Whether you’re new to walking or just looking for an easy way to reach your weight-loss goals, you’ve likely heard the advice you should aim for 10,000 steps a day. For most people, this translates to roughly 5 miles (depending on things like height and walking gait). It’s a nice, round number that’s easy to remember. However, it turns out 10,000 steps isn’t necessarily the holy grail for shedding pounds.
Here’s what you need to know about how the number came to be, why it isn’t for everyone and how to take a smarter approach to activity levels:
HOW DID THE NUMBER ORIGINATE?
Researchers didn’t do extensive calculations to determine 10,000 steps was optimal for fitness or weight loss. In fact, the number can actually be traced back to promotional material for a pedometer that was released in Japan in the 1960s. Since then, other companies and organizations worldwide have recommended this number. However, “it lacks evidence to support it as the ‘right’ number to support fitness or overall health,” says Lauren Shroyer, senior director of product development for the American Council on Exercise.
WHY 10,000 STEPS MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT NUMBER FOR YOU
When you’re just starting an exercise program, you may not have the confidence or ability to get anywhere near 10,000 steps (even if you go for daily walks). This lofty goal might backfire as consistently falling short of your goals may discourage you from exercising.
If you swim or cycle, those activities don’t register as steps, so your count for the day won’t accurately reflect in your activity level. Plus, if you get 10,000 steps just from walking to and from work, you may feel best when you get 15,000 or 20,000 steps per day, instead of stopping at 10,000. Ultimately, “tracking step count is highly individual and there’s no perfect number,” underscores Shroyer.
A SMARTER APPROACH
Experts recommend tracking the total amount of time you’re physically active, rather than the number of steps you take. “A more researched and quantifiable number comes from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week to improve overall health,” says Shroyer. “This number is based in reviews of scientific literature.”
Aiming for a set number of minutes per day or week — rather than a certain number of steps per day — allows you the flexibility to move at your own pace while getting in the recommended amount of physical activity. “This promotes adherence to healthy habits and prevents injury and frustration along the way,” notes Shroyer.
THE BOTTOM LINE
You can still track your physical activity in steps if you prefer, but don’t feel like your progress is 100% dependent on reaching 10,000 steps. Eating a well-balanced diet is also an important part of the picture when it comes to weight loss and maintenance, notes Shroyer. When you’re starting out, wear your activity tracker for a few days to see what your baseline activity level is, then increase duration gradually. If you’re incorporating other forms of exercise such as strength-training, cycling or swimming, you may want to go by overall time.
57 Responses
I totally concur with this. It’s the totality of your entire program that matters. While the 10,000 steps is a nice target to shoot for, there’s obviously much more to it than that. We know a person’s metabolism plays a big part in their progress (i.e., their overall fitness level). Furthermore, if your diet is crappy, then your fitness routine may become rather moot. I love the closing advice that recommends “aiming for a set number of minutes per day or week” as opposed to focusing on a specific number of steps. That can be more productive. Focusing on 10,000 steps can seem daunting and overwhelming, even for the most ardent fitness guru. Life always seems to get in the way. But if we work toward chunks of time instead, that will be much more doable. Have a great day!
I agree and disagree. I personally think 10k steps(though most people never reach this number) I have my clients strive for 15,000- 20,000. When you are at 20,000 steps a day you can be more liberal in what you eat and thus the lifestyle is more sustainable and you will continue to shed. The sweet spot is between 15-20k. Also I feel steps are so much better to track because it is easier to track on your fitbit and it is exciting when you break 10k… break 15k break 20k! Heck on Sunday(bc I have more time on the weekends obviously) I went over 54,000 steps!!!! That is over a marathon! So having something exciting for people to stretch for is important and steps are the best way to do that.
How do you even get 54,000 steps in one day? My highest number of steps I think is like 26,000 in one day and I was at Disneyland.
lol…. I started super early in the morning…. hiked for about 5-6 hours… then took a few hour break then went to the gym, put on my headphones and walked for hours! lol
Wow!! Good for you!
