How Much You Need to Walk to Lose Weight, According to Experts

Fat-burning workouts don’t have to end in a puddle of sweat and tears. There are all kinds of ways to lose weight with exercise. Heck, you can even walk it off.

In fact, if you’re at the beginning of your fitness journey or simply don’t have the time for more involved training sessions, walking could be your primary weight-loss workout. “Either way, whether you’re a fitness nut or someone just getting started, walking has weight-loss benefits—for all kinds of people,” says Irvin Sulapas, MD, sports medicine physician and associate professor at UTHealth Houston.

Walking doesn’t have to be boring, either. While you can certainly shed pounds just strolling through your neighborhood, playing with variables like incline, heart rate, and even intervals can all help to not only break the monotony but actually accelerate your results. Here are a couple of ways to maximize your weight loss by simply putting one foot in front of the other.

Make sure you’re getting the minimum effective dose

“When it comes to slow cardio—or cozy cardio, as people are calling it now—every little bit counts, even if it’s low impact,” says Dr. Sulapas. “Even if you walk for just a couple of minutes, that can actually help you to slowly build your cardio fitness and endurance.”

But if you’re hoping to see noticeable weight-loss results in the near term, you’ve got to put the time in.

“If losing weight is your primary goal, I usually recommend 60 minutes per session, and doing that up to five days a week,” Dr. Sulapas says. “It’s a lot, but if you start getting to above 10,000 steps a day, or even up to 20,000 steps, it can really help with weight loss.”

Get in your (heart rate) zone

When you exercise, your body prioritizes either fat or carbs for fuel. And the good news is you get to decide which one goes to the front of the queue. Generally speaking, exercising below 70 percent of your maximum heart will burn mostly fat. And the harder you work, without crossing that line, the more fat you’ll burn—hence why the “fat-burning zone” (what people mean when they talk about zone 2 cardio) is between approximately 60 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you’re walking primarily to burn fat, you’ll want to spend as much time as possible in this range.