This thread captures my experiences related to walking and running as part of my fitness regime. I'm 41, married with two kids (4 & 6 yrs) and, like many of you on this forum, balancing life and career goals while trying to make each day as memorable as possible. Not having my first heart-attack in my 40's is my primary fitness goal! My brother had his at 48, and we lost dad to coronary complications in his 60's.
During my 20's and early-30's, I weighed around 80 kgs, which wasn't too bad for my 175 cm frame. However, my overall stamina and fitness levels were hardly a benchmark. I was eating out a lot on account of my work and not that regular at my gym. All that changed in 2010 when I relocated to Germany. The two most significant changes were (1) more time for exercising (b) reduced intake of snacks and fried food. In a couple of months, my weight dropped to 72-74 kgs. And has stayed in this range since.
Running
Until my late 30's all of my running was on treadmills. That changed around 3 years ago when I discovered the joys of running outdoors. I quit the gym and started exercising at home. My initial runs lasted 30 minutes covering around 4 km as I alternated between running(70%), jogging(20%), and walking(10%). Followed by 30 minutes of exercise at home. Within a few weeks, I recognized that running, unlike exercising, had a positive influence beyond muscle, fat, and calories. I
felt a lot more positive and consequently found myself taking on tasks and challenges at work and home that id formerly dread. So I upgraded my shoes & earphones, installed an app on my phone, and focussed on improving my running skills.
My first 10k took me an hour and 15 minutes and felt like a marathon. Over three months, with 2-3 runs each week, I was able to complete 10k in under an hour. I noticed my weight dropping by 2-3kgs. I didn't switch to any specific diet but reduced my salt and sugar intake and cut down on deep-fried food, snacks, chocolate, and sugary drinks. And consciously tried to drink more water. My first 15k run took me an hour and 40 minutes. And while looking to improve my 15k time, I came across youtube videos that highlighted the risk of running injuries for men over 40. And this made me deep-dive on the whole running Vs walking discussion. And after a few days of reading and expert recommendations on youtube, I decided to try my hands (or feet to be precise!) at walking.
Walking
Despite all my running, there wasn't a significant reduction in fat in my torso (belly, sides, chest), while I did lose a noticeable amount of fat in my face, arms, and legs. While my primary goal was cardiovascular fitness, it didn't hurt to look and feel better in the bargain! So running was great but I still wanted to get rid of flab in my torso. Several studies have linked belly fat to heart complications. Some doctors even suggest waist to height ratio as a more reliable measure of cardiovascular health rather than traditional measurements like weight or cholesterol levels.
There is a lot of literature on the benefits of walking at least 8000 steps a day to reduce fat in hard to target areas. I found this video quite insightful.
So last Sunday I decided to embark on a "10k per day for 10 days" walking routine. I'm fortunate to live in a region with plenty of walking trails. I ditched my regular running routes for a new walking trail not far from my apartment. I'm not a morning person so my fitness sessions are always in the evening. Or late afternoon when the weather is good.
I'm on day-8 of my 10-day plan and the progress report is as follows.
1. There is a noticeable reduction in fat in my tummy, hips, and chest. Not as dramatic as I pictured but noticeable nonetheless. I still have today and tomorrow to go - so fingers crossed for further improvement! I've lost about a kilogram of weight.
2. I could have achieved better results with a calorie deficit diet. Instead what I did was reduce my intake of salt, sugar, and fried stuff. I've been eating both carbs and protein. For instance, last nights dinner was two eggs (one with the yolk) followed later by skimmed milk with turmeric and black pepper before bed. Lunch was a small portion of pasta with olive oil and tomato dressing.
3. Since coffee is known to encourage fat-burn and provide an energy boost before a run or long walk, I take an espresso 15 - 20 minute before my walk.
4. It does not feel as tiring as running 10k, for sure. On a few occasions, when I had a light lunch, I felt tired around the 7-8 km mark but I made it a point to follow through to the 10k target.
Based on what I'm experiencing I have to say that there is evidence to support that walking can indeed have a very positive impact when it comes to reducing fat in hard to target areas. And in a way that is easier on the body than running.
I would be interested to hear about your experiences on running Vs walking for targeting fat loss. Cheers!