I went to work
You get a Garmin badge if you walk 50,000 steps in a day. You can’t do that number in a day without practice. However, if you build up to it with 30,000 and 40,000 step days in the previous two weeks, then yes, as Peter says, you can hit 50,000 with a full day of walking.
great number, of course strolling around Disney world does not count
10,000 steps is not the “magical” number for weight loss, but it is considered a benchmark for health from the American Heart Association. Please don’t forget that just because it’s not necessarily a weight loss tool doesn’t mean that it’s not a good benchmark for other health measures. I’ve never even heard 10,000 steps for weight loss – I’ve always heard it associates with a healthy heart, with the added bonus that it promotes healthy activity and movement that could coincide with weight loss.
10,000 steps a day will maintain your weight with maybe a slight weight loss(the avg american by the way gets 3400 steps a day to give you some perspective) but to get consistent weight loss 15,000-20,000 steps a day is key.
Regular daily activity steps are not exercise the you cannot start counting your 10,000 steps until you are walking briskly
Incorrect. Steps are steps. In fact you lose more weight when walking casually than briskly especially when doing OMAD. I know I lost 70 lbs this way and in the best shape of my life.
I’m sorry to hear the goal of 10,000 steps being dismissed. It may seem “piddly” to someone with a more rigorous routine, but I keep track of that goal every day. It is very true that I don’t hit it every day. I’m closer to round 5,500 to 8,500 but I want to be at the 10,000 as a benchmark for being more active with my desk job. I have never considered this the magic bullet for weight loss but I do think that it is a healthy goal for general fitness and that beats doing nothing by a long shot. So, while we should keep in mind that this is not the key to overall weight loss or real fitness, it is a start and worthy of note.
I manage 10,000 steps about 4 days a week and other days it’s closer to 5,000… but it’s all good. Tracking my steps is easy with phone so it works for me. It’s just one component of my healthy lifestyle that also includes a clean diet, weight resistance training and yoga. I think if you simply maintain a target whether it’s steps, distance, cardio duration macros then it doesn’t really matter as long as it challenges you and you’re consistently doing it.
10,000 steps everyday this year. 20 pounds down. It’s not “arbitrary” to me.
I don’t know you but this is awesome! Good for you!
Cheryl from Canada
I know. It’s that simple!
remember the 80/20 rule — weight loss is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise
“arbitrary” does not mean it doesn’t work — just that there is no reason to think 10,000 is better than 11,000 and speed is not accounted for
Thanks for your anonymous opinion 🙂 Seems your anonymously jumping to the defense of this cbait article.
speed doesn’t matter. The energy expenditure is the same no matter how fast you go. The difference is the time it takes. and if you run, you can go farther in less time.
10000 steps strolling slowly Burns less calories than 10,000 steps walking fast that’s why you breathe harder
Congratulations on your success. Sadly, step-counting is arbitrary to some people. Me, for example. I walked more than 10,000 steps every day for 3 years (up hill half one way, down hill the other half) and lost absolutely nothing, despite diet changes. The only thing that allowed me to lose 50 pounds in one year was to switch to a different exercise method (T-Tapp for 20 minutes daily.) Exercise seems to be a trial and error process where you need to try something and find out if it’s right for you.
My grandfather walked up hill both ways back and forth to school, plus it seems like it was always snowing back then
Your grandfather must have been amazingly fit. Walking in snow uses a lot of energy.
I try and do 15,000 steps a day along with a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, I lost over 20 kg in the last year doing this.
Even though getting 10,000 steps something to be proud of, it shouldn’t be the goal for the day because some physical activity that you do throughout the day may not even count as steps so you will feel that you accomplished less in your day then you actually did and you could feel less confident in how you accomplished your day.
10000 steps a day on an average stride length of 65cm (for women) is about 4 miles. 4 miles a day is over an hour of walking, good low impact, accessible cardio for everyone. Thats hardly arbitary. Granted if you want to lose weight or train harder you can go for more but walking 3-4 miles a day is a pretty good standard to shoot for on general health.
