Can You Burn Calories by Walking?

You might take thousands of steps throughout the day without ever thinking of the fitness benefits of this simple exercise. While it's true that walking won't help you get in shape as quickly as a faster-tempo exercise such as jogging, walking will burn calories moderately and help you take steps toward your goal of losing weight or just maintaining your current physique.

  1. Knowing Your Basal Metabolic Rate

    • Not only does walking burn calories, but your body never stops burning calories throughout the day and night. Granted, your body's rate of burning calories when you're inactive or sleeping are low, but your body requires calories for the performance of even basic functions such as breathing. Basal metabolic rate is the term that describes the amount of energy your body has to expend as you rest. This rate is unique to you and depends on variables including your age, size and lifestyle.

    Walk Away the Calories

    • As your level of activity increases, your body begins to burn more calories. Walking is a mild to moderate form of exercise, but a walk can still burn several hundred calories. According to the website HealthStatus, a 140-pound person will burn 277 calories during an hour-long walk at a speed of 3 mph and 328 calories during a 60-minute walk at 4 mph. Heavier people burn calories faster; a 190-pound person will burn 376 and 445 calories, respectively, during each hour-long walk.

    Set Your Walking Goals

    • Walking's calorie burn can make it a valuable exercise if you wish to lose weight. Even if you'd rather maintain your current build than lose weight, walking can play a role in your overall fitness. The amount you choose to walk each week depends on your fitness goals. Aim for at least 150 minutes of walking per week to maintain your weight and more than 300 minutes per week if you wish to lose weight. Increasing your pace, regardless of the length of your walk, will result in more calories burned.

    More Than a Way to Burn Calories

    • Walking isn't just a way to burn calories. With every step, you boost your physical and mental health in a number of ways. In addition to its weight-loss or weight-management benefits, walking can strengthen your bones and muscles, give you greater balance, improve the health of your cardiovascular system, elevate your endurance and lift your mood. If you find yourself stressed or depressed, the endorphins your body releases as you walk can make you feel better.