I've spoken previously about how my thoughts on exercise during a fat-loss endeavour here. (Exercise Strategies for leaning out when you're a Busy Fatass). A crucial point is that the caloric burn from exercise given "GenPop" adult time constraints is at best supplementary.
Humans like to take things to the extreme. We're either going balls to the wall and trying to do Ultramarathons to burn calories, or we give up on the idea that cardiovascular activity has any beneficial effect to our fat loss goals completely.
I think the key word to focus on is SUPPLEMENTARY.
Towards the later end of my initial cut, when I really wanted to ramp up fat loss, I decided to undertake this strategy to make things move along a bit faster. This strategy required certain prerequisites to be in place to work :
My caloric intake was locked in, and I was at a deficit in comparison to my expected Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) that didn't take into account any additional caloric burn from cardio
A large majority of the energy that I had was reserved for Resistance Training for the purposes of maintaining/building lean muscle
When calculating my TDEE I had used an activity factor of 1-3 x workouts per week. I then set and tracked my caloric intake to give me a minimum 500 calorie deficit per day (averaged across the week). I was also doing resistance training 3 x a week, but I figured it would be best to err on the side of declaring less activity and if you're using this strategy I would recommend the same.
From the months of August 2020 to January 2021, I did no additional formal/trackable exercise apart from resistance training. I can't remember the exact figures, but I believe during that period of time alone, managing my caloric intake had allowed me to drop anywhere from 15-20 kilos without utilising any formal cardio protocols.
Adding the Fat-Loss Supplement
I knew that tracking the caloric burn from cardio was pretty arbitrary and pointless. Previous experiences with trying to outrun my diet had also taught me that intense cardio would only ramp up my appetite and I would be likely to overeat after. Finally, I didn't want any additional cardio I did to compromise on my energy levels in the gym.
So I decided that the only cardio left to do which would fit into these parameters would have to be something that took little to no effort and that wouldn't require any kind of recovery from intensity.
That left me with only walking as an option.
This was the strategy I used
Track steps taken, not calories burnt
Don't add calories burnt from walking into TDEE Caloric Budget
To save time, integrate steps taken into daily life as much as possible
Track Steps Taken, Not Calories Burnt
There are all kinds of fancy pedometers and step trackers available on the market. But if you're like most people in the modern world and own a smartphone, you already have a step tracker in your pocket. When I realised that my Apple Health App had been tracking my steps from the day I got my latest Iphone even though I didn't ask it to, I also realised I had a zero dollar (well, ok, zero additional dollars spent) tool I could use.
I'm sure you've heard about the 10,000 step a day recommendation. I'm not actually sure why that recommendation was made, but I set it as a target to hit that number of steps at a minimum every single day. Having a constant target to hit made sure that I was keeping my energy output at a somewhat consistent level. And since I wasn't adding those calories that were burnt into my daily caloric budget, every single calorie that was burnt through this activity would be like a "Bonus", or a supplement.
I didn't track calories burnt through walking because
I didn't know how I would track it anyways
I didn't want to have any kind of mental image of "additional calories" that I could justify eating because I was walking more
The metric of counting steps, however, was important. Research shows that most people compensate by lowering their activity levels for the rest of the day after formal exercise, which potentially nets off the caloric burn effects of any formal exercise to begin with. Knowing that no matter what I needed to hit the 10,000 step mark gave me a way to ensure that this would not happen. The only way this would not serve to be supplementary to my fat loss goals would be if before embarking on this strategy I was already taking more than 10,000 steps before I started tracking (a quick check on the Apple Health App told me I was averaging about 3-4000 per day in the last year)
Don't add calories burnt from walking into TDEE Caloric Budget
Everyone is different, but for me walking as a cardio activity had an additional benefit that due its low intensity it didn't ramp up my appetite. As such, I was able to keep my caloric intake to the same amount I had set it at before I started tracking steps.
Since I was already eating at a level that allowed for fatloss BEFORE making more of an effort to take steps, I knew that as long as I kept my caloric intake constantly at a deficit to my TDEE with an activity multiplier of 1-3 workouts a week, the additional steps would only cause MORE fatloss.
To save time, Integrate steps taken Into daily life as much as possible
Since I knew that before I was making an effort to take more steps, I was only averaging 3-4000 steps a day, as long as I could hit 10k steps a day, I'd be getting bonus steps that added to fat loss.
While I make the effort to start my day with a short walk while listening to a podcast or sermon to help get my in the right headspace for the day, I didn't actually get all my steps from formal "walking" activity. What I did do is be more willing to simply be more active in my daily life. This led to all kinds of bonus outcomes that helped me be a better partner and father. Some of the activities that I ended up doing a lot more of included :
Doing more housework - they're not chores anymore, they're cardio!
Bringing my daughter out for excursions during the weekend
Going for walks with the family
Walking my dog more
The realisation that ALL activity contributes to actual TDEE, whether you're engaging in it for the sole purpose of fat loss or not, led me to be always be looking for ways to add other benefits to my walking routine that made it more of an overall win.
I found that I was either learning something, or spending time with someone during the time I dedicated to walking. Not just that, but I got to do so without the distraction of social media, television or the Internet. Keeping up with my steps became easy because I knew that it was always going to rank amongst one of the best ways I could use my time during the day. I was building stronger connections with my loved ones WHILE leaning out. It's not hard to get out of bed to do something when the benefits keep stacking up on another.
Without first taking care of the diet, your cardio endavours alone may not end up giving you the results you want. But if you can get the diet under control, a low impact stress free kind of activity that still allows you to socially connect can supercharge many parts of your life - including your fat loss endeavours.