First of all. I’ve seen this stupid headline multiple times and this is an article which is over a month old. So old news. I guess MFP doesn’t have enough content to keep fresh and current articles featured in their newsletters????
10,000 steps a day has worked very well for me. It has helped me to lose weight (over 50 pounds since starting to use Fitbit and MyFitnessPal) and just as importantly it’s helped me MAINTAIN as well. So as others have stated….10,000 steps IS NOT ARBITRARY! So this article (in my opinion) might do more harm than good.
When I was first starting my weightloss journey, the simple concept of get my 10,000 steps in each day to lose weight and live longer truly helped to motivate me. It helped me to get to a point where I could do 15k and even 20k if I felt the need or desire. Some people need a goal and 10,000 steps a day is a good goal to focus on when starting out.
Good reply. Thank you.
I would really like articles like this to show some references. For example “75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week to improve overall health,” says Shroyer. “This number is based in reviews of scientific literature.” – yet no reviews are cited. I’m interested because even after 10K steps per day and 180 minutes of vigorous exercise per week – Nothing, no weight loss, in fact in the last year I’ve gained twenty pounds. Do I have a tumor or what?
weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise — you can eat well and loss weight with 0 exercise. If you eat poorly no amount of exercise will overcome your diet
I would really like references for statements like these. I’ve heard numbers like this, slightly different percentages, but haven’t found anything to back it up. Also, I do eat well – the presumption is that I don’t. As you might have guessed, I am very skeptical – my experience is not positive.
It’s common sense I can eat a thousand calories in 10 minutes milkshake and french fries I cannot exercise away a thousand calories in 10 minutes
I don’t know what you mean. I don’t have milkshakes or french fries. As I said I eat good food (i.e. real food).
I don’t know what you mean. I did not say anything about your eating habits. I only said that diet is more important than exercise. Exercise is good, no doubt, but no one can over come a bad diet through exercise. Notice: I said “no one” not Paul.
You do understand my frustration, right? Actually my diet is good, AND I exercise regularly, yet no weight loss. That is why I would like references, so I can read the primary literature to see what methods actually work. I see a lot of advice, but my research into the literature shows surprisingly little of value. Even numbers of weight-loss recidivism don’t really exist.
The problem with doing a lit search is that the basics have been worked out a long time ago so that you are unlikely to get a clear answer unless you go back quite a bit or read comprehensive reviews.
So the basic idea of weight loss is calories in and calories out.
That the calories one eats compared to the calories one expends in a day (including those just to keep you alive) determine if you gain, maintain, or lose weight. Excess calories will either be stored as fat or used to make muscle (if you resistance train though even then some of the gain will be fat as well when ingesting excess calories), and a deficit in calories results in weight loss as fat (and some muscle) is metabolized in order to make up the difference in needed calories.
Exercise and eating a well balanced diet are extremely important for health and can make eating at a deficit easier, but in order to actually lose fat, you need to eat less calories than you expend. I believe you that you eat well and exercise yet are not losing weight and that is insanely frustrating.
Unfortunately, if this is the case that means you are eating too many calories even if you are eating healthily.
Maybe try either calorie counting to see what changes would be best to make in order to maintain a calorie deficit for a while? Otherwise, if you eat well and pretty consistently (similar foods and amounts) you can try eating a little less for a while (try 500 calories less at first and see how that gets you after a month) like halving breakfast and ditching one healthy snack or skipping breakfast if you normally have a moderate one.
Ugh. I’ve been going back to primary literature to understand what is real and what is not. I find it extremely enlightening. For example, the “calories in” versus “calories out” model you describe is actually not true at all. One’s resting metabolic rate (RMR) can very by up to 40% in any one day. Body weight is a highly regulated process and cutting back on calories slows your RMR considerably, more than enough to keep the weight on. A great study on Biggest Loser Contestants shows how this works.
I replied to this with linked references previously but my comments were not posted. Essentially the “calories in” versus “calories out” model is 100% wrong.
“Essentially the “calories in” versus “calories out” model is 100% wrong.”…good luck then.
