How Many Steps Should You Take To Lose Fat (And 4 Sneaky Ways to Hit It)

Are you tired of complex workout routines and restrictive diets? In a hit video, fitness expert Jeremy Ethier reveals a simple, effective method to burn fat that you can start today – walking. As a certified trainer and Kinesiology graduate, Ethier shares his insights on how this underrated activity can transform your body. Read on to discover the magic number of steps that could kickstart your fat loss journey and learn easy ways to incorporate more steps into your daily routine.

Walking: The Unsung Hero of Fat Loss

If you want to kick-start a weight loss routine, walking is an ideal way to begin. "Walking does several things to improve health," Barry Franklin, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, tells the American Heart Association. "It lowers your risk factors for cardiovascular disease, decreases body weight and fat stores, decreases blood sugar levels, modestly improves your lipid profile, and reduces chronic stress." Here are the benefits of walking just one mile a day, according to experts.

It All Adds Up

Walking just a mile may not seem like much, but it all adds up. "One day where you walk a mile doesn't seem like much, but over the course of a week, month, year…that all adds up," Tony Gentilcore, CSCS, tells Runner's World. "There's a lot of empowerment and motivation that can be drawn from that. It stands to reason that if someone goes from doing nothing to walking a mile a day, they may see a trend of weight loss over the course of several weeks to months."

The Magic Number: 10,000 Steps?

Ethier, in his video, delves into the origin of the popular 10,000 steps goal: "Typically, the number that pops into most people's heads is 10,000 steps a day, as that's usually used as the ideal benchmark to aim for. However, this idea of 10,000 steps a day was actually just simply a marketing tool that was used to sell the first developed pedometers in Japan. It actually didn't have any scientific backing behind it at that time, but research now shows that it actually does have some validity to it."

He further explains: "For instance, in order to hit the public health recommendation of getting in 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, it's been shown that this translates to roughly 8,000 steps a day. And in terms of weight loss, when we again convert activity recommendations to steps, it's been shown that bumping your steps up to around 10,000 steps per day is most effective for not only losing fat but also keeping that fat off in the long term."

The Math Behind Fat Loss

Ethier breaks down the numbers to show how increasing your step count can lead to fat loss: "Without going over it in depth and bore you with the math, when you crunch the numbers, you'll find that an average 180-pound individual can expect to burn roughly 60 calories per thousand steps when walking at a moderate pace. So if you're currently maintaining your weight with an average step count of, let's say, 6,000 steps a day, then for every 1000 additional steps you took per day, you'd be able to bump up your calorie expenditure by around 60 calories."

"And given that there are roughly 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, if you keep your diet and everything else the same, then by simply going from 6,000 steps a day to 8,000 steps a day, you'd theoretically be able to burn off an extra pound of fat a month. Just by making that subtle change and going from 6,000 steps a day to 10,000 steps a day, you theoretically be able to double that and burn off an extra pound of fat a month," he continues.

Scientific Backing

In his video, Ethier cites research to support his claims: "For instance, a paper from a Journal of Nutrition randomly assigned subjects to either just a low-calorie diet or the same low-calorie diet plus brisk walking. The walking consisted of a total of three hours of added walking per week, or in other words, an added 25 minutes of walking a day, which would equate to roughly 2,000 to 3,000 added steps per day. After 12 weeks, the walking group lost around three pounds more fat than the nonwalking group, which doesn't sound like much, but it's such an easy thing to implement into your routine that it can both kickstart and considerably speed up the fat loss process for you."

His Recommendations for Fat Loss

Ethier provides practical advice for those looking to lose fat: "If you're currently not very active at the moment and struggling to lean down, then set a realistic gold number of steps you can hit every day in order to help create and maintain a calorie deficit while ensuring that you don't then compensate by simply eating more as you do so and aiming for at least 8,000 or even 10,000 steps a day are honestly good targets to aim for if you're currently below that."

Easy Ways to Increase Your Step Count

Ethier offers simple tips to boost your daily step count:

1. Walk After Meals

"After every one of your meals for the day, so let's say breakfast, lunch, and dinner, make it a habit to go for a 10-minute walk immediately after this alone. If done for three meals a day, it will add, on average, a whopping 3,500 steps to your step count," he says in his video.

2. Walk While Brushing Teeth

"Rather than checking yourself out in the mirror as you brush your teeth, walk around the house, assuming that you brush your teeth twice a day for roughly two minutes at a time. This alone can increase your step count by around 400 steps," Ethier says.

3. Stay Hydrated

"Keep yourself well hydrated and drink more water throughout the day. I personally take more chips to the washroom than probably anyone I know. And assuming it's not a bladder problem, it's because I drink a ton of water. But this also helps me get my steps in because I'm frequently having to get up off my chair to use a washroom," he says.

4. Do Jumping Jacks

"Pick a hallway or doorway in your home and set a rule so that every single time that you pass that hallway, you immediately do 20 jumping jacks. Assuming that you don't forever avoid that hallway and pass through it, let's say five times a day. That's easily another 200 steps if we assume an equivalent of two steps per jumping jack."

You will burn more calories by picking up the pace. "There's good data to suggest the most protective walking speed is above 3 mph, which corresponds to more than three times the energy spent at rest," Franklin says. "If you can get above that exercise intensity, the benefits are profound."

5. Be Consistent

Try to be consistent with your walks. "If walking is your main source of exercise, set a goal of logging at least 30 minutes a day. If weight loss is your goal, aim for longer walks of 45-60 minutes when you can," weight loss coach Stephanie Mansour tells TODAY."Walking briskly helps improve cardiovascular fitness and burns more calories. If you struggle to walk briskly for 30 minutes straight, try adding intervals into your walk."

Pace Matters

By following these simple tips and gradually increasing your daily step count, you can harness the power of walking to achieve your fat loss goals. Start today, and watch as those extra steps add up to significant changes in your body and overall health.

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Set Yourself Up For Success

Make small, realistic goals for your daily walks. "Start with a simple goal, such as, 'I'll take a 5- or 10-minute walk during my lunch break.' When your 5- or 10-minute walk becomes a habit, set a new goal, such as, 'I'll walk for 20 minutes after work.' Find specific times for walks. Soon you could be reaching for goals that once seemed impossible," says the Mayo Clinic. And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss 12-3-30 Walking Method: 20 Proven Tips to Lose Weight Faster.