Walking to lose weight?

sflano1783

Hi all just a quick question how much walking per day do I need to walk to lose weight??

French_Peasant

To lose weight, you need to ensure that you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning. Walking can help burn a few calories (the amount burned varies by your weight, sex, and intensity of the exercise), but it all comes down to your basic stats and what you are putting in your mouth. If you are eating too much, even 5 hours of walking won't make you lose weight.

ETA: Have you set up your profile and weight-loss goals yet in My Fitness Pal? If you spend, say, an hour a day walking, you can enter that exercise into your diary and it will give you a few hundred more calories to eat for the day (while still keeping you in a deficit).

missysippy930

You need to eat less calories than your body burns to lose weight. Exercise is very beneficial for overall health, but not necessary for weight loss. Burning more calories through exercise allows you to consume more calories, as long as you eat less calories than your body burns.

cheryldumais

Walking was useful in my weight loss efforts because it helped reduce my hunger. I know that seems like an odd thing to say but it could be because it was a stress/boredom reducer? Anyway I get about 125 calories for 8,000 steps a day. Not a huge burn but it has helped in so many other ways it's well worth it. My stamina is better and my joints are much better.

Silentpadna

sflano1783 wrote: »

Hi all just a quick question how much walking per day do I need to walk to lose weight??

You cannot outrun or outwalk a bad diet. Walking helps, but you have to burn more energy than you consume. Walking is a tiny portion of the total for most. It's much easier to take control of your input than your output.

kshama2001

cheryldumais wrote: »

Walking was useful in my weight loss efforts because it helped reduce my hunger. I know that seems like an odd thing to say but it could be because it was a stress/boredom reducer? Anyway I get about 125 calories for 8,000 steps a day. Not a huge burn but it has helped in so many other ways it's well worth it. My stamina is better and my joints are much better.

I also find that moderate exercise is a mild appetite suppressant. I frequently walk at lunchtime. It improves my mood and focus, and eliminates the afternoon munchies.

Happyirisheyes

cheryldumais wrote: »

Walking was useful in my weight loss efforts because it helped reduce my hunger. I know that seems like an odd thing to say but it could be because it was a stress/boredom reducer? Anyway I get about 125 calories for 8,000 steps a day. Not a huge burn but it has helped in so many other ways it's well worth it. My stamina is better and my joints are much better.

That’s very encouraging

AwesomeOpossum74

Burn more calories than you eat to lose weight. My 20 minute *brisk* walk/jog burned most of my 320 breakfast calories. I get to "start over" my calorie allotment for the day.

Tacklewasher

To answer the question, I'll use me as an example. I'm ~200 lbs. The general formula for calories burned walking is

weight X .3 X miles

I'm in Canada so I need to convert to KM's

Weight X .3 X miles X .6214

So for each KM I burn ~ 37 calories

1 lb of fat is 3500 calories

I need to walk ~95 KM to burn the equivalent of 1 lb of fat.

For running the factor is .63 (instead of the .3)

So for 1 KM I burn ~ 78 cals.

I need to run ~45 km to burn 1 lb of fat. That is more than a marathon.

There are other formulas that provide a bit better estimate, but the difference is not that great, so the short answer is that walking does not make a huge impact on weight loss, but can be an important factor in health.

lalalacroix

Walking is great for your heart, lungs, body and spirit. But sadly burns only about 1/3 of your body weight in calories per mile.

carakirkey

I walk regularly outdoors for fitness, stress relief, nature experience, social. Weight loss is hopefully also a benefit, but only if my calorie intake is in check. I often walk in the evenings as an alternative to snacking and watching tv so that helps!

MsBaz2018

Tacklewasher wrote: »

To answer the question, I'll use me as an example. I'm ~200 lbs. The general formula for calories burned walking is

weight X .3 X miles

I'm in Canada so I need to convert to KM's

Weight X .3 X miles X .6214

So for each KM I burn ~ 37 calories

1 lb of fat is 3500 calories

I need to walk ~95 KM to burn the equivalent of 1 lb of fat.

For running the factor is .63 (instead of the .3)

So for 1 KM I burn ~ 78 cals.

