Walking is one of the healthiest activities humans can participate in daily. On top of that, it is also highly inclusive – most people who are typically abled can manage a walk every day without suffering from any major exhaustion or fatigue condition.
People of all ages and genders, along with those who currently cannot eat more elaborate workouts, can gain sufficient weight loss benefits from walking alone.
How many steps should I walk for weight loss?
There are two ways in which people generally measure the walk they are taking – distance and duration.
For an average individual, each stride can cover 2.5 feet. According to this calculation, there are 2112 steps in one mile. For convenience’s sake, we count it as 2000 steps. Usually, you can burn 100 calories in one mile for the first few days when you start walking.
Later, however, it will take 2 to 3 miles to burn 100 calories (once walking becomes a habit for more than 15 to 20 days, your body will become used to this activity.) As a beginner, you should burn at least 300-500 calories daily.
This brings us to approximately 6000 steps, or walking 3 miles a day minimum. It is best to stretch it to 4 miles on some leisurely days. This means in one month, you can burn 9000 calories. 9000 calories are around 2.6 pounds, a healthy average monthly weight loss!
One can say that to lose weight. One should walk roughly 30 minutes to 1 hour daily, at least 5 days a week.
However, such kinds of directives can be oversimplified. This is because all our bodies are built differently, and the major thing we must question in any workout is not the duration or the distance but how many calories are burned.
Calculating your Weight loss
- 1 mile = 211 steps
- 1 mile burns 100 calories
- 1 pound weight= 3500 calories
- 2 pounds weight = 7000 calories
- 7000 calories weight loss in a week = 500 calories weight loss in a day
- 300 calories burnt in a day = 6000 steps
- 500 calories burnt in a day (ideal) = 10500 steps
For further benefits, you can adopt a diet where you are adopting a 250-calorie deficit through your meals. You can lose 500 calories a day by only walking 2.5 miles.
Different activities burn different amounts of calories. If you were to ask instead – how many miles should I run in a day? The answer would reduce to several units since running causes more exertion on the body than just walking.
For example, while you should walk at least 5 to 7 miles daily, you can receive the same benefit by running 2 miles daily.
How To Plan Your Walk?
When exertion is high, the calories burnt are also high. This is why as beginners, you can work out 3 to 4 days a week and see change, but for experienced individuals, similar change can only be seen if they work out multiple times every day.
Your body adapts to exercise. Therefore it is important not to limit yourself to 5 to 7 miles of walking – if you feel your body is not feeling challenged in the simple work, you can try walking for 10 miles a day or increasing the pace of your exercise.
For rapid results, it is expected that individuals will follow a specific pattern of workout, or what is known as a workout plan. Usually, it is said that you should walk for 50 minutes, rest for 10 minutes, and then begin again.
You can combine and personalize this according to your needs by creating a balance between distance and duration – for example, ask yourself how long it takes to walk 20 miles.
When the answer is 5 hours, you can distribute that throughout your day and make sure you achieve the target by following the 50-10 plan.
Walking to lose weight – how to do it?
It can get hard for adults with daily responsibilities to make time for themselves and walk. Sometimes we need to be creative, include our walking routine into our everyday lifestyle, and even make it a communal activity if others show interest.
Here are some ways you can start on the walking journey right away.
Walk with friends in nature.
Accompanying your friends makes a task fun, but you can get two things done simultaneously – socializing and losing weight.
On top of that, friends can keep each other in check and encourage each other to go beyond their comfort zone. Such constructive activities also help build interpersonal relationships.
Take the stairs and avoid the bus.
If you are too busy to set aside anytime for walking, incorporate it into your daily schedule. Take the stairs every morning instead of the lift, and don’t get on the bus if you can cover the distance with a short jog.
Go on hikes.
You can easily walk 10 miles a day or more on a hike. Hiking does not mean you have to crawl on your four limbs and reach an impossible height. You can walk up a hill or go up and down a natural trail to experience the benefits of this wonderful walking activity.
Follow the treadmill workout.
The treadmill workout is a solution for those who love the indoors for the exercise experience. It is easier to track your weight loss journey when you are on the treadmill, and you can easily find the local trainer and ask them for help and customize your workout routine.
This is a great way to use that gym membership, finally!
FAQs
5000 steps are 2.5 miles.
30000 steps are 15 miles.
12000 steps are about 6 miles approximately.
Following a strict weight loss diet according to your food habits and BMI, you can easily lose a hundred calories by walking 2000 to 3000 steps.
For a healthy individual, it should take around half an hour or 30 minutes to work 2 miles.
Conclusion
Walking might be one of the easiest exercise methods, but that does not mean it is only for beginners. While you can start by walking 3 miles a day at most, as long as you like the exercise, you can stretch this to infinity! Since human bodies are evolutionarily adapted to walk and run, these kinds of activities are the healthiest and safest to incorporate into those people’s lives that are inherently always busy.
