Weight Loss Using A Walking Pad

The modern office worker sits too much.

• We sit while driving to the office and back.
• We sit while working in front of the desk.
• We sit while eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• We sit while watching Netflix and relaxing on the couch after an exhausting day.

For many of us, this means we are physically inactive for way more than the 8 hours working in front of the screen. Combine that with unhealthy food, and it’s no wonder that we gain weight.

For me personally, getting a walking pad was a revelation. I was able to lose 13kg or 28.5lbs in half a year.

But it’s not like you can jump on a walking pad and that’s it. So let me explain how losing weight on a walking pad works.

Walking burns calories slowly

Walking isn’t high-intensity sports. For example, if you slowly walk for 30 minutes, you might burn only 60 kCal. In contrast, running can easily burn 200 kCal in the same time.

So you can say that running is much more time-effective. You burn more calories in less time. The same goes for cycling, swimming, and many other sports.

Walking several hours is key

The advantage of walking, though: It’s not that exhausting. Even if you’re not very fit, you probably can walk for an hour. And after some time of consistent walking, you can easily increase to two hours, four hours, or even more.

Look at the calculation below: with 4 hours of walking at a slow pace of 2 km/h or 1.25 mi/h, you can burn 770 kCal!

The only problem: Where can you find 4 or more hours to walk each day?

Walking pad under your desk leads to weight loss

If you’re at your desk for 8 hours a day anyway, you can easily spend some of that time on a walking pad.

I’m personally walking most of my working day, and I rarely sit down anymore. At the beginning, that’s tough. But over time, you get used to walking these long hours.

And that’s what really helps with weight loss. Long hours of walking mean lots of calories burned. And that means it’s simple to achieve a caloric deficit.

Walking pad, caloric deficit, and weight loss

Caloric deficit basically means that you burn more calories than you consume through food and drink. A bit of running doesn’t help much. Remember the 200 kCal burned in 30 minutes? That’s like two apples.

But if you walk for 4 hours at a slow pace and burn 770 kCal, you could eat an additional chocolate bar without gaining weight.

That’s not the goal, of course.

• If you keep your current diet instead, you might already be in a caloric deficit. That means you’ll lose weight over time.
• If you instead cut back on a few snacks, the caloric deficit is even higher, resulting in faster weight loss.

Watch out! Don’t fall into this trap

While long hours of walking burn lots of calories, they can also make you really hungry.

That’s the trap many people fall into: They eat more. After all, you deserve a little treat after a “workout,” right?

But that’s one of the most common mistakes why people don’t lose or even gain weight despite starting to do sports. The additional activity burns less than they add to their diet.

So as a first step, get an overview of your caloric intake. For a few days, track everything you eat and sum up the calories. Then calculate the calories you burn per day and compare it to your intake.

Now you know how much you need to walk to be in a caloric deficit. If you’re at around a 500 kCal deficit per day, you’re good.

How to start walking at your desk

If you’re used to a very sedentary lifestyle, the first days or weeks on your walking pad can be exhausting.

My recommendations:

1. Take it easy at first, especially if you’re not fit. Walk only for 30 minutes or an hour at a time.
2. Start walking slowly, e.g., at 2 km/h or 1.25 mi/h. This is much slower than the pace you’d walk at outside. But at the desk, it may be hard to focus and be too exhausting to walk that fast at first.
3. Take breaks when you’re tired. Listen to your body: after some time, you might feel exhausted, your feet might start hurting, or your back starts aching. That’s a good sign that you need a break. Put the walking pad aside and rest in your office chair.

There’s no shame in taking it slowly. Over time, you’ll get used to it, and you’ll be able to walk for several hours or even the whole working day.