I Lost 50 Pounds in 8 Months by Walking

YouTuber Ashley (@Fairley Simple Life) lost 10 pounds in 30 days using the most simple, easy, and straightforward methods ever. She makes the point that it’s not something that happens overnight, and by taking it slow and steady, she reached her weight loss goals in a reasonable amount of time and couldn’t be happier with the results. So, how exactly did she do it? Ashley says it’s down to two specific things. Read on to find out more!

Walking 10K Steps a Day

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Ashley made sure to hit 10k steps every single day. Walking has many benefits for overall health, wellness, and fitness. “Physical activity, such as walking, is important for weight control because it helps you burn calories,” says Donald Hensrud, M.D. via Mayo Clinic. “If you add 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily habits, you could burn about 150 more calories a day. Of course, the more you walk and the quicker your pace, the more calories you'll burn.”

Weight Watchers

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Ashley used Weight Watchers (WW) to get her diet under control and stay in a deficit. “WW is a weight loss program that uses a combination of simplified food tracking and support from coaches and other members to help people lose weight,” Cara Everett, MS, RDN, LDN, says via NCOA. “The company claims you can lose 1–2 pounds per week on the program, which is a safe rate of weight loss according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

Slow and Steady

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By losing 10 pounds in one month, Ashley was only slightly ahead of the official guidelines for 1-2 pounds a month for safe, sustainable weight loss. By using WW, she enjoyed real foods while still dropping pounds. “Don’t have a dieting mentality,” obesity medicine physician Jeffrey McDaniel, MD, tells Piedmont Health. “Have a lifestyle-change mentality.”

Interval Walking

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By focusing on walking, Ashley simplified her workouts and made weight loss easier. Walking can be adapted if you want to burn even more calories. “You can also alternate periods of brisk walking with leisurely walking,” say the experts at the Mayo Clinic. “This type of interval training has many benefits, such as improving cardiovascular fitness and burning more calories than regular walking. And interval training can be done in less time than regular walking.”

Don’t Feel Restricted to 10K

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If you want to walk more than 10k steps a day, go for it. The more calories burned, the faster the weight will come off. What’s important is moving throughout the day. “It takes effort, but we can accumulate 15,000 steps a day by walking briskly for two hours at about a four-mile-per-hour pace,” Dr. William Tigbe, a physician and public health researcher at the University of Warwick, tells the New York Times. “This can be done in bits. Our metabolism is not well-suited to sitting down all the time.”

Incline Walking

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Want to give your walking workouts an edge? Start walking on an incline. “The higher you set the incline, the more energy your body is forced to use to help activate your glutes, quadriceps, and calves, all of which have to put in overtime when the incline is increased,” certified personal trainer Chrys Crockett tells NBC News. “This increase of energy burns more calories and, depending on your weight and cardiovascular endurance, can also burn more fat.”

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Track Your Food

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One way to make your WW experience more successful is to track exactly what you are eating. “Registry showed that 74.4% of members who lost at least 20 pounds on WeightWatchers and kept it off for at least a year track their food most of the time or all of the time,” according to WW.

Meal Prep

Set yourself up for success by planning your meals ahead. “When you’re busy and don’t know what’s for dinner, it’s more tempting to go for the easy option, like the restaurant drive-through, rather than the more time-intensive choice of thinking about what to cook, ensuring you have the ingredients on hand, and making a meal at home,” says WW. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

Do you want to lose weight fast without running? Mahtab Ekay is a fat loss coach and social media influencer who lost 20 pounds in 3 months. In a recent Instagram post, she revealed her hack for losing weight fast, which doesn’t involve pounding the pavement. “The cardio trick I used to lose 20 pounds in 3 months without running,” she writes across the Instagram Reel.

You Need to Be in a Calorie Deficit

“I know you want to hear about some secret workout routine. But the truth is, there’s NO special cardio that will ‘cause’ weight loss,” she writes in the post. “If you’re serious about losing weight, start with the one thing that’s key to success: being in a calorie deficit.”

In Fact, 80 Percent of Weight Loss Comes From Nutrition, She Says

Mahtab maintains that diet is the leading factor in weight loss success. “80% of weight loss comes from nutrition. The best thing you can do for the other 20%, in addition to strength training, is walking,” she explains.

Walking Burns 100 Calories in 30 Minutes

“Walking can burn approximately 100 calories in 30 minutes at a moderate pace. By walking consistently, these calories add up over time, contributing to your overall calorie deficit,” she points out. “And that’s exactly what helped me lose 20 pounds in less than three months.”

She recommends keeping track of your steps. “First, check your average daily steps in your phone’s health app. This is your starting point,” she says.

Increase Your Weekly Steps

Then, progress toward a step goal. “Gradually increase your average weekly steps. If you’re currently taking 5,000 steps daily, aim to add 1,000 steps in the next week,” she says.

And, continue. “Keep increasing by 1,000 steps each week until you consistently hit 8,000-12,000 steps per day,” she recommends.

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How to Increase Your Daily Steps

She also offers “some easy, quick ways to increase your daily steps.”

• Take the Stairs: Skip the elevator or escalator for an easy way to add more steps.
• Park Further Away: Choose a parking spot farther from your destination to get extra steps in.
• Walk During Breaks: Use your breaks to take short walks and boost your step count.
• Walk and Talk: Pace around while talking on the phone to stay active.
• Use the Restroom on Another Floor: Opt for a restroom on a different floor for added steps.
• Set a Step Goal Reminder: Use a fitness tracker or app to remind you to move.
• Walk During TV Time: Walk in place or do laps during your favorite shows.
• Take a Post-Meal Walk: Walk around the neighborhood after meals to aid digestion and add steps.
• Use a Standing Desk: Stand and move more frequently throughout the day.

Other Benefits of Cardio

“Cardio has many benefits for heart health, overall fitness, and mental well-being. If you enjoy it or are doing it for those reasons, go for it! You just don’t need it to lose your first 10-20lbs,” she concludes.

There Are Lots of Benefits to Walking

Going for a daily walk can be a game changer for your overall health. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.

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Science Has Found a Link Between 10,000 Steps a Day and Weight Loss

Research supports walking for weight loss. According to a 2018 study published in the journal Obesity walking 10,000 steps a day results in weight loss and weight management. Other studies published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in JAMA Neurology and in JAMA Internal Medicine also linked walking 10,000 steps a day to less dementia and less cardiovascular disease overall, with less heart disease, less heart failure and fewer strokes. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.