adminIf you want to lose weight, many diet programs and health experts recommend brisk walking as a calorie-burning cardio exercise. But what is the right amount of walking each day to help you reach your weight loss goals?
How long to walk each day for weight loss
Aim for a brisk walk of 30 to 90 minutes most days of the week for weight loss. You can walk more on some days and less on others, but the total time for the week should be at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours).1
You should walk fast enough that you are in the moderate-intensity training zone at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. You should be breathing harder than usual and can talk in full sentences, but you couldn’t sing.1 You can read your heart rate and exercise zone from a fitness band, app or heart rate monitor to make sure you’re exercising at moderate intensity.
While you can break up your walking time into periods of 10 minutes or longer, you’ll get an added fat-burning benefit if you walk at a brisk pace for longer than 30 minutes after warming up.
If you are new to walking, start with shorter walking periods and steadily build up your walking time. You may want to start by taking longer walks every other day.
Try not to skip more than one day in a row. Consistency is good for burning calories and improving your metabolism, as well as building new habits. Try strength training exercises on your non-walking days. If you are exhausted, take a day off. But be sure to walk again the next day.
If you’ve reached your weight loss goal and are working to maintain your weight, the CDC recommends spending 60 to 90 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week without eating more calories than you consume throughout the day.
How far can you walk in 30 minutes?
If you walk at a brisk pace for 30 minutes, the distance you will cover is:
1.5 to 2.0 kilometers.
From 2.5 to 3.3 kilometers
From 3,000 to 4,500 pedometer steps.
What if you can’t walk for 30 minutes?
Life can get busy. If your schedule doesn’t allow for 30 minutes of continuous walking, break it up two or three times a day for shorter periods of at least 10 minutes at a brisk pace.3
Always warm up for five minutes at an easy pace, no matter what duration you will be walking. You can use higher-intensity intervals, stairs, and brisk walking to get the most out of shorter walking workouts. Research published in 2017 shows that high-intensity intervals are at least as good as continuous moderate-intensity workouts and can be a great way to incorporate exercise into your day.
Calories and fat burned in 30 minutes
At a brisk walking pace, you would burn 100 to 300 calories in 30 minutes (depending on your weight) or 200 to 600 calories in an hour. If you walk for 30 minutes or more, some of those calories will come from stored fat.
During the first 30 minutes of exercise, your body burns sugars that are stored as fuel. These are used up after about 30 minutes. To continue, your body releases fat from your fat cells and burns it as fuel. This stored fat is exactly what you want to lose, and it’s a good reason to build up your running endurance so you can run for more than 30 minutes at a time.
Walk at least 30 minutes most days of the week to burn a total of 1,000 to 3,000 calories for the week and improve your metabolism each day.
It may sound a little daunting to think about how much physical activity is needed to burn calories. But it’s also the amount recommended to reduce your health risks for diabetes, heart disease and more.
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