get the best results
📱 My favorite ways to use it for daily decision-making—from skincare to shelf styling
Tiny experiments build big change.
So what’s your next one?
Jenna Redfield
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