What should my move goal be to lose weight?
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Are you wondering what your move goal should be if you want to lose weight?
Well, let’s first start with why you should move more?
Being sedentary can have a lot of negative health effects.
Our bodies were meant to move.
A lot of people tend to have a desk job or are not very active throughout the day.
If you think back to when you were a kid you were probably a lot more active and as you age you have likely become less active.
Does that sound like you?
Getting more movement in is one of the best ways to boost your metabolism.
Your metabolism takes into account the total calories you take in versus the total calories of energy you expend.
It gets more tricky than that, but that is a good basic understanding.
Part of your metabolism is your basal metabolic rate which is the amount of energy a person needs to keep their body functioning, just the bare minimum (think breathing and digestion).
And when you can add on more movement from that very basic of what your body does each day by adding more movement in your day, then you start to burn more calories in a way that doesn’t slow your metabolism.
A little side note, when you overdo exercise or you have a big calorie burn in a short amount of time, like cardio you actually slow your metabolism down.
So if you have some weight loss goals getting some physical activity can be a great way to help and this activity doesn’t have to be hard or strenuous.
This is a great long term strategy to keep your metabolism working well and your body strong.
Want more details on how movement can increase your metabolism?
Check out my free metabolism workshop here.
What things to track when trying to move…
You can track a lot of different things. But I would pick one main thing to focus on and then make a goal around what you want to track.
A lot of people track steps to reach their daily goals of moving more.
This can be a great place to start and a way to keep it simple to start being successful with your daily move goal.
You could also track the minutes of exercise you get each day, so you know how much of your day you are moving versus not moving.
This can be helpful because our bodies tend to function better when they are moving throughout the day.
This can be really eye-opening, especially in our world where we tend to be more sedentary.
You can also track how many miles you walk a day.
This can be great if you don’t have an activity tracker, but just a fitness app.
Since the idea of moving more is to help you burn more calories, you could set and track a calorie goal for the day.
You would want to set the number of calories you burn in a day to be more than the calories you take in so this puts you in a calorie deficit.
And just keep in mind here that these calories in and out are estimates.
Even when tracking your food, it can be off and the number of calories you burned is also an estimate.
It is great at the end of the day to look back over these results and see how you have done and compare it to other days.
Movement tip for beginners
If you are a beginner I want you to start with a small goal because I want your body to feel good.
If you dramatically increase the amount of movement you are doing, your muscles and your bones aren’t used to it yet.
You need to give them time to wake up.
Gradually increasing your movement is a great way to make it more sustainable and allows your body time to adjust.
If you go for too much right off the bat, you will get more sore and put more of a strain on your body.
I’m always encouraging clients to start slow and work their way up.
Also, if you are struggling with just starting a new habit and making them stick, check out this article here!
Types of fitness trackers
If you want to start moving more, you are probably wondering what’s the best way to track your movement to reach your fitness goals.
One of the easiest ways to get started today is just to use your phone.
There are lots of free workout apps you can use.
Apple’s health tracker will track your steps without you even doing anything (not sure how I feel about that, but it’s nice to see your movement for the day).
I also like using the app Sports tracker to see how far I’m walking.
The downfall of an app like this is you have to hit the start button, so this may not be great to if you want to track every step you take throughout the day, but it is great for walks.
You can also use an activity tracker like an apple watch, move ring, or other smartwatches if you want to get more specific.
So you can decide how techy and how perfectly you want to track.
You can keep it simple and just track when you go for a walk and you could always estimate the number of additional steps you take during the day or you can get a tracker so you can track every step you take all day.
Deciding on your goal
Everyone will have a different goal because everyone is starting at a different point and has different things going on in their life.
The first thing you need to think about when making a goal is to get a good idea of what your current activity level is.
So for a few days just track how much you move without trying to do more. This will be your baseline.
Then once you have a baseline, the first step is to set a goal that you feel 90% confident that you can reach most days.
You want to keep your goal realistic and doable so you can start to have success.
Because when you start to have success and realize you can do this, then you will keep doing it!
You can always bump it up later and have a higher goal, but you want to start getting those feel-good hormones flowing and confidence in yourself.
For example, let’s say your daily baseline is 2,000 steps.
Ultimately you would like to get to 10,000 steps.
But your first goal maybe 2500 for the first week.
And then if you are feeling good the 2nd week you do 3,000 steps.
Maybe each week you can keep bumping it up by 1,000 steps.
Or maybe when you get to 5,000 steps you start feeling it a little more and you decide to stay at 5,000 steps for a few weeks before you bump it up.
Everyone and their body is a little different. So listen to your body and keep the long-term goal in mind and just be patient getting there!
You are going to be much more successful if you start off and progress a little slower. (I hope maybe you feel a sense of relief hearing this)
Daily step goal that gets the most benefits
Now keep in mind the above and start with your own goal.
A good range for most people is between 10,000-20,000 steps a day.
This range helps you to get the weight loss benefits of moving more without stressing your metabolism.
So this can be a good goal to work towards, but it may not be your starting point.
If you haven’t been moving much or don’t have the time, then start with a lower goal.
You don’t want to stress your body or your joints and not be able to walk the next day.
Give your muscles and joints time to wake up and get used to your new movement.
After a few weeks, it is a good time reass your activity goals and see if you want to change your move goal.
Ask yourself:
Do you think you could add on more steps and still be successful?
Do you think you should keep your goals the same?
How do you feel during and after you walk?
How is your body feeling? Are you sore?
Good ways to change up your daily walk
Variety can be a nice way to change your daily walk and movement up. And it doesn’t have to be anything radically different, just adding some small changes can be a nice change of pace and a way to work your body differently.
Change the intensity of your walk. You could speed it up and make it the intensity of a brisk walk.
Do intervals. You can walk faster, then slow it down.
Walk hills. You can go up and down hills. Side note if your knees bother you going down hills, try walking backward if you feel comfortable
Add an extra mile. Push yourself a little extra a couple of days a week and go a little further than you usually do.
If you aren’t already, take your walk outside. The fresh air and nature can be great for the soul. You can even go hiking or try a new trail.
Other types of workouts
I consider movement and exercise 2 different things.
Movement is just walking and moving around.
Exercise gets your muscles burning and maybe your heart rate up.
Keep in mind that if you are doing other types of exercise that can also count towards your movement goal for the day.
Some different ways to exercise are
Bodyweight exercises. You can do strength training with just your body weight. Think squats, lunges, pushups, arm circles. This is a great option to build your strength and get your muscles working. This is also a great option to do before or after you go on a walk.
Strength training with weights. This is a great way to build muscle and this doesn’t have to be some hardcore workout. People of all ages can do strength training. Check out my FREE 5 day exercise challenge to get started today.
Yoga. Doing a yoga workout can be a great strength training workout. You just have to make sure you choosing on that is meant for strength training.
There are lots of different ways to exercise.
If you have no idea where to get started, I suggest you start by working with a personal training so you can learn how to exercise correctly for your body. (I know I’m biased here, but it can make all the difference when you get support & accountability)
Everyone is a little different and knowing how to prevent injury and build a strong and healthy body as you age is key.
Do you want to get started for the fraction of the price?
I offer online personal training for people of all levels. Get ready to start reaching your goals!
Learn more here!
And as a special thank you for reading this article use the code movemore20 to save 20% off for 3 months of personal training! That way not only can you get started, but you can start to build new habits and stay consistent.
Keep moving,