Walking for fat loss

How much energy it burns

As a rough guide, walking uses somewhere around 40 to 60 kcal per kilometre for an average-sized adult. Heavier people use more, lighter people less, and walking uphill or carrying a load raises the cost.

• A 30-minute brisk walk (about 2.5 to 3 km): roughly 100 to 180 kcal.
• An extra 3,000 steps a day: roughly 100 to 150 kcal, or 700 to 1,000 kcal a week.
• A two-hour weekend hill walk: often 400 kcal or more.

Those numbers are not dramatic in a single session. Over weeks and months they add up, especially compared with harder sessions you might skip. Our guide to steps and NEAT explains why daily movement matters so much.

Fitness trackers often overestimate the calories burned walking. Use your step count as the main measure and treat the calorie figure as a rough guide at best.

How far and how fast

The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, and brisk walking counts. A simple test for brisk is that you can talk but not sing. For fat loss, a daily target of 8,000 to 10,000 steps is sensible for most people, built up gradually from where you are now.

If you are starting from a low base, begin with 10 to 15 minutes a day and add a few minutes every few days. Our guide to cardio for beginners covers building a base without overdoing it.

Pace does not need to be fast to be useful. A comfortable pace you can hold for 45 minutes is worth more than a punishing one you give up on after ten, and your natural brisk pace will get quicker as your fitness improves.

How to progress

1. Time: walk for longer, or add a second walk in the day.
2. Pace: include brisk sections, such as alternating three minutes brisk and two minutes easy.
3. Hills: add inclines, stairs or a treadmill incline for more effort without more impact.
4. Terrain: trails, canal towpaths and parks are more interesting and challenge your balance.
5. Load: once you are comfortable with the above, a lightly loaded rucksack can add challenge. Start light, build slowly and skip this if you have back, hip or knee problems.

Change one thing at a time and give it a week or two before changing something else. Sore shins, feet or hips are usually a sign of doing too much too soon, so ease back for a few days if they flare up.

Walking and lifting together

Walking burns energy, while strength training protects muscle and shape. Together they cover both bases. The walking adds to your deficit without much fatigue, so your lifting sessions stay strong, and it helps recovery between sessions, which is why coaches often prescribe it as active recovery.

Our guide on cardio vs weights for fat loss compares the different types of training in more detail.

A practical week might be three strength sessions and a daily walk, with one longer walk at the weekend. On strength days a short, easy walk is plenty; on rest days, go a bit further.

Making it stick

• Link walks to existing habits: after meals, on the school run or on your lunch break.
• Walk with someone. A friend, a partner or a dog makes it far more likely to happen.
• Use podcasts, audiobooks or phone calls to make the time fly.
• Have a wet weather plan: proper waterproofs, an indoor route or a treadmill.
• Track your weekly average steps rather than stressing about each day.

Walking also suits people with a lot of weight to lose, people with sore joints and people coming back from injury, because it is so easy to scale. If your knees are a concern, see losing weight with knee pain. Good footwear matters more than any gadget, especially if you are heavier or have sore feet.

Beyond fat loss

Regular brisk walking is linked with a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and several other conditions. It improves sleep and helps manage stress. Even if the scales are slow to move, you are getting healthier with every walk. Time outdoors, away from screens, with some daylight and fresh air, does a lot for stress and sleep, both of which make fat loss easier.

If you want strength training to pair with your walking, Lycan Strength's 7-day free trial gives you a week of classes with coaches who scale every session to you.