If you’re seeking motivation to get moving, buying a pedometer may be the boost you need. New research shows that people who own pedometers walk an additional 2,000 steps a day—that’s a mile more each day or enough calories burned (about 100) to justify that low-fat frozen yogurt after dinner.

Experts recommend 10,000 steps a day for optimal health but most folks don’t walk even half that much. Strapping on a pedometer seems to change that—pedometer wearers walk more and they also have a lower body mass average and lower blood pressure, says the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“I’m definitely fitter, my blood pressure is down, and I’ve lost 45 pounds,” says Calla Fleisher, one of the 2,700 pedometer wearers in the recent JAMA study. “The pedometer really acts as a friend that you’re kind of having this conversation with everyday, you know, ‘how well did I do? Ooh, I’ve got to do a little better tomorrow.’”