JJ Virgin compares fat burned from 6,000 versus 12,000 daily steps, showing the difference adds roughly 400 to 1,000 calories. She warns against treating calories like a simple ledger between food and exercise, which can lead to unhealthy patterns. Moving more throughout the day, with some intensity mixed in, matters more than using workouts to justify overeating.
This is how much fat you'd burn if you walked 6,000 steps per day. This is how much fat you'd burn if you walked 12,000 steps per day.
Here's a reality: the more you move, you also tend to eat more. So I hate to always look at this bank account model because I think it can get us into a little bit of anorexic behavior. However, what we know is that the most modifiable thing that you can do for your total daily energy expenditure is just move more all throughout the day. You could end up spending another 400 to 1,000 calories a day, just like he said. Now, I don't want you to equate to go, okay, I ate a cookie, so I just need to move more. Best thing you can do for your health overall is just get more movement in throughout the day, and bonus points if there's some intensity thrown in.
