Is walking actually beneficial for weight loss?

[ygrittesnow5]

I hate exercising and rarely have time for the gym (although I could weight train at home I suppose). But I am and have been making a conscious effort to walk more for the last few months. With the school run, a lunchtime walk and an evening dog walk along with general pottering throughout the day, I am averaging at least 10,000 steps a day more usually more.

But will this actually do anything for weight loss? I know diet is the key factor by miles but I hope all this extra walking might help somewhere.

Definitely should. Walking is a great way to burn calories if you aren’t in to the gym or sports.

Using up any calories however you do it will help a bit, but as you say it's mostly down to diet.

I think walking, and any form of exercise also tones you up, and makes your posture better.

Weight loss is primarily from calorie deficit (80-90%), however you choose to achieve that. Walking is a great form of exercise with benefits for your heart and bones. If you do lots of walking as well as having a calorie deficit you may find weight loss is quicker. But the number of calories burned by exercise are not that many and most smart watches, etc over estimate how many calories are burned during exercise. Don't "eat back" calories your watch thinks you've burned through exercise.

It will help a bit but is also good for general health and well being. Depending on how fast/far you walk you might burn an extra 200 to 300 calories compared to not doing the lunchtime and evening walks.

Isn't the ratio 80% diet and 20% exercise? (Don't quote me on that!). Bottom line is you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. Walking will burn a – surprising small – amount of calories but anything is better than nothing.

Oh yeah I know I have to tackle my diet if I’m serious about weight loss but the walking at the moment is accessible to me and quite enjoyable.

I didn’t find I lost weight but my mood and outlook really improved. Being outside, not being on my phone, cool stuff to look at. I miss walking a lot.

There’s walking - getting a bit of a sweat going and generally feeling like you are exercising yet can still hold a conversation and then there’s idly walking - taking leisurely paces (children to school) and stopping every five minutes whilst dog takes a sniff etc.
Depends which one you are doing for the majority of your steps whether it will help make you fitter/slimmer/healthier.

Walking a decent distance each day makes all the difference to me between tending to slighty overeat or keeping a bit of a calorie deficit

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.