Advice on the 10,000 steps thing

[SpringNowPlease2018]

hi everyone

I wonder if someone can help me with this

I have a sedentary job and tbh watch a lot of TV, lol.

I am a regular exerciser and I need to lose some weight. It has been suggested to me that as well as cutting back on what I eat, doing 10,000 walking steps a day would help - but I'd actually prefer to increase my workouts, change them, etc etc. I enjoy working out.

I don't have anything against walking but it seems to be constantly shit weather, where I live and work there are no nice places you'd walk really - you'd have to get a bus or Tube to them and by that time you might as well intensify your workout.

I'm probably clocking up about 5000 - 7000 steps a day without my workout. I have the time - and the inclination - to do something like Insanity or just increase gym time. I'm also considering getting an elliptical trainer for home so I can watch TV while doing another half hour on that.

Is walking really better? I just think it's so dull and I already do all my errands walking anyway.

thanks for any thoughts.

Hopeful bump

I can't give any expert opinion, but I feel that increasing my step count has improved my general health and well-being but not had a huge impact on weight. I was pretty sedentary on days I don't go to the gym, and I've started walking part of the way to and from work by getting off the bus earlier and I do feel better for it.

The recent Michael Mosley documentary suggested that 3x 10 minute bursts of brisk walking is more beneficial for fitness than 10,000 steps which is an arbitary figure. Regular movement is a good thing for the body in itself, but not all steps for the sake of counting steps are of equal value if you're wanting to improve fitness.

I'm doing 10000 a day but it hasn't had any major impact. I think higher cardio levels are needed than just steps.

Thanks all
I think it's time to do more HIIT as well as cutting back on food
People just seem so keen on ther steps, virtually every colleague is wearing a device that tracks them. Well, tracks that and everything else!

Losing weight is all about cals in vs cals out. If you are already exercising a lot I'd look where your deficit is going to come from. Look up your tdee and see what you're eating. Body fat can only be lost with a deficit.

It's also important to do blanks, squats, lunges and other strength training as it builds muscle which as rest burns more cals than fat. These excersises use cals long after you stop as opposed to walking. Fitness is different to losing weight. Ten mins of HIT would improve your fitness but weight loss is about cals yet again so a mix is good. Don't walk ten thousand steps if you don't want to. Do what you enjoy that way you will do it! Walking that far just might eat into the time for other excersise. Plus I know overweight ppl who are on their feet all day and ache. I actually put weight on when I was walking all day at work cos I ached and just wanted to eat!! Everyone is different but do what makes you feel motivated to do it!

Octave I do squats and lunges
But not sure if I do blanks?

Yes I'm going to alter my exercise which actually sounds more fun than steps as well. I know I'm eating too many pies but cutting back already. Been a long winter!

Losing weight is all about cals in vs cals out. If you are already exercising a lot I'd look where your deficit is going to come from. Look up your tdee and see what you're eating. Body fat can only be lost with a deficit. what about calories in almonds if you have 170 calories of almonds your body takes 129 the rest passes straight through you www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3396444/

*opionated
Ok well losely put. I know that there are arguments for a low carb, high fat ketosis diet or low sugar because ''cals are absorbed differently". Having read many books on metabolism and the different ways your body uses different foods it's sometimes easier to say cals in cals out. All foods even protein turn to glucose if you eat too much hence why there's a difference between eating healthily and eating to lose weight. That's what I was meaning. I haven't read about almonds in detail. I was more saying to lose body fat you can't get there until your diet isn't right too.

springnowplease good luck with it. I know we need spring! Seems you are doing great. :)

I wear a fitbit - it tracks my steps - it also tracks my heart rate - which is more important. I make sure that my exercise is exercise - that my heart rate is raised for a prolonged period (over 20min). Needs to be raised to 50-85% of maximum heart rate - maximum heart rate is usually (220-age) - lower if you have heart troubles.

*Ok well losely put. I know that there are arguments for a low carb, high fat ketosis diet or low sugar because ''cals are absorbed differently". Having read many books on metabolism and the different ways your body uses different foods it's sometimes easier to say cals in cals out. All foods even protein turn to glucose if you eat too much hence why there's a difference between eating healthily and eating to lose weight. That's what I was meaning. I haven't read about almonds in detail. I was more saying to lose body fat you can't get there until your diet isn't right too.

springnowplease good luck with it. I know we need spring! Seems you are doing great. smile* i did not mean to be confrontational i should of said the general principle and the post im now quoting is right losing weight in theory is simple enough burn more than you take in however the difficulty is knowing how much you take in and how much you are burning is complex ps i used almonds as an example of the point of not being able to know how many calories you take but the second part of the post about the problem being diet is right as you said the op exercises a lot :)

I watch a lot of telly too. What I did, and know this is not very technical, but I marched on the spot, in the living room, watching telly bringing my knees up. I then bought a little trampette, and jogged on that (watching telly). I wear a hr garmin, got all my steps in, and was easily out of breath after 20 mins or so.

This was just to bump me up to 10k as I was quite sedantry during the day (sit to work), and after walking the dogs, usually needed another 3 or 4k steps. Since I stopped my weight has crept back up.

THe 10,000 steps was invented by a Japanese fitbit company
it has NO basis in medicine or science

however
being sedentary is really bad for you

take every opportunity to stand up, walk up stairs, balance on one foot, speed up to get out of breath

even for a few extra minutes a day
as it will extend your healthy life

The thing about step counters is, it does motivate you to move about more, not instead of actual exercise, but, as well as.

So you end up doing all the things you know you should but don’t usually (well it does me anyway) like walking instead of driving to places fairly nearby, getting off buses a stop earlier, taking the stairs instead of lifts...the things that don’t really eat into your time that much, but add up to a fair amount of steps.

Oh I agree, they are a fab trigger tool ....
in Italy last summer the four of us walked extra blocks in Pompeii to get to , 20000 steps (in 41 degrees heat)

but if you get to 9995
you have not failed

Who wouldn't do the extra 5 steps for the buzz and flashy reward though

“Who wouldn't do the extra 5 steps for the buzz and flashy reward though“

Well exactly... I’ll do 2000 to hit it if I’m that close, rofl - more than that and I’ll just go, nah, I’m good.

My sisters got me a fitbit Alta for my 60th birthday recently (my request). I am only just getting to grips with it but do find it extremely motivational and have just re-set my daily goal to 11,000 steps.
I have a dog and am retired so both of us are getting extra exercise!
Not sure I believe the calories burned figures though - seem very high to me.