Is walking actually beneficial for weight loss?

@ygrittesnow5 My experience is it really depends on your metabolism and your age. I walked quite a lot for 3 months and did not lose any weight at all. But it can be a stepping stone to something else and also if you enjoy it, it’s always a positive thing.

I do think the 'exercise for weight loss' is part of the campaign by fast food companies to justify their aggressive marketing of UPF and high fat food and push the blame onto consumers while they have developed ultra high palatably and addictive foods, hence all the sponsorship of sporting events. If they could push the narrative that they are just innocently providing a service and if people weren't so lazy they wouldn't be fat then the blame is pushed onto the public. I swim daily because it really helps with my mental health. I didn't lose any weight until I started trying to control my eating.

As a qualified fitness instructor, I can tell you that walking is a brilliant form of safe, low impact, weight bearing exercise, which when combined with a good, healthy diet can lead to weight loss. In 2020, both my wife and I were out of work, so from March to September, walked around two hours a day in a local nature reserve. We both lost around six kilos each in weight and felt great.

The only times in my life when I have lost weight without trying have been when I was doing large amounts of walking.

The first, I was a teenager, and kept missing the hourly bus to a friend's house, so walked the ~2 miles most days instead rather than wait.

The second time, due to the cost and unreliability of the buses, I walked 3 miles each way to work, for around two years.

Both were made really easy by circumstances, and absolutely led to weight loss. I never understand the acknowledged wisdom that says it is all diet - I've never lost much weight through diet.

You can't outrun a bad diet (outwalk?) but it is so good for you, and does contribute to fighting obesity.

Exercise makes no difference to weight loss. If anything exercise will make you eat more.

There must be around 80 official studies on this, it's been proven many times.

Exercise does have benefits but they don't relate to weight loss.

This is what I’ve experienced so far.

You can't walk off a poor diet. Walking will help but it needs to be at a reasonable pace and distance to burn any meaningful calories. Walking is good for digestion, especially, after meal fart walks.

You can see on an Apple phone that walking 10000 steps will burn (for me) 200-300 calories depending how much is uphill. So a couple of biscuits-worth.
Diet makes more difference than exercise, but that 200-300 helps tip you into deficit.
I always think it’s amazing how much you have to exercise to burn off a really small amount of food though. And as soon as you eat one biscuit a day too much the weight piles on.

This is completely true (sadly). The research is really clear.

Unfortunately the evidence is also pretty bleak for losing weight long term with diets too.

Best thing is to eat well (as in less UPFs) and move as much as you can and try to relax a bit about your weight.

I lift weights twice a week and run 3 days a week and swim and I feel fantastic compared to 10 years ago when I was much more sedentary (I'm nearly 50) but my body isn't hugely different. My arms are more toned and my thighs are larger. I am probably MORE wrinkly from all the running.

I don't care, I consider fitness its own reward!

It will help a little but only in the sense it will burn a bit more calories and unless you are walking huge amounts or at pace on a steep incline for example, the amount is pretty insignificant (and of course there’s the issue that increased exercise can increase hunger levels so you end up just eating it back anyway - it’s quite common for people training for marathons etc to actually put weight on!). Some of the calorie estimates for walking are pretty optimistic, as it depends heavily on what sort of pace you are walking at and what sort of terrain. Focusing on a brisk pace will help. Hiking is great exercise and a real workout.

That said, it’s a good thing to do. I average about 15k steps a day and find it makes for a nice sort of baseline ‘practical fitness’. I walk everywhere feasible, as do the kids, and it is noticeable among their peers how much more able they are to walk longer distances.

I don't know if it would help you lose weight but it will 100% definitely improve your health. Do it for that reason!

All movement helps with weight loss/maintenance, just depends how much movement vs. how many calories consumed.

Any walking is a health and fitness positive.

After my beloved dog died I put noticeable weight on. I used to give him two fairly long walks a day. I didn't eat more after he died so the walks were definitely keeping me slim.

People will say no but everyone i known who walks a lot has lost weight and everyone who has stopped walking has put weight on.

I never see overweight walkers. I am 54 now and walk 20 minutes k to and from work everyday, and go out in the evening to walk the dog.

I have lost weight since doing this. I had a hip pain problem which disappeared within a couple of months of walking to work.

I think walking is very, very good exercise. I actually used to run but it began to take it's toll on my joints.

It makes very little difference to weight loss but a massive difference to fitness, muscle tone and all the many important benefits.

Before covid I had an active job, and coupled with dog walking and other hobbies, I was averaging 26-28k steps a day. I could eat anything I wanted and was honestly slimmer than suits me.

Absolutely. It's cardio. I count my steps and calories when I walk and am amazed by how many calories you can burn off.

Latest research shows (proper) exercise has very little impact on weight loss (if any, long-term). So never mind walking, the gym won't help either.

It's all about food. There are no shortcuts, sadly(!) - just have to find healthy foods and meals you genuinely like and eat those instead of whatever you're currently eating. Try starting by just cutting down first. So people who eat pizzas, could just have one slice less than normal. Then a week or so later, 2 slices fewer. I used to eat 2 or 3 bowls of cereal in one sitting.. now it's one. Or two if hungry..!

Reducing portion sizes is massively helpful.

Walking and any form of movement is important for physical health, of course, just not weight loss.

Walking burns calories, so it will (slightly) help with a calorie deficit. It will also come with lots of other health benefits, and will help to tone up legs.

But, as they say, you can't out run (or out walk!) a bad diet. Walking burns around 100 calories a mile, so you'd have to walk 35 miles to burn one pound of fat! However, I find that exercise helps to keep off any weight that I have lost, and also means I'm more health conscious generally, as I don't want to undo the effort I've gone to!

A slow WFH day for me is around 5000 steps and a busy day is 11000 - the difference in calorie burn is 200-300 so it does make a difference and if you strictly stuck to your calorie allowance, walking would help you lose 0.5lb a week without any extra effort. However if you don't track your food, it probably won't make a difference, as 2/300 calories is very easy to consume without any thought at all.

Yes we went away for the summer ate alot more than we typically would no exercise but walked up to 2 hrs a day and neither of us put on weight.

We really need to change the message around diet and fitness , they are both important and they do affect each other, but they have different benefits .

Exercise should be done for exercise sake, and walking is fantastic exercise.

I hope so! I'm losing a bit of weight by trying to up my step count and tracking calories/ trying to stay in a deficit. I suspect the food matters more but the walking is something I suppose, and makes my achy perimenopausal knees feel better. Can't hurt can it