Walking for weight loss

[SunsetRunner]

I started using the Fitbit Flex almost 3 weeks ago and have managed to lose 7.9lbs so am happy with this. When I started I was hitting the 10,000 steps every day but now I am averaging roughly around 17,000 -  18,000 a day, I try to aim for 20,000. My question is due to this I am supposed to eat more, which surely then cancels out all the walking. So I'm wondering what the benefits are of walking more and eating more? I already have a calorie defecit this week of -5,242kcals, have the defecit set to -1000 on the dashboard and am still around 800cals underbudget each day even with these settings. So my question is, should I be walking less so I am not underbudget? It just seems absurd to be eating more than I want when I am trying to lose weight, and have around 80lb to lose.

EDIT: Just had a thought, I suppose I could fill the defecit by drinking a load of fruit juice which would be ultimately a healthy option.

[carl669]

just a quick thought on your edit:  eating the actual fruit would be a much healthier option than drinking the juice.

[josephz2va]

It's mostly about the quality of the food to earn weight loss. Not how many calories you consume. I consume 1700 out of 4191 calories average per work day on a controlled meal plan. The quality of the food is key to weight loss and exercise burn for fat loss.

Bad quality like say I have 3,000 calories more so I'll eat a crapload of peanuts or drink protein shakes can make you gain weight the wrong way. Good quality like searching for "Foods to build lean mass" and consuming the correct kinds of foods is key to weight loss and muscle gain.

And keeping a good fitness regimen such as for me, it's 7 days of weights AM or 3 days weights and 3 days cardio burn and 7 days of PM workout fitness video.

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for the replies folks. As for food quality, I eat very well as I don't eat meat apart from fish. My only downfall is my love for cheese but I am careful with how much of that I have. I don't eat salty products any more and stick to soups and various fish dishes and salad. I'll do some searching for "Foods to build lean mass" as Joseph has suggested.  I certainly feel like I am gaining muscle with walking, I live in the Scottish highlands so walks include lots of steep hill climbing !

Weights is something I need to begin. I have a boxing ball and one of those stretch tubing things to gain muscle tone but need something else to lose this beer gut !

[josephz2va]

Careful with soups. Shop for low sodium soups on Google for the less salty edition. May taste bad on a few soups even with your own salt added.

Cup of Noodles despite it's tasty treat has near or over 2,000 MGs of Sodium.

[SunsetRunner]

The soups I have are the Weightwatchers ones, the Tomato, the carrot & lentil and the country veg ones so hopefully they are OK. I use Myfitnesspal along with the Fitbit app which I use to scan the food and Myfitnesspal usually warns me if I am having too much of something. I do need low sodium foods though as I have high blood pressure so I use the low sodium salt if I really want some salt with something.

I was surprised at how many calories Noodles have ! I tend to avoid noodles and pasta now.

I must say, since doing these things I feel so much better than I used to.

Thanks for the advice Joseph !

[Knowledge]

As someone else said eat fruit instead of the juice. Juice has no fiber while fruit has a lot of fiber. You need the fiber because it will dampen the effect of the Fructose in the fruit which will spike your insulin if you don't have a lot of fiber. In the long run the healthier option is the whole fruit over the juice. You could put your fruit in a blender and drink them that way. This way it preserves the fiber and also the vitamins which are found in the skin! But stay away from the juice as its purely sugar flavored water that came from fruit, even if its 100% juice.