{"id":336996,"date":"2025-12-08T13:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/336996\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:38:14","slug":"fitness-trainer-explains-whether-you-should-try-running-or-walking-if-the-goal-is-to-lose-more-belly-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/336996\/","title":{"rendered":"Fitness trainer explains whether you should try running or walking if the goal is to ‘lose more belly fat’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While both walking and running are considered excellent forms of cardiovascular exercise <\/a>that raise the heart rate and burn calories, a critical question remains for many fitness enthusiasts: which workout is superior if the goal is to lose belly fat? Also read | Cardio vs strength training: Fitness expert explains which is better for weight management<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Walking Walking or running for belly fat loss? Here’s what a fitness coach suggests.(Pexels) <\/p>\n

Fitness coach and founder of Sculpt by Science, Michael Diamonds, took to Instagram to weigh in on this common dispute, offering a perspective that prioritises sustainability over intensity.<\/p>\n

The consistency conundrum<\/p>\n

On November 30, Michael posed the question to his Instagram followers: \u201cWho will lose more belly fat? Runner or walker?\u201d He acknowledged that, on the surface, running<\/a> appears to be the more effective option. He explained: \u201cRunning burns more calories per minute, yes. But it also makes you more tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

He argued that this high-intensity burnout is the runner’s undoing. While the runner may appear to be putting in more work initially, the physical and mental toll can lead to a crash: \u201cIn the short term, it looks like the runner is putting in more work, but after a few weeks, he feels burned out and isn\u2019t able to keep up with the schedule. Meanwhile, the walker doesn\u2019t have any issues with this. He doesn\u2019t feel the mental or physical strain from consistently finishing his steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Michael, the core principle of successful fat loss is not intensity, but adherence. \u201cThe game of fat loss is the game of consistency,\u201d he stressed, adding, \u201cHe who can do it for a longer time wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why walking wins the long game<\/p>\n

According to the fitness coach, the commitment required for a challenging running schedule is simply harder to maintain than a dedicated walking routine<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to consistently run 2-5 miles every day for a few months. But it doesn\u2019t take much of a commitment to walk 10,000 steps every day and slowly work on increasing that number,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n

To illustrate his point, Michael provided a comparison of two hypothetical individuals over a set period. He compared a typical weekly routine for a runner and a walker: the runner, who included high-intensity sessions like a 4-mile run and 30 minutes of interval running, but also took a day of no cardio, only lost 0.5 pounds (0.22 kg).<\/p>\n

In contrast, the walker, who maintained daily activity ranging from 10,000 steps to a 30-minute incline walk and 15,000 steps on one day, achieved a loss of 2.5 pounds (1.13 kg), demonstrating that consistent, daily effort yields significantly better results for long-term fat loss.<\/p>\n

The side-by-side comparison made a clear case: the runner’s high-intensity but inconsistent schedule led to minimal results, whereas the walker’s daily, sustainable activity resulted in five times the weight loss. Therefore, if the primary goal is to shed belly fat, Michael’s advice is to choose the path you can stick to \u2013 while running burns more calories per minute, walking offers a greater opportunity for the daily consistency that ultimately wins the fat loss battle.<\/p>\n

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n

This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While both walking and running are considered excellent forms of cardiovascular exercise that raise the heart rate and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[113797,169944,337,169945,97,79817,169943,3458],"class_list":{"0":"post-336996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-cardiovascular-exercise","9":"tag-fat-loss-battle","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-fitness-trainer-explains-whether-you-should-try-running-or-walking-if-the-goal-is-to-lose-more-belly-fat-cardio-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-lose-belly-fat","14":"tag-walking-routine","15":"tag-weight-loss"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}