Have you ever been told you need to do vast amounts of intense cardio, running, or crazy amounts of exercise to reach your weight loss goals? Well, if you have… that’s just plain wrong. Alongside a calorie deficit, I would recommend walking for most people to lose weight. Walking is one of the most underrated and overlooked forms of exercise that you can do for weight loss. In this article I’m going to explain why you should be walking for weight loss, the many benefits of walking, and how you should be walking.

Weight loss & Energy Balance

Before we get into walking for weight loss, I want to quickly cover what drives your weight loss.

Weight loss all comes down to your body’s energy balance. You need to be in a calorie deficit.

Meaning, you need to consistently be burning or using more calories than you’re eating each day to lose weight.

Your calorie deficit is primarily going to be achieved through your nutrition. I would recommend setting a calorie goal, and tracking your calories alongside with your weight for a period of time. Then making adjustments as needed to ensure you’re in a calorie deficit and losing weight.

An easy way to estimate and set yourself a starting calorie goal for weight loss, is to multiply your goal body weight (in pounds) by 12. For example if you want to weigh 160 pounds… 160 x 12 = 1920. 1920 calories would be your starting daily calorie goal. With this being an estimate, there will be some trial and error involved with this process. From your starting calorie goal you can make adjustments up or down as needed, depending on your goals and how fast or slow you are losing weight.

If you’d like more info on tracking your calories or help with a starting point, check out my article How to Count Calories for Weight Loss or contact me here.

Why You Should be Walking for Weight Loss

So why choose walking as your cardio?

First off, As I mentioned above, walking is a fantastic, and often overlooked tool to aid you on your weight loss journey. Walking as a form of exercise is a great, enjoyable option to get you moving and help you create a bigger calorie deficit, increasing your weight loss.

Alongside creating a bigger calorie deficit, the next reason I recommend walking to my clients is that it can be done almost anywhere and at almost any time. You don’t need a gym or any specific equipment, simply step out your front door and start walking!

Walking, when compared to other forms of cardio, is also quite easy, and almost everyone can do it. It’s not taxing on your body and it’s easy on your joints, It’s not intense or exhausting, and it won’t affect your recovery for other types of training (like resistance training, that you should also be doing).

Benefits of Walking

Along with burning some extra calories, and helping you lose weight, walking also has a handful of other health benefits.

Walking is great for your heart and lungs. It can help prevent heart disease and stroke, lower your blood pressure, and even strengthen your heart. It can also help improve your balance, strengthen your bones, and increase your muscular strength and endurance.

Some studies even show a correlation between walking and decreasing stress. More steps throughout the day lead to an improved mood.

As walking can also be done outside (if the weather allows it), getting to exercise in the sun is not only enjoyable, but can help boost your vitamin D levels. This can also be a great opportunity to enjoy your favorite music or listen to a podcast, and don’t forget your water!

How to Walk for Weight Loss

When walking for weight loss you can keep things super simple. Iif you don’t want to track anything while walking, don’t! Just get out and start walking. Get moving and don’t overcomplicate it!

However, like most things fitness related, I would recommend tracking your walking. There are a couple of different ways I would recommend doing this.

First, you can track the time you walk each day, and track the total over the course of the week. I would recommend starting by setting a goal of 2 to 3 hours weekly, this will be a great place to start for most people. When you break that goal down, you could walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, and easily get 2.5 hours of walking in over the course of the week.

The other option I would recommend is tracking your daily step count. This can be done with an app on your phone or another device. For most people setting a daily step goal of 8,000 to 10,000 steps will put you in a great spot for burning some extra calories and improving your health. If that’s too many steps, start with what you can comfortably do, and increase your goal as you progress. This number will totally vary from person to person. Depending on your fitness and health, your goal could be anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 steps daily.

Using a Heart Rate Monitor

Another tool that you can use along with tracking your walk time or step count is a heart rate monitor. If you want to have a dedicated walk workout or if you prefer more of a brisk walk you can use a heart rate monitor to keep your heart rate in a target zone. For walking I would recommend keeping it lower intensity and walking in either heart rate zone 1 (50% to 60% of max heart rate), or with more of a brisk walk staying in zone 2 (60% to 70% of max heart rate).

If your heart rate monitor doesn’t give these zones automatically, you can figure them out on your own. To calculate your max heart rate (in beats per minute) you take 220 and subtract your age. For example, the estimated max heart rate for a 30 year old would be 220 – 30 = 190bpm. So zone 2 for that individual would be 60% to 70% of 190 beats per minute (between 114 and 133 beats per minute).

Getting More Steps Throughout the Day

What if you don’t have time to go for a walk? No worries! There are plenty of little ways to get some extra steps throughout the day (although I would recommend having a dedicated walk time as well).

Depending on your commute or transport situation, you could walk to work or school. You could do this the entire distance, or just part of the way if you use public transportation. If you already walk to work, you can take the long way and include some extra steps in your regular commute.

You can also walk instead of driving to the store, when that’s an option, or just park clear in the back of the parking lot to get some extra steps. Take the stairs when available over the elevator, or maybe you can get a quick mini walk in on your lunch or other breaks at work.

If you, a friend, or family member have a dog, getting your furry friend out for a walk is another fantastic option! Along with these ideas, there are plenty of other ways to include more steps in your current daily routines. Be creative, and get walking!

Go for a Walk!

Start walking! That’s really all it comes down to when walking for weight loss. With the information above follow these 3 steps and not only will you improve and maintain your weight loss, you’ll be living a happier and healthier life!

1. Get your nutrition figured out – eat in a calorie deficit.
2. Start walking!
3. Track your walking in one way or another, then progress and adjust as needed.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your walking!

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