A video of a woman who allegedly lost 130 pounds after making a simple lifestyle change—walking more—has gone viral on TikTok, where it received 1.6 million views at the time of writing.
The clip was shared by TikToker Liza (@lizamarie_fit), who is from Pittsburgh, the poster said. According to subsequent video, the woman was almost 300 pounds before she shed the weight, and it all began with walking every night.
The viral video was posted with a caption that read: “I started with a single STEP!!! Reminder that even baby steps are still steps in the right direction!”
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Studies have shown the benefits of walking for weight loss.
A 12-week weight loss study, published in November 2017 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nutrition, saw participants be divided into two groups. One group received a hypoenergetic diet (DI), while a second group received the same DI but also did a regular walking program of 2.5 hours per week.
The study’s findings showed that a “decrease in body weight was accompanied by a significant reduction in total fat mass, which was significantly more pronounced in the DI + walking group than in the DI group.”
The findings of a November 2002 study suggested that “30 min [minutes] of walking on most days of the week might be as beneficial as 60 min [in combination with diet] in promoting numerous additional healthful outcomes over diet alone following a 12 week weight loss program.”
The study was published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, the journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.
The viral clip posted on March 5 began with a front view of a woman taking a picture of herself in a mirror while holding her shirt up to expose her belly area. The clip later showed the woman taking a side view of herself.
A message overlaid across the video read: “2020 me during lockdown thinking, ‘I wonder what would happen if I start walking every evening.”
The footage later showed a woman, who appeared slimmer than in the earlier shots, smiling while standing outdoors next to a building.
According to a later comment, the woman began her journey by walking 30 minutes to an hour before switching to a 10,000 daily step count.
In another later comment, the original poster said she “started very small with ONLY walking for the first 3 months making sure I hit a 10k step goal (lost 30lbs just from that!) and then stacked more habits.”
When user balderoine noted “I lost 30 pounds taking walks after I bought my Apple Watch Series 4. I also cut out sugar, sodas, and cereal but walking was a big game changer,” the original poster replied “Literally SAME !!!”
The poster added “I actually think I got taller !! But my shoe size got smaller!” and said she had her “loose skin removed” a few months ago.
Several users on TikTok were amazed and inspired by the woman’s weight loss in the latest viral clip.
User Peanut_buttah wrote: “WOW congrats! You’re so adorable,” while user n/a said “you look sooooooo good.”
User ashley also said “WOW!” while Vinny wrote “DAMN GIRL great job!!!”
User ange said: “People don’t realize that it only takes a small step to get the ball rolling!!”
User ashleymayyy15 wrote: “I just started my daily walks and I am excited to move my body more.”
Newsweek has reached out to the original poster via TikTok for comment. This video has not been independently verified.
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