How Much Walking Do You Do To Lose Weight?

Walking is a quintessential weight-loss exercise, especially if you have more than a few pounds to lose. It’s low-impact, posing little risk of injury to your ankles and knees. With just a pair of supportive shoes, you can walk almost anywhere, at any time of day and in any season. Depending on how you do it, a walking workout can also be a significant calorie-burner. If you’ve been sedentary, are obese, smoke or have a chronic health condition, check with your physician before starting a walking program.

Weight Loss

To lose weight through any type of exercise or physical activity, you must burn more calories than you take in. For your body to metabolize a pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories beyond what you consume over a certain period of time, according to MayoClinic.com. Losing up to 2 lbs. per week is considered a harmless rate of weight loss, which means you need to burn an extra 7,000 calories each week, or up to 1,000 calories a day. Aiming to lose between 2 and 3 lbs. per month is more feasible for a walking program, especially if you’ve been inactive.

Calorie Burn

The number of calories you burn while walking is a function of your weight, the intensity of your effort and the duration of your workout. All else being equal, a heavier walker will burn more calories than a lighter walker. For example, a 200-lb. exerciser who walks 4 miles in an hour burns about 450 calories, whereas a 140-lb. exerciser who walks the same distance in the same amount of time burns just under 320 calories, states the website A Calorie Calculator. No matter what your weight is, covering more distance in less time or walking for extended periods increases the number of calories you burn.

Frequency

Your current level of fitness and weight-loss goals direct the specifics of your walking program, including how often you do it and at what intensity. Because walking is easy on your body, it’s possible to do it on a daily basis. If you’d like to lose 30 lbs. at the moderate rate of 3 lbs. per month, for example, you’d need to burn about 350 calories a day beyond what you consume for 10 months. A 150-lb. exerciser who can walk 4 miles in 60 minutes can meet that goal, as long as he increases the duration or intensity of his workout to maintain the same calorie-burn as his weight decreases.

Considerations

To considerably increase the success of your weight-loss efforts, cut some calories by making dietary changes, and burn the rest though your walking workouts. While regular exercise has far-reaching health benefits, such as increased muscular strength and endurance and reduced risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, consuming fewer calories is more beneficial in contributing to weight loss. When it comes to weight management, however, walking goes further in keeping those extra pounds off long-term than diet alone. To maintain the effectiveness of your exercise program once you begin to see results, add a couple of strength-training sessions to your weekly routine.