If you have an iPhone, open the "Health" app and see how many steps you have taken in the past few days. If you are trying to lose weight and your steps are less than 10,000 a day, we've got some work to do.
When I first started my weight-loss journey, I would Google cardiovascular exercise to burn as many calories as possible. I scrolled through the countless complicated and intimidating exercises—HIT workouts, hill sprints, or hours of jump roping. I would try doing a workout, then be sore for the entire next week, unwilling to ever perform that exercise regime again.
However, very few people on the internet recommended simply walking to burn calories and induce a calorie deficit. I want to preface this by saying that to ensure you lose as much body fat as possible during your weight loss journey, you must perform some kind of resistance training, whether lifting weights or calisthenics. However, regarding aerobic exercises to help with loss, you absolutely do not need to do those crazy Cross-Fit exercises, run miles, or do 100 burpees. You can simply walk more throughout the day—a tool I leveraged during the pandemic to lose roughly 50 pounds.
A mile of walking is equivalent to roughly 2000 steps (which varies based on stride length). A 180lb man, walking at a speed of 2.0 mph, a reasonably slow pace, can burn roughly 100 calories per mile. That calorie count increases the heavier an individual is— a 250 pound man would burn around 130 calories per mile. Additionally, for every subsequent mile walked, the rate increases—the 180lb man burns 191 calories on mile 2, and 287 on mile 3.
Basically, simply walking more steps every day can help you burn hundreds of more calories. During the pandemic, when I wanted to lose weight, even though gyms were closed or were restricted, I would walk at least 12,000 steps every single day. Bored? I walked around the block. Wanted to watch a YouTube video? Did it on the treadmill I have at home. Wanted to call a friend or relative and catch up? I walked around the neighborhood. I was going to watch that YouTube video or call that friend regardless, but rather than just laying on my bed or couch while doing it, I would implement walking with it.
These were mindless strategies I would incorporate almost effortlessly to increase my daily step count to 12,000. For weight-loss goals and better health, I would ultimately strive to hit at least 10,000 steps daily. Based on the degree of how sedentary your lifestyle is currently, this means you may need to add roughly an hour or so of extra walking during the day to achieve 10,000 steps a day. You can break this up, a strategy I typically use—two 30-minute walks, one in the early afternoon and one at night.
With the pandemic during my first year of college, when gyms were closed or heavily restricted, I was able to lose around 50 pounds, just from mainly raising the number of steps I take to 12,000 a day walking.
Here is an image of me before and after the 50-pound transformation—just from walking. I used images where I wore the same shirt to show the progress I made more accurately. Please ignore the awkward bicep flex in the picture on the right.
If you are currently walking less than 5,000 steps a day, I would recommend building your way up to that 10,000 daily mark. Perhaps add an extra 1,000 steps after every week, building your way up until you reach 10,000 daily. When initiating my weight-loss journey, I was walking around 6,000 steps a day and used this gradual buildup strategy. After roughly a month, I was able to almost mindlessly implement 10,000 steps a day into my life, which led me to pursue 12,000 steps a day. My biggest advice: don't procrastinate your steps! Countless times, I found myself trying to get all my steps in last minute before my day ended, and I ended up walking for over an hour straight just to hit my goals. Additionally, don't go crazy if the steps count on whatever pedometer you are using, which doesn't reach 10,000 steps. Besides the inaccuracies at times with the pedometer, I often perform my aerobic exercises, such as playing basketball or even walking a lot of the time, without my phone to track my steps. The goal isn't to obsess over hitting 10,000 steps a day but rather to implement intentful walking into your daily weight-loss routine.
Additionally, walking has served as a tool to avoid food temptations and delay my hunger. For example, let's say it is around 12 pm and about an hour or so before I can break my mini-intermittent fast with my first meal (interested in my eating routine, check out my post: https://www.yashkumar.com/post/my-flexible-and-effective-daily-routine-for-weight-loss ). If I really am feeling hungry and can't focus on whatever academic work I am doing, I will take a walk around campus or around my block for about 20 or 30 minutes or so. Eventually, it will be closer to 1 p.m., and I will feel more comfortable eating my first meal.
Furthermore, I have experienced other tremendous benefits from just taking a walk. Receiving more sunlight has helped me establish a better sleep routine. Moreover, taking a brisk walk to enjoy fresh air and nature has been a tremendous stress reliever and has helped me clear my mind when working or in a stressful situation. It has also served as a great activity to help bond with my family members, as my father and I often go on walks together and catch up on things going on in our lives, sports, or current events.
So the next time you open your health app in a few days or to check how many steps you are taking, I hope to see you get closer to that 10,000-step mark! Good luck with your weight-loss journey, as always, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks for reading.
Comments