Having a hard time getting a formal workout is walking 10k steps enough?

soinbnsng

Okay so I am trying to lose about 60 pounds long term. Hopefully by early next year. I was eating pure crap for a couple months and I have now reduced my calories intake to about 1600-1800 a day. Mostly trying to eat healthy foods. I'm going to be super busy for the next 3/4 months.
I recently got a step counter. My steps at the end of the day usually ranged from 4,000-6,000 but now I make a conscious effort to reach 10k every single day. I like walking because I can fit it in through the day and at the end of the day if I need more steps I grab my dog and we go for a long walk. I enjoy that a lot and he seems to be getting more physical activity as well which is awesome.
So my question is if I aim to lose about 21 pounds at the end of December which is roughly 1.5 pounds a week. Is my current routine enough or do I really need to add more activity. If so how much?
On this 1600-1800 calorie range I am okay. Hungry a lot, but manageable, however I am afraid if I had more heavy workouts I wont be able to sustain it.

ANY HELP/ADVICE/TIPS IS MUCH APPRECIATED!

Sabine_Stroehm

Enough for what? 10,000 steps a day is great.

CincyNeid

Walking 10,000 steps in a day is roughly 500 calories deficit per day. It will help you lose weight, yes. But going to the gym, doing cardio, or home workouts will help you lose it more effectively.

soinbnsng

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Enough for what? 10,000 steps a day is great.

Thanks, I was just wondering if it was enough to help me reach my weight loss goal of 21 pounds at the end of this year or if I needed more activity and how much of it.

Sabine_Stroehm

soinbnsng wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Enough for what? 10,000 steps a day is great.

Thanks, I was just wondering if it was enough to help me reach my weight loss goal of 21 pounds at the end of this year or if I needed more activity and how much of it.

Do you have MFP set up to create a deficit that will do that? If so, yes.

YES it's doable to lose 21 pounds in 3.5 months. Totally. Walking can help. Just do the math in MFP honestly. And follow it.

soinbnsng

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

soinbnsng wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Enough for what? 10,000 steps a day is great.

Thanks, I was just wondering if it was enough to help me reach my weight loss goal of 21 pounds at the end of this year or if I needed more activity and how much of it.

Do you have MFP set up to create a deficit that will do that? If so, yes.

YES it's doable to lose 21 pounds in 3.5 months. Totally. Walking can help. Just do the math in MFP honestly. And follow it.

Okay yeah, I do track all my calories, and MFP is linked to my step counter. But it always adds those calories back. Like my goal is 1600 cal a day but if I walk 10k steps it says im allotted 2,000 a day. I never eat those calories back. I try to stick to a true 1600-1800

YvetteK2015

I try to do 10,000 or more on the treadmill everyday. At 11,500 it says I reach 4 miles which I think is good for a day.

NorthCascades

I bet your dog likes the walks. And a tired dog is a good dog.

You can lose weight (even 2+ lbs per week) without any exercise at all. You can be a complete and total couch potato, eat 1,200 cals a day, and the weight will come off. That sounds like torture to me but people are different and that works better for some. Anyway, what you're doing now is already above and beyond what you need to lose weight. So, yeah, in that sense, 10k steps is plenty enough. And you probably have a happy dog.

For context I've lost about about 80 pounds in my journey (it took most of a year) and I averaged 9,388 steps a day over the last week. Which is high for me. I prefer riding a bike. That's helped me lose the weight, which is like the icing on the cake, I do it because it's fun.

Sabine_Stroehm

soinbnsng wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

soinbnsng wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Enough for what? 10,000 steps a day is great.

Thanks, I was just wondering if it was enough to help me reach my weight loss goal of 21 pounds at the end of this year or if I needed more activity and how much of it.

Do you have MFP set up to create a deficit that will do that? If so, yes.

YES it's doable to lose 21 pounds in 3.5 months. Totally. Walking can help. Just do the math in MFP honestly. And follow it.

Okay yeah, I do track all my calories, and MFP is linked to my step counter. But it always adds those calories back. Like my goal is 1600 cal a day but if I walk 10k steps it says im allotted 2,000 a day. I never eat those calories back. I try to stick to a true 1600-1800

If you're tracking smart, and moving, and you know you're fueling your body, you're doing fine. Many people only "eat back" a portion of their exercise calories to leave room for error in tracking etc. 1600 and walking seems okay to me, assuming you're otherwise an average female.

