Walking can help increase metabolism, improve mood, reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, regulate appetite, improve heart health, and increase bone strength.
Walking can also help you lose weight. Researchers have found that consistency is more important than walking speed when it comes to walking for weight loss.
Experts recommend walking as a long-term weight loss strategy rather than something you do short-term.
A recent review found that exercising, including moderate to vigorous walking, four days a week for 50 minutes, will reduce your body weight and belly fat.
Even if you can’t do 50 minutes at one time, you may be able to get results by breaking up your walks throughout the day. Researchers found that people who walked twice daily for at least 25 minutes each time, six days a week, lost more weight than those who walked 50 minutes one time each day.
Your calorie burn while walking depends on age, weight, fitness level, and pace. Generally speaking, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn. A 154-pound person walking at a moderate pace (3.5 miles per hour) for 60 minutes will burn about 280 calories. Walking at a vigorous pace (4.5 miles per hour), they will burn about 460 calories.
You can use the American Council on Exercise (ACE) physical activity calorie counter to find out how many calories you burn by walking. The calculator takes your weight and the number of minutes you walk each day to determine your calorie burn.
Some researchers suggest that people need to walk 10,000 steps a day for weight loss. Studies do show that people who walk more steps typically weigh less.
Most weight loss experts recommend starting your walking regimen using a fitness tracker or fitness watch to determine how many steps you typically take daily. Once you know your daily average, you can try increasing your steps by 2,000-2,500 per day.
On average, most people in the United States take about 4,000-5,000 steps a day. Setting an initial goal of 7,500 steps a day may be a good starting point, especially for older adults who might struggle to get 10,000 steps.
One study found that more steps were associated with steady declines in mortality rates. However, these benefits leveled off at 7,500 steps, suggesting that getting 10,000 steps may not be necessary to improve longevity.
If you can increase your step count beyond 7,500 steps, you should do so. Just make sure you can maintain the increased step count.
Try these strategies to stay on track and ensure you get the most from your efforts:
- Track your walks: Track your steps and look for opportunities to add more so that you meet your daily step goal.
- Stay active throughout the day: Look for ways to break up your day by standing or doing chores around the house. Moving more can help you burn hundreds of additional calories each day.
- Put it on your schedule: Scheduling your walking workouts helps ensure you will follow through. Research also shows it can help with habit formation, especially if you walk at the same time each day.
- Find someone to walk with: Having a walking buddy can help hold you accountable and make you less likely to skip your walking workout.
- Have a backup walking spot: If you plan to walk outside most days, you should have a backup spot just in case the weather is bad. You could walk in a mall, at a local hospital, or on a treadmill.
- Take rest days: Experts recommend walking at least four times a week, but not exceeding five days a week. If you walk every day, you may not give your body enough time to rest and repair minor injuries.
If you are new to walking and have been sedentary, ask a healthcare provider if beginning a walking regimen is right for you. Once you get the go-ahead, start walking as you normally would for the first five minutes, increasing to a quicker pace for the next 15 minutes, and returning to a normal pace for the remaining five minutes. Once complete, you will have walked for 25 minutes.
Repeat this routine for about five days a week, with a couple of rest days in between. After completing two weeks, add five minutes to the more challenging part of your walk. This will bring your daily walk to 30 minutes.
Add five more minutes every two weeks as you build your endurance.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | 25 minute (min) walk | 25 min walk | Rest | 25 min walk | 25 min walk | Rest | 25 min walk |
| Weeks 3-4 | 30 min walk | 30 min walk | Rest | 30 min walk | 30 min walk | Rest | 30 min walk |
| Weeks 4-5 | 35 min walk | 35 min walk | Rest | 35 min walk | 35 min walk | Rest | 35 min walk |
| Weeks 5-6 | 45 min walk | 45 min walk | Rest | 45 min walk | 45 min walk | Rest | 45 min walk |
| Weeks 7-8 | 50 min walk | 50 min walk | Rest | 50 min walk | 50 min walk | Rest | 50 min walk |
| Weeks 9-10 | 55 min walk | 55 min walk | Rest | 55 min walk | 55 min walk | Rest | 55 min walk |
| Weeks 11-12 | 60 min walk | 60 min walk | Rest | 60 min walk | 60 min walk | Rest | 60 min walk |
Consistently walking every week is a great tool for weight loss. It can also boost your metabolism, improve your mood, and reduce your risk of chronic illnesses.
Aim for 4-5 days of walking for 50-60 minutes. You can also focus on increasing your step count by 2,500 steps, eventually shooting for 10,000 steps a day.