I need to run ~45 km to burn 1 lb of fat. That is more than a marathon.

There are other formulas that provide a bit better estimate, but the difference is not that great, so the short answer is that walking does not make a huge impact on weight loss, but can be an important factor in health.

95 kms to lose 1 lb of fat @200 lbs? That really does put things in perspective. I guess in the long run it makes a difference.

OP if you weigh less you burn even fewer calories obviously.

TeaBea

sflano1783 wrote: »

Hi all just a quick question how much walking per day do I need to walk to lose weight??

An exercise only approach to weight loss rarely works. Many people relax their eating habits a bit "because they are exercising." So without diligently monitoring food intake, weight loss doesn't happen at the rate they expect.

https://www.fitnessblender.com/articles/calories-burned-walking-can-you-lose-weight-walking

zeejane03

AwesomeOpossum74 wrote: »

Burn more calories than you eat to lose weight. My 20 minute *brisk* walk/jog burned most of my 320 breakfast calories. I get to "start over" my calorie allotment for the day.

Burn rates vary based on individual's stats. A 20 minute 'brisk' walk burns around 50 calories for me. One slice of my breakfast toast is 70 calories, so it has a pretty insignificant impact in the scheme of things. I walk for health but I don't factor it into my weight management goals/calorie intake.

kshama2001

Nice brisk walk today:

spartan_d

Just FYI. Walking can help and is worth incorporating into one's routine, but its benefits are frequently exaggerated

https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/is-walking-enough#1

spartan_d

zeejane03 wrote: »

AwesomeOpossum74 wrote: »

Burn more calories than you eat to lose weight. My 20 minute *brisk* walk/jog burned most of my 320 breakfast calories. I get to "start over" my calorie allotment for the day.

Burn rates vary based on individual's stats. A 20 minute 'brisk' walk burns around 50 calories for me. One slice of my breakfast toast is 70 calories, so it has a pretty insignificant impact in the scheme of things. I walk for health but I don't factor it into my weight management goals/calorie intake.

THIS. A lot of people say that walking is excellent exercise, but it's benefits are very much marginal... especially the way most people do it.

pierinifitness

All the answers are great. Let me share with you my personal experience. In my current journey, I've had my greatest weight loss month the month I got in 12 days of walking one hour. Walking is time consuming but is contributes to great results. Wishing you the best in your journey.

nowine4me

Walking was great for My weight loss because it kept me out of the kitchen.

GummiMundi

French_Peasant wrote: »

To lose weight, you need to ensure that you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning. Walking can help burn a few calories (the amount burned varies by your weight, sex, and intensity of the exercise), but it all comes down to your basic stats and what you are putting in your mouth. If you are eating too much, even 5 hours of walking won't make you lose weight.

ETA: Have you set up your profile and weight-loss goals yet in My Fitness Pal? If you spend, say, an hour a day walking, you can enter that exercise into your diary and it will give you a few hundred more calories to eat for the day (while still keeping you in a deficit).

This ^^ pretty much sums it up.
Walking may not seem like much, but in my opinion any exercise is better than none. Sure, it doesn't burn a huge amount of calories when compared to other types of exercise, but it helps. In my case (with the numbers MFP has given me), it has been helping immensely: I burn around 200 calories an hour and that makes a difference when my daily allowance is 1200 calories.

Sometimes joining a gym or exercising at home aren't an option. Sometimes walking is the first step a person can take to feel better. Start with 5 or 10 minutes, it doesn't matter how small it sounds. Soon you'll feel more confident to extend that time and start seeing results!

Danp

Also remember that walking doesn't have to be "going for a walk". Adding incidental movement to your day is just as good.

For example a trip to the shops:
10 extra minutes by parking at the far side of the car park rather than by the door (5 mins each way).
10 extra minutes by taking the scenic route through the shopping centre to the store.
10 extra minutes by unloading the car 1 bag at a time in multiple trips.

That's 30 minutes of walking movement added to your day. All you need to do if look at your routine and try and find ways to add in some movement. Usually it's just a matter of doing a couple of things a little bit inefficiently.

G'luck.