THAT SAID: the photo of you in the dressing room is pretty thin. Is that you NOW? Do you NEED to lose 21 pounds?

How tall are you? what's your current weight?

NorthCascades

CincyNeid wrote: »

Walking 10,000 steps in a day is [burns] roughly 500 calories deficit per day.

soinbnsng wrote: »

Okay yeah, I do track all my calories, and MFP is linked to my step counter. But it always adds those calories back. Like my goal is 1600 cal a day but if I walk 10k steps it says im allotted 2,000 a day. I never eat those calories back. I try to stick to a true 1600-1800

Your goal is 1,600 cals per day. You walk enough to burn ~400 per day, give or take. So that brings you up to 2,000. It's just math.

You get all your calories from food but you don't burn most of them with exercise. Your heart is a muscle and it works 24/7. Your diaphragm is constantly making you breathe, it never gets a rest. Brain is always working, directing all this stuff that's happening inside you. Your body is a complex and fine-tuned machine, a wonder of nature, but it needs fuel. Just to stay alive you burn a lot of calories. This is called your basal metabolic rate or BMR.

Add in some basic stuff like walking to/from your car and the bathroom and whatever, you're already burning ~2,350 calories per day without exercise. (According to MFP.) To lose 1.5 lbs per week you need a deficit of 750 calories. So 2,350 - 750 = 1,600; you eat 1,600 on a day with no exercise, to stay on track for your goal. What matters is the 750 calorie deficit. If you do enough exercise to burn 500 calories, you get to eat 500 more calories, and still have the same deficit.

It's like filling your gas tank, driving around, burning that gas, and having to buy more gas because you used it and don't have it any more.

soinbnsng

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

soinbnsng wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

soinbnsng wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Enough for what? 10,000 steps a day is great.

Thanks, I was just wondering if it was enough to help me reach my weight loss goal of 21 pounds at the end of this year or if I needed more activity and how much of it.

Do you have MFP set up to create a deficit that will do that? If so, yes.

YES it's doable to lose 21 pounds in 3.5 months. Totally. Walking can help. Just do the math in MFP honestly. And follow it.

Okay yeah, I do track all my calories, and MFP is linked to my step counter. But it always adds those calories back. Like my goal is 1600 cal a day but if I walk 10k steps it says im allotted 2,000 a day. I never eat those calories back. I try to stick to a true 1600-1800

If you're tracking smart, and moving, and you know you're fueling your body, you're doing fine. Many people only "eat back" a portion of their exercise calories to leave room for error in tracking etc. 1600 and walking seems okay to me, assuming you're otherwise an average female.

THAT SAID: the photo of you in the dressing room is pretty thin. Is that you NOW? Do you NEED to lose 21 pounds?

How tall are you? what's your current weight?

really sad to say that the photo is not me now. Due to hormones/medicine/lack of activity or minding my calories. I am more like the photo on the left and perhaps even a little heavier. The photo in the dressing room is what I would want to get back to by next year. And That's about a 50-60 pound difference.

soinbnsng

NorthCascades wrote: »

I bet your dog likes the walks. And a tired dog is a good dog.

You can lose weight (even 2+ lbs per week) without any exercise at all. You can be a complete and total couch potato, eat 1,200 cals a day, and the weight will come off. That sounds like torture to me but people are different and that works better for some. Anyway, what you're doing now is already above and beyond what you need to lose weight. So, yeah, in that sense, 10k steps is plenty enough. And you probably have a happy dog.

For context I've lost about about 80 pounds in my journey (it took most of a year) and I averaged 9,388 steps a day over the last week. Which is high for me. I prefer riding a bike. That's helped me lose the weight, which is like the icing on the cake, I do it because it's fun.

Yes, exactly. My dog(s) are a lot happier getting the extra activity and way better behaved when its time to relax. sometimes Ill run with them and it's just way more fun for me to spend my time doing that then going the gym.

lorrpb

It's also a good idea to do some form of strength training to help retain muscle during weight loss.

LazSommer

I don't even hit 10k steps after a day with a 3.5 mile run, 10k is a good amount. That being said I find that a workout takes less time than getting in a lot of steps so I prioritize the workout. Prioritizing the dog and still being active is probably better for both of you right now, though.