Has anyone genuinely lost weight from doing 10000 steps per day?

[EsmeraldaFudge]

I'm trying desperately to improve my health and well-being but have recently had some gallbladder surgery.
Has anyone had any results from consistently covering 10k steps a day?

I lost weight by combining 10k steps a day with dieting.

I do 18k steps/day and haven't lost weight... then again, wasn't trying. You still have to control calories in to lose weight, I should think.

Yes, I did, but I also made sure I was eating healthily at the same time. You're not going to lose weight on exercise alone.

Alongside calorie control, yes, I've lost a good amount with that as my main exercise. Couldn't just eat whatever I wanted though and lose weight from the 10k steps, it simply doesn't burn enough calories to make a deficit if you're eating loads.

The 10K steps a day thing is an arbitrary target originating in Japan in 1965 when a local company devised a mechanical pedometer that could only go up to 9999.
It has no standing in weight-loss, fitness regimes etc, it has just become a common target.
As PP have stated, calories in is the most important thing, yet a decent amount of exercise will do you good for a load of other reasons.

I've also started tracking calories and won't have over 1400 a day. My downfall was chocolate but fortunately since having the gall bladder whipped out, I haven't had as much as I did previously ( would say I binge ate chocolate). I lost 8lbs after surgery and determined to keep it off

Check on the online TDEE calculator whether 1400 cald is the right amount for weight loss for your height and weight.

It’s a helpful target but that alone won’t keep you very fit at all. When you build proper fitness, strength and, crucially, muscle mass, that’s where you get the gains. It’s hard work but once you get there it’s all about maintenance.

I'm losing doing the Team RH programme. 15k steps per day and calorie counting.

1400 sounds too low and probably won't be sustainable long term. Im on 2100 a day but I have a lot to lose.

No but I did hear an interesting radio 4 thing today (think it was Michael Mosley but not sure) saying we, as humans should be standing for a large part of the day and standing will improve health and longevity.

I've done TDEE and it said between 1311 and 1521 (I'm 4ft11 and weigh 67kg).

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I believe I have. I probably average around 13 000 steps a day and have lost over a stone since March. I have, however, massively limited my intake of white bread which I think has made more of a difference. I eat a balanced diet, but use lots of butter and cream in my food and get take aways frequently.

Weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise

Calories in, calories out.

I guess if you're currently so sedentary you don't cover 10,000 steps a day, and start doing that combined with eating less, then you might create a calorie deficit and lose weight.

As a pp said though, 10,000 steps a day alone won't keep you fit. That's just a very basic minimum, which most people achieve through just general moving around.

I do about 10,000 steps a day in work, before I started low carbing I hadn’t lost a thing (in fact I put on weight because I was eating crisps and cake in the staffroom!)
10,000 steps combined with a healthier food plan will see you lose.

I do around 10,000 steps if I walk the dog for an hour a day.
That alone wouldn’t make me lose weight.

I do that but I also combined it with OMAD or one meal a day. I’ve lost two stone and managed to get close to a healthy BMI. I don’t think the walking on its own would have had any significant impact.

The generally accepted figures for weight loss seem to be 80% diet and 20% exercise - but Dr Jason Fung (author of The Obesity Code) says it's 95% diet and only 5% exercise.

You have to do A LOT of exercise to make a significant impact on your weight. Far better to focus on your diet, but build in exercise as generally good for your overall health.

It’s better to do 10,000 steps a day than not, but I do over 30 and no it doesn’t help with weight loss!

For me personally, it wasn't 10,000 steps, but around 6000 power walking in a hilly area for 40ish minutes panting and sweating until I gradually got fitter.

My friend lost tons of weight ( about 2 stone ) by walking over 20,000 steps a day. They didn't massively cut back on their eating. They started in the first lockdown - March 2020.

It's actually quite hard to reach 10,000 steps a day unless you go for a significant walk or have a job that involves walking. I'm desk based and an average day with no walk is less than 3000. I have to walk for at least an hour to get anywhere near 10,000. Although I'm tall with a long stride so not sure how much of a difference that makes.

I lost a few pounds last year through exercise alone and no diet changes, but I was running 5-8km three times a week plus a one hour fast, hilly walk on the other four days. And that was about a six pound loss over two and a half months, so very slow.
10k steps at a snails pace on a flat is very different to 10k fast and with hills, so it isn't a good measure of exercise.

@fellrunner85 I don’t think it’s correct to say most people hit 10k a day just by generally moving around. Many people work in office based jobs. Many people are also now working from home. The levels of inactivity involved in office based jobs, particularly if you are working from home are staggering. I manage to get to 8000 steps a day by walking my son to and from nursery (something I have to get up earlier to do - would be much easier to drop him by car) and spend half of my lunch hour walking. I have to go out of my way to do these things, particularly at the moment.

As PP say, on its own it won't make you lose weight.
Walking should be brisk; and consider hand weights or something to increase calorie burn.
Obviously combine with healthy eating; and I'd definitely recommend weight/resistance exercise as well to build muscle and tone.