There are many ways to burn extra calories and to stay in a calorie deficit, and different methods will work for different people. However you choose to do it, reaching your exercise goal doesn’t have to be boring, and it doesn’t have to be hard or overwhelming.
With companies like Apple introducing fitness trackers that are making fitness and raising your heart rate fun, exercise can be seen as an exciting and competitive game. Plus, when something as simple as walking is all that you have to do to get fit, it isn’t as difficult as it might seem to start achieving your fitness goals.
I have had a fitness watch for most of my weight loss journey and can tell you it makes a difference in discipline and motivation, especially if you are competitive by nature.
We’re going to explain how an Apple watch can help you get moving. Along with this, we’re going to describe everything that you need to know about burning calories and losing weight by walking and moving.
By the end, you’re going to ready to get an Apple watch so that you can reach your move goals and increase your physical activity! Let’s get into it, because if you want to go the extra mile for your health, this is a good place to start.
What is an Apple watch move goal?
An Apple watch move goal is kind of like measuring step goals, except you aren’t going to track your progress in steps. Instead of using steps, the Apple watch measures your movement in active calories.
When you set an Apple Watch move goal, your watch will begin tracking your daily average movement, and you’ll get customized daily goals, based on your average daily movement. The goal is to close your move ring before the end of the day.
How is a move goal calculated?
When you first purchase an Apple watch, the device will recommend a certain movement goal, which will be based off your age, gender, weight, height, and basic information about your movement level. If you continually reach your movement goal, the watch will suggest a larger movement goal.
What activities count towards my move goal?
This is one of the most exciting things about a move goal: you can move however you’d like. This means that, as long as you have your Apple watch on, your movement can be tracked.
Whether you’re interested in doing household chores or going on a long walk, whatever movement you do counts towards your move goal.
What should my move goal be?
There’s not definitive answer to this, because your move goal should vary, depending on various factors. So, take into consideration your age, weight, height, gender, and lifestyle, when you’re determining a move goal.
Plus, Apple will do a lot of the work for you, when it comes to setting your move goal, because the watch can set some goals automatically.
What workout burns the most calories to make my move ring close?
We mentioned earlier that exercising doesn’t have to be hard, and to prove it, one of the best ways to close your rings, is to walk! A workout that burns the most calories only requires a treadmill and a good pair of walking shoes. So, if you’re interested in learning new and exciting treadmill routines, then check out these treadmill workouts.
If you’re new to walking or running on a treadmill, there are plenty of different ways to make your workout enjoyable.
Between listening to your favorite music or putting on a nice podcast, walking and running on a treadmill can be informative and a good time. And not only is walking and running on a treadmill beneficial for your good health, it’s also a period that’s designated for yourself…which is incredibly important in our busy lives!
Which exercise burns the most calories but is low impact?
Some of us intend to get moving to improve muscle mass, but we might have a history of injuries that stops us. So, don’t fret if you’re looking for a low impact workout that burns a lot of calories, because there are options for you.
Specifically, exercises like a these beginner swim workouts or even this 30 day walking plan are great for overweight or active people who are worried about hurting themselves.
Like walking or even a long run, swim workouts can the perfect opportunity to step up your move goal to burn calories, get tone and improve health.
But along with all of this, you’re also going to get closer to reaching your move goal, which is great if you’re trying to lose healthy weight or burn a lot of calories. You don’t have to participate in high impact activities, to see the results that you’re looking for. Low impact exercises burn calories, too!
What are active calories?
When your heart rate increases from some type of exercise or intense moving around, your body begins to burn active calories. Active calories are great for cardiovascular health and for burning reserved energy such as fat storage.
What are active calories vs total calories?
You don’t have to be moving to burn calories, because you burn resting calories, too. With that, there’s a difference between active calories and total calories. So, while active calories are calories that you burn by moving and exercising, total calories are the active calories burned and the calories that are burned by sleeping or sitting still, added together.
How many active calories should I burn a day on my Apple Watch?
Although it is difficult to advise an exact number of active calories that you should burn a day, without knowing any specific information about your lifestyle and body, it is a good idea to at least aim for burning 250 active calories.
You may not hit this every day depending on your age and activity. Making a goal of 250 active calories a day is generally a suitable goal for women over 40.
Is 500 active calories enough to lose weight?
There’s a commonly cited hypothesis out there, called the 3,500-calorie hypothesis, which argues that if you burn 3,500 calories a week, you’ll lose a pound of belly fat.
You have to be careful about exactness in terms of weight loss and calories burned. There are a lot of variables with exactly how many calories your body will burn and how it reflects in your body transformation.
In order for anyone to lose body fat, a calorie deficit needs to be achieved. We have a resting metabolic rate in which our body burns a certain amount of calories simply by existing.
Different exercises will burn calories at a different rate.
So, with that information in mind, if you burn 500 calories a day, you’re going to burn 3500 calories a week. Considering all of this, if your nutrition keeps you in a proper calorie deficit, you could burn one pound of fat a week burning 500 calories a day.
Depending on your exercise routine, current fitness level and nutrition, you could lose weight by burning less than 500 extra calories a day.
If this aligns with your long term goals, then you can certainly lose so much weight this way, slow and steady. And that’s a healthy way to go about things!
How many calories does 10,000 steps burn?
Similar to the answer above, how many calories burned by walking 10,000 steps a day will vary from person to person. It depends on your age, fitness level, how quickly you walked, if you walked on hills or inclines, etc.
Studies do show that most people can lose weight by walking 10,000 steps a day and your fitness level will improve.
How many steps per day to lose weight?
I don’t necessarily walk 10,000 steps a day, but I do make sure I walk at least 30 min every day for an improved overall health and fitness. Even with strength training, riding horses and running/jogging, walking provides a piece of the puzzle so to speak for a balanced health.
Can I lose weight by walking 3 miles a day?
Yes! I mentioned my walking plan above, and by increasing a daily walk to 3 miles is even better. It would probably take about an hour a day to walk 3 miles.
It has been proven that women who walk for about three miles a day, will lose weight. This is because three miles is around 10,000 steps, which we know correlates to one pound of burned fat a week, if completed seven days a week.
And bonus, you don’t have to walk 3 miles all at once! Break it up into 2 or 3 walks a day if that is easier.
What should my Apple Watch stand goal be?
Not only is there a move goal on your Apple watch, but there is also a stand goal, too. Like your move goal, you’re going to want to reach your stand goal on a daily basis, because it is proven that standing is just as important as moving! There is not a standard stand goal, so whatever you believe is attainable, is a good stand goal to set.
How do I change my move goal on the apple watch?
So, how do you change your move goal, so that you have a higher goal? With an Apple watch, changing your move goal is simple.
- Go into the activity apple watch app
- Hit ‘Change Goals.’
- There you’ll be able to customize your goals, based on your preferences
Final Thoughts
With an Apple watch, you can be in competition with yourself, every day. Setting move and stand goals is a good way to stay accountable for your progress, because you’ll have something that is documenting your daily decisions.
Small changes are the first step. And the good thing is, that all that you have to do is an outdoor walk, treadmill run, or get outside your comfort zone in an activity like a low impact HIIT swimming or resistance training. Once you get into the habit of doing these types of workouts or working with a personal trainer, completing your move goal and weight-loss goals will be easier.
At the end of the day, you choose whether you move or not. Admittedly, we understand that there are things, like a desk job or junk food, that make exercising hard. But try staying on track using an Apple watch, because the results will be incredible!
nimabi
Wednesday 6th of December 2023
Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks. nimabi