Is 10,000 Steps A Day Enough To Actually Lose Weight And Be Healthy?
Is 10,000 Steps A Day Enough To Actually Lose Weight And Be Healthy?
Since FitBit and Apple Watch have hit the world by storm, the everlasting question of “How Many Steps A Day Do You Need To Lose Weight?” has been on the tip of the tongue of the far majority of people who have thought about picking up their fitness.
And crucially is the 10,000 steps a day thing…actually a thing?
Well have no fear. I will take you through the exact plan you need for Fitness and 10k Steps A Day in order to achieve that weight loss you truly desire.
But I will also explain the science behind my suggestions.
On a Personal Level, I have just got myself out of a Hotel Quarantine upon arriving in Australia where I now live with my beautiful fiancee, and getting steps up when you are in a Lockdown or a Quarantine is really really hard - so if you are reading this as you are concerned about your activity over the last few months then please read it with empathy and understanding for your current living circumstances.
For my two week quarantine in Australia, my average Daily Step Count was 1,723 for the first week and 395 for the second week in comparison to a random week in September where I did 11,721 Daily Average.
So my steps weren’t just low…they were really really low…but that was because my circumstances and my own personal energy just didn’t allow me to get anything else done - and that’s ok because I am back on track now and I never gave up completely.
That’s me, just trying to get some activity in during my Quarantine!
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR: “IS 10000 STEPS A DAY ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY LOSE WEIGHT AND BE HEALTHY?”
IS 10000 STEPS A DAY ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY LOSE WEIGHT AND BE HEALTHY?”
The Separation of Powers
The mantra of health and weight loss being intrinsically linked is a fallacy. For many people in the world, people who have never actually been overweight, believe that the only path to health is to lose weight.
Then you have the overweight population saying: “But I feel fine…why is everyone telling me I am unhealthy???”
The truth is that health is subjective. Society has objective markers of health for example; BMI, and that is useful in terms of capturing a whole population’s health, but it isn’t useful when it comes down to individual nuance and wellbeing.
Therefore if you are reading this article with a mindset of losing weight will make you healthy, I want you to flip that around.
It’s not losing weight that makes you healthy…it’s the lifestyle you adopt that might or might not lead to weight loss.
For too long in Society, and I hold my hands up here as well, as I too have been on a path with this also, but for too long we have equated bodyweight to health - and body weight is a very fickle beast, and health is so much more dependant on factors other than simply the number on a scale.
Will walking make you feel better about yourself?
Yes.
Are there tons of benefits to walking outside of losing weight?
Yes.
Can walking help you lose weight?
Yes.
Is losing weight the same as being healthy?
No.
With that in mind, I hope you are as excited to read this article as I am to write it for you.
Is 10,000 Steps A Day Enough To Actually Lose Weight And Be Healthy?
Where does 10k Steps A Day Come From?
Now you are probably thinking that an awful lot of science and research went into the construction of this figure.
It’s banded about so much, it’s recommended everywhere, it’s your default FitBit setting and it is what every single human in the world seems to strive for.
Added to that all the Personal Trainers on Instagram and TikTok seem to be suggesting it…so it must be one of the most carefully crafted numbers created in all of the human exercises.
Well…
This is a little awkward now…
Because it turns out it was a number plucked out of thin air to market a pedometer in Japan.
The Pedometer was called “Manpo Kei” which means 10,000 steps meter from 1964.
So this was created first.
And it has just kind of, well, stuck.
Then Fitbit came along and realized that this number would actually help people achieve some movement goals and so it stuck…and then somehow became the ideal.
Is 10,000 Steps A Day Enough To Actually Lose Weight And Be Healthy?
The Scientific Data
I am actually going to break this down into two sections.
Section 1 will be the Health side of walking - quantified by will walking make you live longer?
Section 2 will be the weight loss effects of 10000 steps a day…if there are any.
Section 1: Does Walking 10,000 Steps A Day Make You Live Longer?
Well, there is good news here.
The good news is that Walking does almost certainly make you live longer.
And…it doesn’t have to be as many as 10,000 steps a day either.
In 2019 Harvard Medical School did a cohort study [1] on 16741 women with an average age of 72 between 2011 and 2015.
They found the following:
Sedentary women averaged 2,700 steps a day.
Women who averaged 4,400 daily steps had a 41% reduction in mortality.
Mortality rates progressively improved before leveling off at approximately 7,500 steps per day.
And although the study has some limitations, namely that it literally only looked at the effect steps or daily movement had on the longevity of life, not cognitive function, or physical conditions it does demonstrate that the 10,000 steps a day rule in the more vulnerable people in the society is indeed a little too much.
Therefore if you want to live longer…aim for 2500 fewer steps a day!.
The study also doesn’t take into account the participant’s diets, history of illness, or genetic factors but it would appear that in spite of that…heading towards 7500 steps a day will improve your health.
