How Long Should You Walk Daily To Lose Weight?

Walking is one of the easiest exercises that anyone can practice on a daily basis. Several health experts recommend brisk walking as an effective calorie-burning exercise for weight loss. But how much should you walk on a daily basis to achieve your weight loss goals?

Walk Briskly For 30-90 Minutes Daily

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 30-90 minutes of fast-paced physical activity on most days of the week to achieve weight loss goals. In Total, walking 150 minutes per week should be your plan. You can choose to walk less on some days and more on the other days. And you are likely to gain additional health benefits upon performing more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercises on a weekly basis. Also, in addition to moderate-intensity workout like brisk walking, muscle strengthening exercises a couple of times every week is also recommended.

Apart from brisk walking, you could try other sorts of aerobic activities including bicycling, swimming, dancing, or playing basketball. These activities help you move your large muscles in a rhythmic manner for a sustained period of time. These are also called endurance activities which make your heart beat more rapidly and make your breathing rate increase in order to meet the demands of your body’s movement. Over time, regularly performing such aerobic exercises make your cardiorespiratory system stronger and healthier.

See to that you walk fast enough and try to be in the moderate-intensity exercise zone at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, says VerywellFit. Your breathing is heavier than usual, can speak in complete sentences but you cannot sing- such should be the speed at which you should be walking. You can use a fitness band or an activity tracking app to make sure you are walking at a moderate intensity.

You could also split your walking time into short walks of 10 minutes or longer. It doesn’t matter how long each physical activity episode is, but what matters more is the total amount of moderate-to-vigorous activity.

The benefits of brisk walking for about 150-300 minutes weekly include lowered heart disease risk and type 2 diabetes risk.

Consistency is key

If you are new to walking, start with shorter walks and slowly and steadily build up your walking regimen. Try not to skip more than a day consecutively. Take a day off when you do not feel like it, but make sure to resume walking at the earliest. And after hitting your weight loss goals, it is essential to continue your walking regimen to maintain your weight.