How many steps a day will help you to lose weight?
While we know that it’s all about running around here, if one of your exercise goals is to lose some weight, it’s worth taking a look at how to make your lifestyle more active in general.
Measuring your daily steps is a simple, handy way to get a sense of your overall activity levels. All time spent on your feet counts – and although the magic number will differ somewhat for each individual, here’s a guide to working out what will work for you.
Why is walking effective for weight loss?
You don’t have to be able to run fast to have a positive effect on your physical health. Walking is an easy, low-impact exercise that can be built into your day without the need for a full clothes change, a shower and an earful from your partner about where you should put those stinky trainers. It helps cardiovascular health and mental health as well as burning calories. The simple formula for weight loss is to have a calorie deficit – more calories out than in – and when calculating what is best for you, you’ll need to consider your age, gender, weight goals, diet and current fitness level.
Is 10,000 steps really the best number?
A bit like the jewellery industry decreeing how many months’ salary you should spend on an engagement ring, the 10,000 figure is certainly easy to remember. However, it was originally made up by a Japanese company that wanted to sell more pedometers.
The step count that is best for you will vary according to a range of factors. A large Lancet study from 2022 stated that there is ‘little evidence to support’ the recommendation of 10,000 steps. It looked at the effects of step counts on mortality risk and found that for adults over the age of 60, the positive effect plateaus at around 6,000-8,000 steps per day, while for younger adults, it’s 8,000-10,000. Different health bodies around the world advise different numbers, but the UK’s National Obesity Forum states that 3,000-6,000 daily steps is considered ‘sedentary’, 7,000-10,000 is ‘moderately active’ and greater than 11,000 steps is ‘very active’. Of course, any increase in your step count is better than none.
How many steps do different people need for weight loss?
As well as your step count, your age, weight, metabolism and current level of fitness will all be factors in how much you need to move to create a calorie deficit.
One study on premenopausal overweight women from 2019 concluded that 30 minutes of walking on most days of the week may be as beneficial as 60 minutes. Meanwhile, a meta-analysis from 2008 found that people who engaged in walking programmes lost on average 0.05kg per week and that, unsurprisingly, ‘longer programs lead to more weight loss than shorter programs’. One more analysis from 2019 combined a ‘calorie-restricted diet and prescribed physical activity’ over 18 months and found that around 10,000 steps a day, including 3,500 steps of ‘moderate-to-vigorous physical activity’, resulted in ‘enhanced weight loss’.
But you might not even need to walk that fast. A 2022 study of women over the age of 50, published in the journal Nutrients, found that ‘total body fat is lost through walking at all speeds, but the change is more rapid, clear and initially greater with slow walking in overweight subjects’.
How can I hit my step goals?
It’s more realistic to aim for shorter amounts of walking more often than to try to accumulate thousands of steps in one go. Try to go for short walks during work breaks and walk or pace around while on phone calls. Walking shorter journeys that you might otherwise drive is worth considering, too, and always choose the stairs.
If you’re worried about boredom, headphones and an absorbing podcast or audiobook will make the time fly. The Runner’s World podcast is pretty good, we heard. Various devices such as pedometers, smart watches and phone apps will also measure your daily step counts. Instead of going for broke immediately, remember to try to increase your movement levels gradually – and don’t worry if you fail to hit an exact number. As we said, everyone’s individual needs are different.
How to make walking more of a workout
Walking more briskly to get your heart rate going faster is great for overall health. If you’re outside, are there some nearby hills or inclines that can be included in your route? While some runners use a weighted vest to increase the load on their bodies and enhance fitness, you can just as easily carry a full rucksack, which is a strategy known as ‘rucking’. If you’re the kind of high flyer who really can’t escape their desk, hopefully you’re earning enough to consider investing in a walking pad to increase your step count without going anywhere.
Although increasing your step count can contribute toward weight loss, combining that with a healthy diet and a good sleep routine will have the most benefit. As shown above, any increase in step number will help, so focus on developing an achievable daily routine that you can sustain long term.
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