20/05/2025
Do you really need to do 10,000 steps a day?!
(Scroll to the bottom if you don't want to read the "why")
You'll have most likely read by this point that you should be aiming for 10,000 steps every day.
So let me give you some insight into that.
Walking 10,000 steps burns approximately 400-500 calories.
This will differ from individual to individual but it's about there.
Now if you were to go from walking 0 steps a day to 10,000 steps a day and change nothing else...
That would create a calorie deficit of 2800-3500 which is the equivalent of up to 1lb of fat lost.
So 10,000 is a nice number because it helps contribute towards 3500 calories burned a week.
HOWEVER.
If you're paying no attention to diet and only increasing steps, it's likely your appetite might increase with it.
AND...
If you're currently doing less then 2000 steps and all of a sudden decide to increase them to 10,000 thats a big jump and a large expectation.
Here's what I suggest instead.
1. Take a look at your average steps for the last month.
2. Add 1000 to that number and make that your bare minimum target for the following week.
3. Repeat process until you find a step count that feels challenging but manageable to stick to in the long run.
But remember, increasing your steps for weight loss is one thing, but if you're not regulating your calorie intake you're still going to struggle to see any difference.
