As most of us embark on a month of exercise as an aid to weight loss I thought I would point out the following: Figures quoted are average and each person is different depending on many factors; such as starting weight, height, age, sex, metabolic rate, heart rate, stride length, pace etc
Walking: 1 calorie is burnt for every 25 steps.
There are approx 3,500 calories in a lb of fat.
To lose 1 lb would require walking 87,500 steps.
This equates to walking a distance of 50km or 30 miles.
It's not all that bad! If you set a target of 10,000 per day and a longer walk once a week, you will lose that 1lb and you will be and feel fitter, healthier and stronger.
Remember, have at least 1 day of rest.
Good luck all and I'll see you around a park somewhere.
Written by
SlimmingEagle
Restart March 2024
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That's slightly depressing - to think that doing the London to Brighton walk i'll lose, over 62 miles, 2lb. Good job I'm not doing it for the weight loss!!!!
Yes I've been seeing a lot of studies popping up recently that suggest exercise isn't as effective as dieting for weight loss. However, I think they're sending a bad message, in the respect that exercise does far more for your body than just burn calories, and a good diet will do a lot more for your body than just losing weight!
I think that exercise Shouldn't be under rated. I ran for half an hour yesterday, burning about 300 calories. I also walk my dog 2-3 miles per day. The problem is that it shouldn't be used as an excuse to eat that snickers bar! Also regular exercise builds muscle mass and muscle burns calories even when you're not exercising.
These sorts of stats are always rather dispiriting, aren't they?! This is why the main focus for weight loss has to be on food intake, with exercise providing a little bonus on top.
But I agree with you that walking, which can be made part of life rather than a specific "exercise session", can really help make a painless weight loss, as long as we control our food intake.
When I was a regular at the gym (live too far away to get there now), I worked out how long I needed to jog on the treadmill in order to burn off enough for a stick of Twirl (my favourite choc bar at the time). I actually found that quite motivating, as I could picture the Twirl bar gradually revealing itself in my mind as the minutes went by! I usually didn't then buy the Twirl, as I didn't want to take the calories back on board, but it did help me not to binge when I did buy one, as I knew I had already accounted for the calories.
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