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- Counting your steps for weight loss: What’s the ideal step count to shed those extra kilos?
- Steps counter: How many steps should you take to lose weight, whether you’re male or female?
- How increasing your daily step count will help you lose weight
- Examples of the weight loss surge based on the increase of daily steps
- Remember that increasing your number of steps a day is not enough to lose weight!
- So, what’s the right ratio between the number of daily steps and your calorie intake?
- The long-term weight loss results of increasing your number of daily steps
Counting your steps for weight loss: What’s the ideal step count to shed those extra kilos?
As you no doubt know, to lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit by increasing your expenditure (your daily activities) and reducing or stabilising your intake (what you eat). Depriving yourself is totally counter-productive, which is why it’s essential to have a balanced diet with a high nutrient density (rich in nutrients and unprocessed) and a low calorie density (satiating, rich in fibre and moderate in calories).
Taking enough steps during the day will help you lose weight over the long term and move from a sedentary to an active lifestyle. Every step counts towards achieving this balance, and the target of 7 to 10,000 steps can be checked using a connected watch or your smartphone.
The calculator below allows you to see theimpact of an increase in steps over a day, a week, a month and a year. For example, a 70 kg person who decides to increase their number of steps every day from 5000 to 7000 without changing their diet = an increase of 2000 steps = a loss of 2.6 kg over one year.
Impact on your daily calorie expenditure
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Steps counter: How many steps should you take to lose weight, whether you’re male or female?
Use the table below to calculate how many steps you need to take a day to lose weight, depending on your profile!
How increasing your daily step count will help you lose weight
Below, you can see the impact of an increase in the number of steps per day on different profiles of people weighing between 50 and 80 kilos, without any increase in food intake.
Examples of the weight loss surge based on the increase of daily steps
| Number of steps in | 50 kg | 60 kg | 70 kg | 80 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 steps | – 0.96 kg | – 1.15 kg | -1.34 kg | – 1.53 kg |
| 2000 steps | – 1.92 kg | – 2.3 kg | – 2.68 kg | – 3.07 kg |
| 3000 steps | – 2.87 kg | – 3,45 kg | – 4.02 kg | – 4.6 kg |
| 4000 steps | – 3.83 kg | – 4.6 kg | – 5.37 kg | – 6.13 kg |
| 5000 steps | – 4.79 kg | -5.75 kg | – 6.71 kg | – 7.67 kg steps |
Remember that increasing your number of steps a day is not enough to lose weight!
Taking extra steps is a good thing and helps you burn extra calories, sculpt your figure by building muscle mass and increasing your basal metabolic rate (calories burned at rest). Sport therefore has a major long-term impact on weight control and better health. However, to lose 1 kg of fat you need to burn 9,000 kcal, which represents days of walking.
So, what’s the right ratio between the number of daily steps and your calorie intake?
Sport and daily activity are guarantees of long-term weight control and maintenance, but as any self-respecting professional will tell you, 30% comes from moving around and 70% from what you eat. Weight loss must therefore be a combination of (essential) exercise and a diet that does not exceed your needs.
The long-term weight loss results of increasing your number of daily steps
One thing is certain. If you want to see results from your change of habit, set yourself a long-term goal. Ideally, whatever the change, a year is an excellent timeframe for several obvious reasons. This objective will not only allow you to see more convincing results, but will also show that your new habits have taken root.
