Can Walking Help You Lose Weight?

From power walks in the 80’s to ‘Hot Girl Walks’ on TikTok, walking has had several moments in the spotlight. Turns out this simple routine has several benefits.

In addition to helping support stronger bones and muscles, walking can help lower blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar and even reduce anxiety and depression. Of course, walking is also a form of exercise, which means it can aid weight loss.

Walking for weight loss 

There are multiple factors that contribute to weight loss, but one way of approaching it is to focus on the ‘calories in, calories out’ or CICO model. Yale New Haven Hospital Exercise Physiologist Matthew Stults-Kolehmainen, PhD, FACSM, says from that perspective, all exercise, which includes walking, falls under the ‘calories out’ part of the equation. However, walking on its own is unlikely to lead to significant weight loss.

Federal guidelines recommend 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous walking five days a week for the average person. To lose weight, Stults-Kolehmainen says you would need to double that. In addition, recent evidence shows diet plays a larger role in initial weight loss, while exercise becomes more important later, in helping to maintain weight loss over a long period of time.

That doesn’t mean those looking to lose weight should avoid walking altogether. Rather walking can be a helpful tool leading to other healthy changes.

“A comprehensive fitness program is key,” says Stults-Kolehmainen. “However, a lot of patients like to focus on walking and they’re successful with it because it’s so simple. Just put on a pair of shoes and go outside.”

How to start exercising

If simple is what gets you moving, go for it! Once patients start to lose weight, they tend to feel better and can add in other exercises that focus on things like improved mobility and flexibility, which are important for addressing issues like joint pain.

Stults-Kolehmainen also recommends patients start low and go slow. For the average person, 20 minutes of walking is about one mile or 2,000 steps. That can be a great first walk. Some patients may need to start at 10 or even five minutes instead.

“If you’re able to do what we call a little ‘exercise snack,’ let’s say two to three minutes of walking, that’s great. Get your exercise snack in. It’s still better than nothing,” said Stults-Kolehmainen.

Or try a “movement menu.” Give yourself three or four options and try a little bit of each. Maybe instead of just walking, go for a bike ride or try an exercise video on YouTube. Trouble with hip pain? March in place or do a sitting march.

“Humans naturally avoid things that hurt. That’s why a lot of people don’t like exercise. They learned that exercise is supposed to hurt. But we’ve had a whole different perspective on this and now we think exercise should be enjoyable. If you find something you find interesting, you’re more likely to stick with it,” said Stults-Kolehmainen.

Anyone having trouble with weight loss should reach out to their healthcare provider for help. An exercise physiologist, physical therapist or primary care provider can help their patients’ overcome barriers or roadblocks to sustainable weight loss.