Reward yourself: Occasionally reward yourself with new walking shoes or attire.

Listen to an audiobook or podcast: Entertain yourself by listening to an audiobook or your favorite podcast.Walk with a partner: Walking with a partner provides accountability and can keep you motivated.Change your walking times: If you regularly walk in the morning, try evenings, or vice versa.Split up your walking time: If your goal is to walk 60 minutes per day, you can split this time into two 30-minute walks.Modify your route: Walk on bike trails, in a different neighborhood or at your local mall, or take your usual route in reverse.If you’re new to walking as an exercise, you can build stamina by progressively increasing your walks’ duration and intensity.Īs with any exercise regimen, shake things up every so often to keep your routine engaging and challenging. Also, consider whether your past fitness experiences have shown that certain progression rates make you susceptible to injury ( 3). People who typically have a low activity level might consider increasing their activity at a slower rate to reduce injury risk. Youth and young adults can typically increase their activity in small amounts every week, while older adults can typically increase their activity every 2 to 4 weeks to prevent injury ( 3). When you are ready to increase your walking duration, frequency, or intensity, consider your age, fitness level, and prior experience. Instead, you may want to start by walking for 5–15 minutes 2 or 3 times a week at a comfortable pace. If you’re just starting, walking fast for a long time can leave you fatigued, sore, and unmotivated. Once you can walk as long and as frequently as you’d like, you can increase the intensity ( 3).

If you want to walk daily for exercise, start slowly, and progressively increase your duration and frequency. You can burn some of these calories by walking for one hour daily. SummaryĪ 500-calorie deficit per day is sufficient for most people to lose weight. You can achieve part of this deficit by walking 1 hour per day or by gradually decreasing the number of calories you consume.ĭepending on your calorie intake, a deficit of 500 calories per day may lead to 0.5–2 pounds (0.2–0.9 kg) of weight loss per week ( 10). Based on this theory, you should reduce your calorie intake by 500 for 7 days to lose 1 pound (0.45 kg) per week.Īlthough this rule does not account for people with lower body fat percentages or the decrease in calorie expenditure that comes with weight loss, a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is appropriate for most people aiming to lose weight ( 8, 9, 10). It’s often stated that 1 pound (0.45 kg) of body weight is equivalent to 3,500 calories. You can do this by increasing the calories you burn via exercise, decreasing the calories you consume, or both. To lose weight, you must consistently eat fewer calories than you expend each day. How much weight can you lose by walking for 1 hour per day? Multiple studies confirm that walking promotes weight loss, especially when combined with a low calorie diet. Those who did the two shorter workouts lost 3.7 pounds (1.7 kg) more than those who continuously walked for 50 minutes ( 6).īut other studies show no significant differences in weight loss between continuous and intermittent walking, so choose whichever routine works best for you ( 7). In a 24-week study, women with excess weight or obesity restricted their calorie intake by 500–600 calories per day and either walked briskly for 50 minutes or did two 25-minute bouts per day. Whether you walk continuously or in shorter bursts might also influence weight loss. One group walked 3 hours per week at 3.7 mph (6 kph), and the other group did not walk ( 5).īoth groups lost a significant amount of body weight, but those in the walking group lost, on average, about 4 pounds (1.8 kg) more than those who didn’t walk ( 5). In a 12-week study, people with obesity restricted calories by 500–800 per day. While walking can help you lose weight, it’s more effective when also following a calorie-restricted diet. Walking can help you preserve lean muscle mass, which can help you maintain your weight loss results ( 4). Walking for 1 hour daily may help you meet that goal ( 3).Īdditionally, many people tend to lose lean muscle mass when they lose weight. Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 300 minutes of moderately intense physical activity weekly. If you’d like to lose a substantial amount of weight (more than 5% of your body weight), the U.S. Walking 1 hour each day can help you burn calories and, in turn, lose weight.

One hour of brisk walking calories