There are other benefits as well which I will go into further down the article.
Section 2: Does Walking 10,000 Steps A Day Help You Lose Weight?
No.
Wasn’t expecting that was you?
What I mean is: not specifically.
For many years one of my pillars of training…something I call The Five Awesome Rules For Fat Loss Life is 10k Steps a day.
But what if you can’t? What if you can’t do 10k steps a day?
I used to think that it meant people just couldn’t be bothered enough…but I was wrong. For some people, it just is not feasible. I do think it is more achievable for the majority…and many people hide behind not being able to get it in.
But what if it’s January in the UK?
What if you are a Truck Driver?
What if you are a Cab Driver?
What if you are a prisoner?
Then what?
Well, let’s look at the science.
Your Metabolism is made up of five components.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) = 70%
EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogensis) = 5%
TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) = 10%
NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenisis) = 15%
In terms of Steps, although it is Exercise, it's not classed as a prescribed exercise or formal exercise in the Gym which is the EAT part of Your Metabolism,
Steps are classified as NEAT and can be responsible among other things like fidgeting for 15% of the number of calories you burn.
And this is whether you think your Metabolism is broken or not (read this if that is you)
Therefore if you average 2500 steps a day, and you decide to get fit, want to lose some weight, and realize increasing your steps may indeed help with that…then increasing to 5000 steps a day will create nearly an increase of double in your NEAT output.
Meaning you will be burning more calories.
Now in order to lose weight, you must be in a Calorie Deficit…so as long as you aren’t eating back those calories burned from exercise just an increase in 2500 steps will create an element of weight loss for you.
Then if we increase to an extra 5000 steps…there will be more calories burned…leading to more weight loss…
Until we get to 10000 Steps A Day and you are of course burning more than you were, to begin with.
Any increase in movement provided it is governed by a Calorie Deficit will lead to weight loss.
Is 10,000 Steps A Day Enough To Actually Lose Weight And Be Healthy?
The Benefits of Walking
I personally believe walking is one of the single greatest forms of movement a human being can actually do.
Aside from weight loss, and mortality.
Walking brings with it some astounding benefits to other aspects of your health.
1. The first is Mental Health
Whenever one of my one-to-one clients used to show up to the gym, stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed I used to refuse to train them.
It wasn’t in their best interests.
So instead I would tell them to grab their coat and we would walk over to a beautiful Golf Course nearby.
These sessions were without doubt some of the most effective sessions I had with my clients. The walk got them to open up, to discuss what was troubling them so…and above all, it helped them get it off their chest.
Having me there was one element of this of course. But there is something protecting about being amongst huge trees, and rolling lawns. You feel comfortable, you feel at ease, you feel small.
And in these moments realizing the world is a huge place, and that you are just one small aspect of nature is incredibly comforting.
A walk, the sheer aspect of being out in the air, moving your body, and connecting with Nature is just superb for your mental health.
2. The second is Reading
Well…listening reading. I have an Audible subscription and use my walks to listen to books - otherwise, I wouldn’t read at all. I’ve never enjoyed reading an actual book too much, and therefore having it in my ears, being an auditory learner. Doing this has lead me to find a love of books I never knew existed and has in no doubt helped me within my life.
In life, I am a perpetual multitasker, even though I know full well that it is to the detriment of my focus and productivity…but without walking and reading, I would have never read those books at all.
3. The third is Grounding
Grounding is a very important part of finding the physical connection with the world. Whether that is feeling your bare feet in grass or sand…just giving yourself a barefoot walk even for a breif moment is incredibly fulfilling.
4. The fourth is Listening
Get a podcast…and go for a walk whilst listening to it. May I take this moment to recommend The Fitness Solution
Podcasts are like having a chill-out session with your friends and just getting lost in the conversation. I can’t recommend them enough.
5. The fifth is Meditation
Walking meditations are epic! And if you have never tried one…you should. For most of my adult life I have tried to meditate and now listening to a Walking Meditation as I go is the way in which I achieve that.
I have a whole series of them on my YouTube for you to have a listen to as well.
So start here:
And that’s about it.
So the next time someone says:
“Want to go for a walk?”
You can actually quantify all of the benefits it now holds for you both in terms of weight loss and health.
And I fully expect you to react like this.
IS 10000 STEPS A DAY ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY LOSE WEIGHT AND BE HEALTHY?
What’s Next?
I’m an Online Personal Trainer and love working with people who want to Learn and Succeed in their Fitness Journey.
You can get a whole bunch of Goodies from me to help you with your Fitness Journey.
A free Calorie and Macro calculator
My book “27 Ways To Faster Fat Loss”
A whole month of Workouts for the Gym
56 home bodyweight workouts
You can get all of this for free by just subscribing to my email list by putting in your details below.
Reference:
Lee I, Shiroma EJ, Kamada M, Bassett DR, Matthews CE, Buring JE. Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women. JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179(8):1105–1112. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0899