How to Calculate Calories Burned Walking

The goal of most types of exercises, including walking, is to get in shape and to burn off excess calories. The number of calories that you burn while walking varies greatly from one person to the next due to the levels of intensity, the duration of the walk and the weight of the person. However, you can use several factors to get a relatively accurate estimate of how many calories you are burning during a walking session.

Things You'll Need

  • Scale
  • Pedometer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Weigh yourself on a scale to determine your weight. This is important because people of different weights burn a different number of calories even with the same amount of walking.

    • 2

      Clip a pedometer onto your clothing before you go walking. Press the reset button on the pedometer so that the "distance walked" number displays zero.

    • 3

      Estimate how fast you are walking. In general, if you walk at a pace similar to walking a dog, you are moving at approximately 3 mph. If you walk briskly, it is typically around 4 mph or think of it as walking 15-minute miles.

    • 4

      Notice the terrain of the area that you walk in, especially any hills and steep slopes or stairs.

    • 5

      Look at the pedometer display immediately after you stop walking and write down the number of miles on the pedometer.

    • 6

      Compare all of the information with an exercise chart (see Resources) to determine how many calories you burned walking.