Scroll through social media right now and you’ll be inundated with posts from fitness influencers and even celebrities touting the benefits of walking to get in shape. Walking is clearly some sort of comeback, but it’s easy to miss one crucial detail when scouring training plans and equipment records: how long should I walk to lose weight on any given day?
Initially, walking has obvious benefits. “It’s a good way to burn calories, since it uses your legs, an important muscle group,” says Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab. But walking also isn’t intimidating for many people, making it more likely that you’ll feel confident in getting into the walking habit and keeping it long-term. “It’s a good on-ramp to exercise that most people can do every day,” Matheny points out. The modality can also be fine-tuned to meet you where you are; Easily adjust the pace, incline, and even the weight you carry to add or reduce the challenge.
Of course, walking offers more than just weight loss benefits. Research has shown that it can improve your brain health, relieve back pain, and even help you live longer.
If weight loss is your goal, here’s how long to walk to lose weight, as well as how to maximize your walking sessions for more efficient and effective weight loss.
Meet the experts: Mir Ali, MD, is the medical director of the MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. Rekha Kumar, MD, is an endocrinologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, is co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab. Michael Russo, MD, is a weight loss surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center.
The ideal distance or duration to walk to lose weight depends on several factors.
Weight loss is complicated and how your body responds to activity is individual, Matheny reminds. There are also factors to consider such as your starting body weight, current activity level, genetics and diet, he adds.
Beyond that, experts generally recommend walking more than you currently do to try to lose weight. “People should walk as much as they can, rather than being sedentary,” says Rekha Kumar, MD, an endocrinologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. “If there is a distance that can be covered, it should be covered.” (Which means if you have the option of driving to or walking over a neighbor’s house, it’s really best to use your feet!)
Of course, most of us respond well to hard (passable) numbers. An older study published in the journal Obesity determined that, combined with a low-calorie diet, walking 10,000 steps per day was helpful for weight loss, especially when people took 3,500 of those steps at a higher intensity. (The same result could not be shown for 7,000 steps per day.)
When a group of 10 medically obese and 10 normal or average weight female students walked at a moderate pace for 10,000 steps per day (or for approximately 45 minutes) for 12 weeks without changing their usual diet or other activities daily physical exercises, the overweight group showed improvement in body composition and cholesterol markers, in a small study carried out in 2020 in the Journal of Exercise and Fitness Sciences—while the other group did not experience significant changes from the walking routine.
A 2024 meta-analysis in JAMA Network also concluded that you need to perform at least 150 minutes per week of moderate or higher intensity aerobic exercise to noticeably reduce waistline and body fat. But note this: 150 minutes breaks down into 30 minutes, five days a week.
To lose weight, walking at a moderate pace for 30 to 45 minutes per day, or 150 minutes per week, is generally recommended and supported by studies over the past several years. If you were to add speed, incline, and/or resistance, you may be able to walk less to achieve the same weight loss benefits.
Ten thousand steps a day (or about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how fast you walk) “is generally a great goal,” Matheny says, but that doesn’t mean you’re screwed if you walk less than that. If you currently log about 2,000 steps per day, even increasing it to 4,000 steps or more can impact your weight loss efforts, he notes. Every little walk helps contribute to metabolic activity and calorie burning, which is important for weight loss.
Also consider this: walking 30 minutes a day translates to about 100 to 200 calories burned depending on your weight. If you do this seven days a week, you get between 700 and 1,400 extra calories that you wouldn’t have burned otherwise, and it adds up.
Is walking alone enough to lose weight?
While it’s possible to lose weight more effectively by increasing the number of walks you do, experts generally agree that there’s usually more to weight loss than that. The weight loss challenge “is primarily dietary and hormonal,” says Michael Russo, MD, a weight loss surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center. You can’t give up a poor diet or completely ignore your personal health needs (for example, if you have an underlying condition that impacts your weight) and expect to lose weight.
Mir Ali, MD, medical director of the MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center, agrees: “The majority of weight loss will be due to diet,” he says. “Exercise helps and is helpful, but if you don’t change your diet, you won’t get as many results no matter what exercise you do.”
Shoes WH editors do all their work
lululemon Beyondfeel, women’s running shoe
I take all my walks in these sneakers because they are so comfortable, whether I’m heading to the grocery store or taking my steps at the park. They provide just enough cushion and comfort, but not too much, that I feel in control when walking around. Plus, in true Lululemon fashion, they come in lots of cute colors.
“Not only do they look cool, but they’re ridiculously soft and cushioned,” says Jacqueline Andriakos, executive director of fitness and health. “I have a narrow foot with high arches, and these are comfortable and roomy while providing enough support around my foot and arches, allowing me to walk all day without pain. I like also the no-tangle laces, when I take my six month old daughter out I can put them on even if I’m holding her.
Reebok Women’s DMX Comfort Slip-on Sneaker
Selected by WH Editors’ Choice as the best overall walking shoe in 2024, the Reebok DMX Comfort+ has plenty of cushion and support, and they slip on very easily. After purchasing a pair as a gift for my walking obsessed mother’s birthday, they are my favorite due to their performance and price.
“I love Asics sneakers because I never need to break them in: they’re comfortable right out of the box,” says Andriakos. “I can walk all day in this pair and I always pack them when I travel and I know I’ll be on my feet a ton. The Gel 1130s are also super trendy and come in a ton of fun colors and at an affordable price.
If weight loss is your goal, adding “additional structured exercises” beyond walking will be most helpful, says Dr. Kumar. She lists using weights, yoga or Pilates, and “any strength training” as good options for enhancing your weight loss efforts through walking.
Dr. Russo agrees: “Weightlifting or resistance training (training) is extremely beneficial for maintaining muscle mass while you’re on a weight loss journey,” he says.
Although weight loss is complicated and involves many factors, including genetics and nutrition, adding more steps to your day is never a bad thing. “Just try to do more than you are currently doing,” Dr. Ali says.
How to optimize your walks to lose weight
- Pick up the pace. The goal of walking to lose weight is to challenge yourself. Although you don’t need to sweat every time you walk, increasing the pace to make your walking sessions a little more challenging will help increase your calorie burn, says Matheny.
- Walk on an incline. If you’re walking outside, that means heading to hillier areas to try and push yourself more. But if you’re walking on a treadmill, increasing the incline is a quick way to make your workout more challenging, says Matheny. Don’t lean over the handlebars or hang on the railing, he warns, it will hinder your efforts.
- Add weights. Matheny isn’t a big fan of walking with weights in your hands, since it can disrupt your gait and increase your risk of injury. But he says you can try a weighted vest to add resistance. Simply add weight slowly to your walks (for example, take shorter walks at first or do intervals with it) to gradually increase the challenge as you go.
While several of these adjustments at once, like increasing the incline and adding weight, can help support walking for weight loss even more, it’s best to start slowly and gradually add them up rather than trying them all at the same time.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work published in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to one day own a teacup pig and a taco truck.
