Losing weight at 20k + steps a day

[BleuCoffee]

Hi All,

Started Fitbit March 1st (3rd week) and lost 6lbs in 2 weeks, my step count has been between 20 - 30k steps per day. This week Ive noticed I've gained back a pound, not sure if i am building muscle in my legs or I have hit a plateau and need to do more steps. Diet has stayed consistent and I have been eating much healthier as well.

Any ideas?

[Esya]

Gaining weight for one week does not really say anything at all as weight can fluctuate due to water weight and for women also due to hormones and some other causes. So relax, breathe and do not panic yet. I use trendweight.com to see how my weight is doing over time. If you have your weight in FitBit you can login with your FitBit account and the data will automatically be synced. It shows the trend of your weight over time, so fluctuations get evened out.

You might hit a plateau as your body will get used to the exercise and therefore burn less for the same amount of exercise and also because you weigh less you will burn less calories. But it is too early to tell if you actually hit a plateau or not. For now I advice to keep doing what you were doing as it was working for you. If the situation does not change after a few weeks you might want to increase your exercise and/or look at your diet.

[Dominique]

You don’t lose weight with steps: you lose weight with a caloric deficit. Of course, steps can be used to create that deficit (steps = activity = energy expenditure), but it’s only one side of the equation. The other side is nutrition: primarily how much you’re eating (quantity), less how well/"healthy" you’re eating (quality). People often say weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercising, or you can’t out-train a poor diet, which I think is true in most cases. It looks like you’re paying a lot of attention to your exercising (getting 20-30k steps is excellent, of course), but not enough to the quantitive side of your eating (not saying your diet is poor, but there can be too much of a good thing when eating).

Otherwise, I second @Esya’s recommendation of using TrendWeight, especially if you are weighing daily (the more data it has, the more meaniningful the trend it calculates is). And it should be particularly straightforward for us guys, since we don’t have to deal with hormonal cycles.

As to so much muscle mass being built in your legs from 2-3 weeks of walking/running (even with 20-30k steps per day) that it would offset your weight loss, it is very unlikely to have happened IMO.

Regarding your step count, you need to consider what’s going to be sustainable in the longer run. You probably have a busy schedule (just guessing based on the nice suit & tie you’re wearing on your profile photo ) and chances are there’s only so much time you can consistently dedicate to exercising. The good news is you don’t need crazy step counts to lose weight: a reasonable deficit is all you need. That being said, 20k steps is great for your cardiovascular health and your overall well-being, if you can find the time for them.

[BleuCoffee]

Thanks everyone, I was trying to establish a baseline before I start heavy weight training again of what is working and what isn't. I've never been a person of cardio, always more of a build muscle and diet to lose fat type of regimen. As you get older cardio is more needed and at this point I wanted to drop about 20 lbs before building up more muscle so was trying fitbit route.

I agree, 25k a day I can work into my daily routine / commute but anything more takes a lot of effort and will not be sustainable.

Thanks again for the advice, will adjust accordingly.

[Esya]

---

I've never been a person of cardio, always more of a build muscle and diet to lose fat type of regimen.

This is typically not easy though, to build muscle while you diet to lose fat. I learned so much from @Dominique about this, but the idea is that to gain muscle you best eat at a surplus. It is very hard for your body to build muscle when it is using all the food you eat as fuel. And by doing so you will also gain some fat as a free side product. So when you are at a good weight, you start eating at a surplus to build muscle (bulking phase) until you hit an upper limit you set for yourself. Then you start dieting to lose fat (cutting phase) until you hit the lower limit. And if you keep alternating those two phases you build muscle over time while oscilating around an average weight.

I don't do this myself and am only copieing what I learned from Dominique, so he might be the better one to ask about this or details I skipped.

[Dominique]

So you lost 6 lb in two weeks, and 5 lb in three weeks. That’s still an average of 1.7 lb per week, which is not bad at all. At that pace, you would lose your 20 lb in less than three months. Just make sure you have an adequate deficit (about 800 calories).

[BleuCoffee]

Thank you, I've noticed the first 2 weeks I was sweating a lot, now I barely sweat with same step count / intensity. One of the reasons why I questioned it.

[Mukluk4]

---

@BleuCoffee wrote:

Thank you, I've noticed the first 2 weeks I was sweating a lot, now I barely sweat with same step count / intensity. One of the reasons why I questioned it.

---

Much like your weight training, you need to continue to push yourself.  If it's gotten too easy, pick up the pace.

[BleuCoffee]

Great, Thank You!

Will keep pushing and keep that in mind.

[AndyDandyPandy]

Bro 20k step a day is fking insane. I doubt any normal person can put up as much step as 20k a day. OK back to topic. Gaining 1lb is BS. 1lb can be gained from drinking a glass of water. If you're worried about fat, you cannot gain 1lb of fat that quick. You must eat 3500 calorie over your deficit to gain 1lb of fat. 20k steps a day? I doubt you even eat enough to supplement the amount of calories you burn a day. You're fine. Stop worrying about weight. When you gain 10lb and counting and it stays that way for weeks then that's when it's time to start making changes. 20k steps a day? My greatest advice is make sure you get enough nutrition to keep you going.

[BleuCoffee]

Thanks so much! I'm actually doing 40k now. Definitely not sustainable but  20-25k I can definitely do consistently.

[A_Lurker]

@BleuCoffee- just adding that I can usually knock off 15,000 steps a day before 6pm.  It helps that I can sometimes come home after work with 10,000.  I do notice that when I do 20,000 (and sometimes 25,000) I'm spending too much time doing this.  Find a balanced way of eating will do more for you in the long run.

[BleuCoffee]

Thank you, totally agree. I'm trying to find that right sustainable step count.

[SunsetRunner]

That time sat on the couch watching tv? Jog on the spot to watch tv instead

[elderwanda]

Agreed!  That's exactly what I've been doing, and it's helped me lose weight.  The only problem is that if other family members are trying to pay attention to the TV show, they get a little annoyed at the "pat-pat-pat-pat-pat" of my jogging behind them, because we have a floor instead of carpeting.  

---

@SunsetRunner wrote:

That time sat on the couch watching tv? Jog on the spot to watch tv instead

---

[BleuCoffee]

Lol, I wish I had thought of that. Quick update is in now down 8lbs once I lose 20lbs I am going back to normal steps just to maintain a consistent step count.

[SunsetRunner]

Lol

thankfully my dad has his own room with his own tv, mum watches tv in the living room, and I jog in the conservatory watching either the tv or the ipd hooked up to the tv

 but same here, when my mum watches something I want to watch on the internet tv box I jog in the living room and she gets annoyed

[nicnac87]

I walk/run 20 to 25k a day, not really insane.

[nicnac87]

haha my husband says all the time, could you just sit down and watch the show like the rest of us 

[gtg947h]

---

@AndyDandyPandy wrote:

Bro 20k step a day is fking insane. I doubt any normal person can put up as much step as 20k a day.

---

20k steps really isn't that hard.  It takes a deliberate effort but it's certainly doable.  How, you ask?

At least for me, I can sometimes hit it on work days.  Every hour or so I get up and walk a lap of the building (so about 1/4 mile).  Every trip to the bathroom is 250 steps.  Walk for half an hour at lunch.    That at least gets me to the mid or high teens; another walk or run sometime during the day takes me over 20k (hit it yesterday, actually).

Even then, I have to watch it to not go over my calorie allotment for the day.  But, doing this on work days plus heavy workouts on off days, combined with a decent calorie deficit, helped me lose 40lb.  So, it works.