A woman has shown off her body transformation after ensuring to walk 10,000 steps a day.
Rebecca Reyes, 30, from Oregon, is the mother of two little girls, and began gaining weight after having her youngest. "I was extremely unhappy with myself," she told Newsweek. "I knew I had to make a lifestyle change and not look at this as another 'diet.'"
After coming across a video of someone who had lost weight by walking, and ensuring she burned 500 more calories than she took in each day, Reyes took the plunge.
Calculating her calorie number, Reyes began walking an hour every day on a treadmill while her children were napping, making it a goal to hit 10,000 steps every day.
"It was very hard at first," she admitted. "I was a little over 180 pounds and I realized how out of shape I was. But I kept pushing and I started feeling absolutely amazing and then eventually the weight started melting off."
Reyes shared a video to her TikTok account @rbecks17 on October 14 showing the difference so far, and it proved hugely popular, with 40,000 likes and 2.2 million views.
It begins with her on the start of her journey, walking on a treadmill in her home with earbuds in, writing: "I saw a girl walk 10k steps a day every day & she lost a ton of weight ... seems too easy right?
"I figured it was worth a shot. Here's what 10k steps a day did to me."
The video then changed to Reyes now, walking on the same treadmill with a smile on her face, and noticeably slimmer, saying there were "44 pounds gone."
Revealing in the caption that the clips were taken around 5 1/2 months apart, she said she lost most of the weight in four months and didn't do "any other form of exercise," but added she has recently started strength training to gain tone and muscle.
She told Newsweek she decided to record a clip every time she walked, because "I had a vision of how good I was going to look at the end and I wanted to capture it all and show my hard work someday."
After two weeks, she felt her energy was "much higher, and my clothes were fitting better and I had already lost almost 10 pounds," she said proudly.
TikTok users responded in a big way, with one writing: "People don't realize that walking is genuinely one of the best exercises for weight loss."
"Amazing, you look so happy," another said. "Fantastic job. Must have taken determination."
And as one put it: "I swear by walking, it keeps me fit and slim and is great for your mental health too."
Reyes told Newsweek it took a while for her TikTok account to gain traction before one video blew up "unexpectedly."
"I just ran with it and now I've kinda become that girl that walks on her treadmill to get 10k steps a day. This really helped me keep focused and keep my motivation, most of my feedback has been amazingly positive."
But referencing one comment on her viral clip that insisted her before-and-after were "two different people," she said she found it "hilarious and sort of a compliment."
"My biggest advice for anyone wanting to start is to not overcomplicate it," she said. "Losing weight and getting healthy doesn't have to be so hard and you don't have to deprive yourself of good food or treats, just focus on the calories.
"If you want to eat chocolate then do it, it will just use up more calories that day, no big deal. Everything is fine in moderation."
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says people wishing to lose weight should follow a healthy eating plan to ensure the body gets the nutrients it needs, while staying within your daily calorie goal for weight loss.
It recommends dietary plans containing 1,200 to 1,5000 calories each day for women to lose weight safely, or 1,500 to 1,800 for men. Most people are able to lose weight by reducing their calorie number while increasing physical activity. It warns, however, that very low-calorie diets should not be used without consultation and monitoring from a doctor.
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