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Try This – The Power of Walking 8,000 Steps a Day for Fat-Burning

Author

Dhru Purohit
September 20, 2024

There’s something you can do every single day to accelerate fat loss, prevent major chronic disease and premature death, and keep your brain resilient. 

I’m not talking about weight-loss drugs. 

I’m not talking about strength training. 

I’m not talking about a miracle supplement. 

It’s something so basic, yet so powerful that if you don’t do it, you increase your risk of death substantially. 

And pretty much everyone has access to this habit. 

Can you guess what it is? 

Let’s get into it. 

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Since I started wearing the blue light-blocking glasses from BON CHARGE, I've noticed a significant improvement in my sleep. I fall asleep more easily, enjoy longer and deeper sleep. 

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If you guessed walking, you were right—specifically, walking around 8,000 steps a day. 

You might say to yourself, Well, I do more than walk. I work out at the gym 4–5 days a week and I lift weights. 

That’s great! But, don’t dismiss walking. In fact, if you don’t walk (even if you’re crushing it at the gym for an hour a day), you might not be reaping the benefits of your workout. 

It’s a concept called “exercise resistance,” and I learned a lot about it from my friend Mike Mutzel. Basically, if you’re sedentary, it’s harder for your body to burn fat when you exercise—and research proves this. 

Moving your body throughout the day is the best way to access all the benefits of your recreational exercise (strength training, HIIT workouts, Pilates, etc.). 

A recent study published in The Journal of Physiology looked at the impact of sedentary living on overall health and found that those who get fewer than 8,000 steps a day do not receive the benefits of one hour of exercise that those who walk 8,000 steps or more achieve. 

By the way, lack of exercise and movement and an ultra-sedentary life is the fourth leading cause of death, so listen up, because this should motivate you to get those steps in! 

In Mike’s video summarizing this research, he explains two interesting ways that exercise impacts our health. 

  1. It improves the impact of the postprandial dyslipidemia window. The postprandial dyslipidemia window is the period of time after a meal when triglycerides become elevated and can cause damage to the arteries. Exercise can help mitigate the effects of triglycerides post-meal.

  2. It increases fat oxidation. This is as simple as burning fat. It probably comes as no surprise to you that exercise increases fat burning. 

Now, here’s the interesting part: According to the study, those who get fewer than 8,000 steps and do one hour of exercise do not experience the same effects on fat oxidation and postprandial dyslipidemia as those who get more than 8,000 steps and do one hour of exercise. 

Actually, there’s NO effect on either fat oxidation or postprandial dyslipidemia for those who have a low step count.

Isn’t that mind-blowing? You could be working out for an hour every single day, but if you’re sedentary the rest of the day, you’re not reaping the benefits. This is exercise resistance! 

More steps equals better blood pressure, better blood sugar, better memory and focus, more weight loss, more fat loss, a better mood, and so much more. 

So, how can you move more throughout the day? Here are some expert recommendations: 

  • Take a 10-minute walk after each meal 

  • Do 10 squats every 45 minutes (which has been shown to improve blood sugar regulation)

  • Take the stairs (instead of the elevator or escalator) whenever possible

  • Park your car further away to get a few extra steps in 

  • Take meetings while walking 

These are all examples of exercise snacks—brief periods of movement scattered throughout the day. The more we learn about the impact of exercise snacks, the more we’re realizing just how beneficial they are. We as a species used to spend so much more time constantly moving, and now many of us spend most of the day sitting. Unfortunately, we’re seeing the detrimental effects of this. 

If you spend most of the day in front of a computer or laptop, can you set a timer to get up and squat or walk around the block? Some find a walking pad useful while they’re working. 

There are so many ways to increase your step count, and research like this shows us just how important our steps actually are.

Can you commit to 8,000 steps today?

Here’s to your health,  
 
Dhru Purohit