The Treadmill Dilemma

Unraveling the Limits of Walking for Fat Loss

Does walking on a treadmill actually work for fat loss? Walking on a treadmill for fat loss comes from the idea that your body will use mostly fats when exercising at moderate intensity leading to weight loss over time. But reality is not that simple, we present to you the treadmill dilemma, the limits of how far you can really go with only using a treadmill for fat loss.

There are plenty of factors from genetics, body fat composition, to nutrition that contribute to the effectiveness—or lack thereof—of this approach. The fat-burning heart rate zone is the concept that your body will mostly use fats when you exercise at moderate intensity. This is true to an extent but the relationship between your heart rate zones and fat loss is not that simple. Other factors, including overall caloric expenditure, play a crucial role in the weight loss equation.

Calorie balance

One problem with just using a treadmill for weight loss is possibly missing the bigger picture which is calorie balance. Weight loss happens when more calories are burned than calories consumed. Walking can increase how many calories you burn, but it might not be enough to create the deficit needed. It's important to recognize that estimating calories burned is not always accurate. Fitness trackers and treadmill displays provide rough estimates, but they cannot fully account for individual differences. Even if age, height, weight, and gender are entered into our wearable device, or the treadmill directly, it's impossible for the tracker to accurately calculate our metabolism. Because of this, the number of calories shown may not reflect what your body is actually burning, making it even more important to focus on overall habits rather than relying solely on these numbers.

The body is remarkably adaptable, and it can adjust to repeated stimuli over time. For example, some people can type on a keyboard without even looking at the keys after typing for so long that they no longer need to process extra information and are able to do the same movement as efficiently as possible reducing the work needed if they were learning how to type on a keyboard. This is a double-edged sword when it comes to exercise. At first, walking on a treadmill can lead to weight loss because the body is still learning to get used to the movement, but once it does become efficient then there's less work it needs to do therefore decreasing the calories it would burn. This adaptation results in weight loss plateaus since the calories being burned is less than before, and figuring out how to break through it looks different for everyone. Not sure where to start? Our Registered Dietitian is also a certified personal trainer and offers free consultations, with ongoing sessions often covered by insurance.

A note from your trainer and dietitian Jo: "I would never give a client false hope by saying they WILL lose weight by using their wearable device to track burning 200 extra calories every day. It just isn't a reliable enough metric."

The Problem With Monotony and Repetitive Movement

Monotonous exercise routines, such as exclusively walking on a treadmill, can lead to boredom and reduced motivation. Doing any one particular exercise with specific movements only can lead to the body adapting to it and reducing the amount of calories it spends on it over time. Incorporating variety in the form of different exercises, intensities, and workout modalities can help overcome these limitations and keep the body challenged.

Treadmill walking can be an excellent component of a comprehensive weight loss plan, but it should be complemented by a well-rounded approach that includes varied exercises and mindful nutrition.

Exercise Alone Can't Outrun Poor Nutrition

The equation to weight loss isn't just about burning calories from exercise, there seems to be something we're forgetting, aren't we? The calories we eat from food are also part of the equation that are as important as exercising, if not more important! After all, if we eat more calories than we burn, doesn't this make weight loss pretty hard to do? If you want to chat with a Registered Dietitian for free you can! Click here to schedule a 30-minute consultation for free about the nutrition part!

Final thoughts

Walking on a treadmill can be helpful for getting movement in, but to only use a treadmill for weight loss would be to miss the forest for the trees. Adding in a mix of exercises, understanding the role of nutrition, and addressing the adaptation to exercise can lead to sustainable weight loss over time. The weight loss journey requires a personalized, sustainable strategy that goes beyond only walking on a treadmill.

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Sources:

‍https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4803033/#S1

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