Thanks.
Hi Paul, have you talked with a doctor or dietician about your experience? It sounds like you have a health issue getting in the way of weight loss. Maybe a thyroid or other issue is present. I personally do really well by counting calories and regular exercise with a 750 calorie deficit goal. Best wishes to you!
Every couple of years I do. Blood work is normal but typically have higher than normal HDL (thanks gym). Last nutritionist told me I was consuming too few calories and that might be causing it. I increased my calorie count with the expected (for me) result of gaining weight. Lowering my calorie count results in a hard time finishing a workout at the gym, and I don’t lose weight.
use My Fitness Pal to record your food – follow the instructions and it will work, slowly (50-80 pounds in one year) — if you burn more calories than you eat, then you will lose weight
Why are you assuming I haven’t done exactly that?
Because of science
Funny. If you look at the top of this thread, I’m researching the science of these claims (I am a scientist BTW, not in nutrition, but I’m trying to learn more for obvious reasons) and typically the science doesn’t support the claims, and neither does my experience.
The bottom line is do what’s best for you not just what someone generically recommends. I’m happy for everyone achieving fitness goals, weight loss goals, and health goals. Let’s keep it going!
Definitely not arbitrary at all. It encourages moving around and staying active for one. Not to mention the fact that people have their different reasons for setting their goals. It is in fact and indeed far from arbitrary.
After suffering from a back injury, last year, I purchased a Fit bit to help to remind me to get up each hour because I sit all day at work. Back then, I could barely get in 3500 steps, but I knew that the key to my recovery was movement. Over a year later, I work out at Planet Fitness 4-5 days a week. I do 13 minutes on the elliptical and 27 minutes on the recumbent bike and a couple of ab specific workouts. On those days, I can get in over 10,000 steps. I have been kind of bummed out, because the weight was not dropping off, like I had hoped. I have modified my eating habits and really cut back on sodium. But I have come to realize that not only am I fighting fat, but I have stage 1 Congestive Heart Failure so I am also fighting water retention. My weight can change daily. I have managed to lose 6 lbs since the end of January. Not much, but I will stay the course. I know that by exercising, I am helping to lower my blood pressure, my cholesterol and hopefully will keep my CHF from going to stage 2.
remember – steps only count as exercise if you are exercising. Buying a pedometer to count what you were already doing as part of your day does not translate into improved health or weight loss — you have to do 10,000 extra steps as deliberate exercise —A brisk walking pace can be from 13 to 20 minutes per mile, or from 3.0 mph to 4.5 mph. At this pace, you should be breathing noticeably but able to speak in full sentences. If your walking pace is 20 minutes per mile it may be either fast enough to be moderate-intensity exercise or too slow.
10,000 steps does not take into account the needs of all people
Some of the information you present here is incorrect or at least incomplete. Walking 10,000 steps a day is not an arbitrary number, but is in fact a well-documented goal. While the concept of “10,000 steps/day” may not be new, it has been thoroughly studied and verified by Dr James Hill and Dr Holly Wyatt at the University of Colorado. Using data they acquired through the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) they have shown that people who maintain a weight loss do so by exercising approximately 70 minutes six days a week. They further calculated that this is in fact equivalent to walking about 10,000 steps/day.
To be honest, I too had a fear of a heart attack if I raised my heart rate too much. While I have CHF, mine is on the left side of my heart. My doctor encouraged me to exercise and lose some weight. Walking is good, if you can manage to do that. Just start off at your own pace and perhaps relay your fears to your doctor, as well. Good luck and God Bless!
Walking is the best and most important workout routine one should do daily, you have shared correctly that walking 10000 is really important in one day because it increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. Not only this walking also reduces the risk of heart diseases and other serious disease like cancer, diabetes, etc.
If you can, try looking into T-Tapp. I was skeptical about it at first, but I gave it a try while watching how much I eat and it has helped me lose 50 pounds in 1 year. I do their basic workout+ which is about 20 minutes of exercise and stretching. Best part is, I can do it right in my house without leaving.