How Many Extra Miles do you need to Walk a Day to Lose Weight? (2024)

FAQs

How Many Extra Miles do you need to Walk a Day to Lose Weight? ›

Here are the basic numbers;

Popular fitness trackers and pedometers encourage people to take 10,000 steps per day, and one 2016 study agrees that 10,000 steps are ideal. This works out to roughly 5 miles of walking. People interested in walking for weight loss should consistently hit at least 10,000 steps each day.

Walking two miles per day helps with weight loss. One of the best things about walking is that it burns calories, improves digestion, and makes you look good in your birthday suit. Walking at an average time and pace, most people burn fat as their primary source of fuel.

Even a few thousand steps a day can help you shed pounds if you're consistent, says Cedric Bryant, Ph. D., the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise. To lose weight, Bryant recommends walking 45 to 60 minutes a day, five or six days a week.

One of the most effective ways to reduce belly fat is to regularly take part in aerobic exercise, such as walking. In a 2021 systematic review , researchers found that at least moderate aerobic activity was beneficial for reducing visceral adipose tissue.

A “flat tummy walk” is a type of exercise that is intended to help tone and strengthen the. abdominal muscles, leading to a flatter stomach. This type of exercise typically involves engaging the core muscles and walking at a brisk pace. It can be done indoors or outdoors and doesn't require any equipment.

As far as recommendations go, the Centers or Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests adults engage in 2-1/2 hours of moderate activity every week. This would mean a walk of 7,000 or 8,000 steps a day or 3 to 4 miles.

Walking might not be the most strenuous form of exercise, but it is an effective way to get in shape and burn fat. While you can't spot-reduce fat, walking can help reduce overall fat (including belly fat), which, despite being one of the most dangerous types of fat, is also one of the easiest to lose.

After 3-4 days of walking: you will notice the “better fit” or more room in your clothes! After 7 days of walking: real changes are happening! You have used body fat as energy (fat burning!) Muscles feel more toned!

Aerobic exercise, also called cardio, includes running, fast walking, riding a bicycle, swimming, taking aerobic classes, hiking – pretty much anything that gets your heart rate up and into the fat-burning zone for an extended period of time.

How many miles is 10 000 steps? ›

Using 2,000 steps in one mile as an average benchmark, 10,000 steps is approximately 5 miles.

If a person was to commit to walking 4,500 extra steps per day, or roughly 3 extra miles, they would be burning an extra 300 calories a day (at least). Burning 300 calories each day leads to a weekly deficit of 2100 calories. After a month, that's roughly 9000 cal burned, which equates to approximately 2.6 pounds lost.

Walking tones your leg and abdominal muscles – and even arm muscles if you pump them as you walk. This increases your range of motion, shifting the pressure and weight from your joints to your muscles.

"There is a strong relationship between intensity of exercise and fat-burning hormones," says Weltman. "So if you're exercising at a pace considered to be hard, you're likely to release more of these hormones." The best part: When women walk, deep abdominal fat is the first to go.

Aerobic exercise includes any activity that raises your heart rate such as walking, dancing, running or swimming. This can also include doing housework, gardening and playing with your children. Other types of exercise such as strength training, Pilates and yoga can also help you lose belly fat.

The shape of the buttocks is defined by muscles known as the glutes. That's the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus, as well as the fat that lies over them. Walking, running, and climbing all work the glutes. Strength training that targets these muscles can help give you a tighter, more rounded look.

Conclusions: Total body fat is lost through walking at all speeds, but the change is more rapid, clear, and initially greater with slow walking in overweight subjects. A longer exercise impulse at a lower speed in our study initially produced greater total fat loss than a shorter one with fast walking speed.

The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, or roughly 1.5 to 2 miles. It's a good idea to find out how many steps a day you walk now, as your own baseline. Then you can work up toward the goal of 10,000 steps by aiming to add 1,000 extra steps a day every two weeks.

Getting to a 3-pound-per-week weight loss would require a greater combination of exercise and eating less. This could be burning 1,000 calories through exercise daily while eating 500 fewer calories per day. Or it could be eating 750 calories less daily and exercising to burn 750 calories daily.

If you plan to lose 20 pounds by walking alone, try to burn at least 250 extra calories during your walk per day. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds you'd have to walk at least 40 minutes per day at a pace of 4 miles per hour to lose ½ pound per week.