Why You Don’t Need To Walk 10K Steps Per Day (And What To Do Instead)

Yesterday, I walked 10,000 steps but here’s why it doesn’t matter…

For some reason, the general fitness community has deemed 10k steps per day as some kind of magical number for weight loss.

Sure, it’ll absolutely help, but…

I’ve never put the expectation out there that you need to walk that much to get in shape, because for most people it’s not realistic.

And I don’t even do it myself these days due to the fact I just don’t have time 5 out of 7 days per week.

Could I do it every day?

Yes.

But my schedule is already stacked, and adding an extra 60–90 minutes of walking doesn’t make sense.

But here’s the real kicker…

For me, walking this coveted number of steps burns about 431 calories and since I naturally walk between 4 and 5k steps between my job, walking my dog, and taking casual family walks…

That means I’m only burning an extra 200–250 calories per day.

If I was trying to lose weight right now, my time and energy would be better spent on the few minutes it takes in MyFitnessPal to keep my diet on point.