I Lost 65lbs Using One Simple Method—Without Going to the Gym

For a long time, I hated the gym. I never liked the fact I had to go later in the day, I didn't like doing the workout itself, and afterward, I never felt good. For me, it was simply not enjoyable.

But nonetheless, for ten years, I would force myself to do crazy high-intensity exercise routines and always felt like I was dying. Even just getting in the gym and doing normal things like lifting weights—back then, I despised it.

So, instead of forcing myself to go to the gym, I told myself I needed to find a better way to move my body. I wanted to create some ease, so I decided to create a daily step goal. And it definitely didn't start out at 10,000.

Back then I had a desk job and would come home and do a walk with my husband and my dogs, resulting in around 3,000 steps a day. That's where it all started.

That's when I learned that steps could not only cause weight loss but maintain it too. I started to lose the belief that the gym was the only way to move the scale.

Consistency was key for my walking journey. At that stage, 3,000 steps was all I could manage because I was commuting into an office an hour away, and spent eight hours sitting at my desk.

Then I started being creative. I thought: Well, how can I get my step count up to 4,000?

I began getting up from my desk while everyone else was taking smoking breaks and would do a lap around the building a couple of times during the day. Believe it or not, those steps added up really quickly.

Of course, I did all the cliched tricks like parking far away from the grocery store and I noticed that where I thought I didn't have time for the extra steps, I just magically found the time.

I believe that there are so many places in your day where, if you really look at it, you find that you could fit in a few more steps here and there.

From there, I kept incrementally increasing my step count. I changed jobs which meant I had more time on my hands, and was able to go additional walks other than the one a day with my husband.

I started upping my steps on the weekends and this ball of momentum carried on. I would break up my steps into chunks, 2,000 here and there until I hit each new goal. That made a real difference to my mindset.

The more I walked, the better I felt. It was great for my joints; I felt like the Tin Man after finally being oiled. I found myself wanting to keep moving during the day, so even if I was just in my office I would get up and do a lap around the room, or simply just stand up and stretch.

Step trackers were a great way for me to measure my progress and stay motivated. I started off with a FitBit and later purchased an Apple Watch, both of which I love.

Once I upped my step goal to 10,000 and started following a low-carb lifestyle, I found the weight came off very efficiently. In the seven months after having my second baby, I lost 65lbs through walking alone—50 lbs in five and the last 15lbs over the next two.

I still eat that way now and continue to get 10,000 steps in a day. Once I saw the weight coming off, it further proved that I could reach my weight loss goals by walking alone. No gym sessions were necessary, and because I didn't enjoy the gym in the first place, this was great news.

I've been maintaining it for two and a half just from having a daily step goal of 10,000 or more. I am now a mindset and weight loss coach, and I always mentor my clients using the same principles.

If something about your weight loss journey doesn't feel right, or you're hitting resistance about doing it—don't do it. By leading with negative energy we won't get the results we want anyway. Find a better way. For me, that was having a daily step goal and reaching my movement goals that way.

Now, I find that even if I'm at home with my kids all day, I can achieve my goal by just keeping busy and moving; by not sitting down too long, not scrolling on my phone, standing up, vacuuming, playing with them, running around, taking the laundry to the dryer and then to the bedroom.

At the beginning of summer, I also started doing some treadmill walking. I have a machine in my basement. It's nice and cool down there, and my kids love playing nearby while I'm walking. It feels like me time.

Back in the day, I would force myself to do one-hour treadmill walks on a high incline to try and lose weight, because I thought that's what I needed to do to lose weight. But that was false.

Now I get on the treadmill when I feel like it and I just bump up even more steps. It feels really good. I believe we should always be forming our habits because we want to, not because we think we have to.

When you can make that mindset shift, your whole journey will change.

Not only have I turned walking into something that I'm doing consistently for my health, I'm making it so much more enjoyable by listening to something that really gets me excited and feels like I'm doing something for me.

That might be a really great music playlist or a great new audiobook; a self-help book, or a romance novel. It could be a podcast that you really like or catching up on YouTube. Whatever it is, make it your me time.

I hope my journey inspired others to get out there and just walk. You don't have to go to the gym to get results. I never did and I probably won't. Find something that works for you, that you really enjoy doing, because that way you will always be successful.

Kathleen Hart is a mindset and weight loss coach. You can follow her on YouTube.

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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