10k steps a day are not enough

2»

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    No exercise is going to help with weight loss if your diet isn't in order. I've been maintaining going on three years and I cycle 80-100 miles per week and lift 3x per week and walk my dog 3-4 times per week and take my kids out on weekends for day hikes and recreational bike rides, etc...and I'm maintaining...because I'm eating an amount that is appropriate for maintaining.

    Exercise and general activity are great for your health and they can make weight management easier...but it still all really comes down to how much you're eating.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I think the point of using a pedometer type device and trying to get 10,000 steps isn't useful as a goal unless you know how many steps you normally get and increase that amount by quite a bit.
    If you normally get 5,000 or less steps then getting 10,000 is a great goal. If you normally get 9,000 steps then 10,000 for your goal is not going to do much for you. You should probably be trying for 18,000 or so.

    http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/walking-pedometer-program-lose-weight
    That article says you should aim to increase your current steps by 7,500 after tracking your normal activity for 3 days.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    mostafa1975 wrote: »
    Totally right. Anyway 10k is better than nothing.
    Just warning people who is planning to loose weight using that only. This is not going to help.

    I disagree. It won't magically cause weight loss if you overeat, but any additional movement may help.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    I think the point of using a pedometer type device and trying to get 10,000 steps isn't useful as a goal unless you know how many steps you normally get and increase that amount by quite a bit.
    If you normally get 5,000 or less steps then getting 10,000 is a great goal. If you normally get 9,000 steps then 10,000 for your goal is not going to do much for you. You should probably be trying for 18,000 or so.

    http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/walking-pedometer-program-lose-weight
    That article says you should aim to increase your current steps by 7,500 after tracking your normal activity for 3 days.
    I think that's pretty good information, though I'm not convinced that (aside from helping with weight loss) there's much health benefits from increasing steps above a certain point (especially well over 10k.)
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    No exercise is going to help with weight loss if your diet isn't in order. I've been maintaining going on three years and I cycle 80-100 miles per week and lift 3x per week and walk my dog 3-4 times per week and take my kids out on weekends for day hikes and recreational bike rides, etc...and I'm maintaining...because I'm eating an amount that is appropriate for maintaining.

    Exercise and general activity are great for your health and they can make weight management easier...but it still all really comes down to how much you're eating.

    This.

    I exercise about 45-60 minutes everyday and not just walking. But I overate consistently last year and gained 10lbs. I exercise because I enjoy it. But if your eating isn't under control you will still gain weight.
  • KatzeDerNacht22
    KatzeDerNacht22 Posts: 200 Member
    What is all this about calories only being controlled through food? you can perfectly well create your deficit with the food AND exercise. If you effectively burn 250 calories working out and have a deficit of 250 in your food intake, there's your 500 calories deficit.

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    mostafa1975 wrote: »
    Take care. 10k steps a day may be not enough to create calorie deficit.
    I have done even 15k steps with low pace without exercise and measure the total burned calories in a day by jawbone up3 and surprisingly I didn't reach even the default estimation by MFP.
    Other days I made less steps but with some exercises and I passed my estimation.

    I only do about 6000, that's why I use mfp... it gives you a deficit before exercise
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    you lose weight in the kitchen.

    you exercise for fitness.

    I see this quite often, both points are half true. You absolutely can lose weight through exercise, that is undeniable. You also contribute to health and fitness in the kitchen. Weight loss is an equation between two data points, intake and expenditure. Where one lands in between the two points is a personal choice. Some people prefer more work and more/different/calorie dense foods. Some people prefer less work and less food. One can be perfectly fit and healthy with either path as long as the get adequate exercise and proper nutrition. I don't really "disagree", this just isn't the whole story.
  • ntw25
    ntw25 Posts: 149 Member
    I read an article recently that stated that the use of pedometers could actually be making us fatter. (Can't remember where I read it, I read a lot, but it makes sense).

    All of our devices tell us that they are accurately measuring calorie expenditure (unless you read the small print), but the truth, of course, is that they are not, they are trying hard, but we are all different shapes and sizes, we have different body shapes and stride lengths etc.

    The key is that you DO NOT believe everything that your device tells you and eat back those calories. the premise of the article was that all these people that received a new fitbit (or whatever) for Christmas were happily stating that they had "burned and extra xxx calories" and promptly allowed themselves an ice-cream/burger/beer etc.

    My own view is similar to most above.

    I use my Apple Watch, I try to get to at least 10,000 steps a day, I aim for at least an additional 1000 calories from movement and I IGNORE IT COMPLETELY from a diet point of view.

    If I go to the gym, ride a bike, hit the treadmill as an EXTRA exercise, I count it and may eat back 50%. More often than not, I will not.

    I am working on the assumption that if I continue this way, I am getting additional calories in the minus column and a healthier outlook from the additional walking.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    I take my TDEE (that I have calculated over the course of a year) and set my calorie intake to be X amount below it. Then I moderate my steps to increase/decrease my weekly deficit.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories