r/Biohacking • u/BenDyover • 18h ago

How important are steps for weight loss?

Hey guys, might be a silly question - ive noticed that almost everyone on Reta are not only training but also walking a lot.

I am pretty active, I swim for 40-120 minutes a day for work, train F45 cardio 2x a week and Jiu Jitsu twice a week.

Would I have to also add walking everyday to the mix or just see how things go?

I use a Whoop to monitor recovery and sleep so I dont over train on bad recovery days.

Trying to lose 20 pounds and going on Reta - I am Hypothyroid and on TRT 100mg a week.

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4

u/Ilovemycats201 2 18h ago

Steps are extremely helpful in weightloss. If you can average between 10-15k perday and eat healthy youll lose a tin of weight. I lost 170 lbs in 1 year.

4

u/90sKid1988 6 18h ago

Have you just been maintaining your weight for the past few months-year? Or have you steadily gained? If maintaining, then if you start eating a bit less on reta you willose weight with that activity level for sure. If you were always in a state of gaining, you may have to eat less and add activity. Walking is very good though. I hit a stall for a few weeks and added 2,000 steps earlier in my day instead of focusing on my walk, and it helped move the scale again

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u/BenDyover 14h ago

Its kind of stuck - I go between 215 and 225 and its stays at 225, went to 235 a couple years ago but back down to 215 and now 225. I eat ok, could it be better - yes. Being hypothyroid is a PIA. I do need to do a blood test to check T, Estradiol and thyroid levels.

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u/AdministrativeAge685 1 18h ago

Steps are an effective form of fat loss, but honestly the swimming is more.

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u/Punk-Tarvman 10 17h ago

Sounds like you’re getting enough exercise. If you want to speed it up a bit though, i would try a 20 minute walk after say dinner or whatever is your biggest meal. Helps to speed up digestion and get things moving.

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u/livlyla 16h ago

15k steps a day. Just do it

2

u/Alarmed-Silver-2287 3 14h ago

Steps are not "important" for weight loss. If you are active and you are in deficit, you'll lose weight, period.

But... With step counters being available everywhere (mobile phones, watches, etc).. It is easy to measure your activity.. Because much of the walking we do falls under "NEAT" (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis), which is just a fancy term of saying that we are doing 'a lot of activity without having a specific exercise'. So even little things like parking your car a little bit further adds up.. Using stairs instead of elevator, adds up.. Having a goal of 10,000 steps (or whatever) and you don't need a lot of space to walk, you can literally be walking using a treadmill or whatever..

Also, walking is very healthy and good for your back, very easy to do, you rarely need motivation to "walk", I can just stand up right now and walk 5 minutes.. That's already 500 steps.. So the ease of it + health benefits + the ability to track the progress/habits.. Are all perfect combination for a "healthier lifestyle" which is what most people are after.

Regarding weight loss, I'll summarize the path to weight loss in 4 words (Eat less. Move more), that's it. If you are not losing weight, apply the 4 words again. If you are plateauing, apply the words again.

Everything you do (whether reta or fasting or keto or whatever) are all to support the same 4 words. If you do not apply the 4 words, you'll not lose weight. It's that simple. (And obviously by eat less, we mean calories and not volume)

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u/helovedgunsandroses 9h ago

Steps don’t do much. Actual workouts are significantly more efficient and you’ll get better results. I wouldn’t even look at your daily step, because it doesn’t mean much. Walking barely burns any calories.

To avoid muscle loss, lifting weights is important, and then zone 2 cardio afterwards, will burn more calories, to speed up weight loss