Spoiler: yes, you can lose weight by walking… But only if you practice this activity regularly and combine it with a healthy lifestyle (e.g. healthy, balanced diet, good quality sleep, etc.). How can walking help me lose weight ? Isn’t running better ? What walking program should you adopt if you’re aiming to lose weight ? We tell you all you need to know to help you burn calories with this gentle, easy-to-practise physical activity.
These two physical activities draw on the body’s fat reserves. So they can both help you lose weight. However, it’s important to remember that running burns more calories than walking. In fact, running burns around 2.5 times more calories than “classic” walking for the same duration of training. Why is this ? Quite simply because running is much more intense than walking, which boosts calorie burn.
Running is therefore often considered a more effective way of reducing weight. But it’s also harder to do. Especially for people who are not used to doing sport ! It also exposes you to a greater risk of all kinds of injuries, from tendonitis to muscle strains to fractures…
Walking, on the other hand, is a fairly gentle activity. Far less traumatic, it’s accessible to everyone, whatever their age. As a result, the risk of injury is drastically reduced. The risk of giving up along the way is also drastically reduced, because it’s much easier to walk regularly than to run !
The icing on the cake : you can increase your caloric expenditure during your walking sessions thanks to some simple methods, which we present below in our article…
Not only is walking easy to do, it also has numerous health benefits. At least as long as you do it regularly. These include, in particular:
Ideally, you should start your session with a 10 minutes warm-up.
To lose weight, you should then walk for at least 30 to 50 minutes in your ” endurance zone “. It’s easy to recognize ! You :
If you are out of breath, slow down ! The right pace ? 3 to 5 times a week. That said, this is just a general guideline. In absolute terms, you have every right to walk longer. Do as your schedule allows ! Always remember that regularity is essential if you want to lose weight by walking. For example, it’s better to plan 3 short 30 minutes sessions each week than to walk for 3 hours once a month.
5 km is already a very honourable goal. It allows you to lose an average of 300 calories. With 5 weekly sessions, that’s 1500 calories over a week! But of course, you’re perfectly entitled to set your sights lower, for a gentler start. Or higher, once you’ve got used to it ! And don’t hesitate to vary your routes to break the monotony…
Is the weather so bad you can’t set foot outside ? If so, you should know that you can also practice walking on the spot to lose weight. Yes, this type of walking can really help you lose weight ! Even if it’s better to “add to it”, by amplifying your body movements (e.g.: swinging your arms, getting your knees up high, chaining movements together quickly) to activate fat loss.
That said, this technique has one major drawback. It doesn’t allow the foot to unroll properly. As a result, it neither strengthens calf muscle tone nor improves venous return. At least, not as much as “classic” walking ! Walking should therefore be preferred wherever possible.
Ideally ? In the afternoon according to a scientific study initiated by the Netherlands Cardiovascular Research Initiative1. In fact, the study showed that people who engaged in physical activity in the afternoon lost weight more rapidly than those who went for a walk in the morning only. This was linked to blood sugar levels. Normally, blood sugar levels are higher in the afternoon, which favours fat storage. However, walking in the afternoon helps to lower blood sugar levels before fat reserves are built up…
However, as long as you walk regularly, you should notice an effect on your figure. So don’t worry too much : choose the time that suits you best according to your schedule… Or your affinities ! Some people love walking at dawn to enjoy the peace and quiet : there’s nothing wrong with that. The main thing is to really enjoy your daily “walks”. That’s the best way to stay motivated in the long term !
You’ve probably heard of the famous “10,000 steps” you need to take every day to lose weight ? Virtually every walking app and connected watch nowadays pushes you to reach this threshold. And yet, this figure was originally chosen arbitrarily.
In fact, it originates from an advertising campaign by the Yamasa Corporation, broadcast to present its new pedometer at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Over the years, this figure has become the benchmark around the world. Even if no scientific study really corroborates it… We also often read that it can help you lose 300 to 400 calories on average. But in reality, the number of calories you lose depends on many factors…
Conclusion ? You don’t necessarily need to aim for 10,000 steps to lose weight by walking. Instead, focus on the duration and regularity of your sessions. On the other hand, a study published in the European journal of preventive cardiology in 2023 (2) has shown that the risk of death from cardiovascular disease is already reduced at 2337 steps per day. Other risks of death could also be reduced from 3967 steps per day… But the more you walk, the better ! Aiming for at least 4,000 steps a day therefore seems like a good idea from a health point of view.
If you want to calculate them, you can use :
That’s a big question, because in reality it depends on many factors, including :
As a rough guide, we estimate that you burn 30 to 40 calories per 1000 steps on average. But this can vary greatly according to circumstances.
Walking to lose weight is great. But you have to know how to do it ! To help you, here are several techniques for losing weight by walking.
Many people rely on brisk walking to speed up weight loss. The principle is quite simple : the faster you walk, the more calories you force your body to burn to support your effort. What’s the ideal speed ? Approx. 7 km/h. That’s a little more than our “normal pace”, as human beings usually walk at a speed of 4 to 6 km/h.
Originally, rucking was part of military training. How does it work ? Walking with a weighted rucksack of varying weight. You’ll find rucksacks specially designed for rucking on the market.
Benefits: you’ll lose weight faster and work all your muscles, from your feet to your shoulders. Weighted walking is also great for strengthening your cardiorespiratory capacity. A fact corroborated by an American study in 20191. Disadvantage: the risk of muscular pain and injury is higher than with conventional walking. So it’s best to enlist the help of a coach to help you choose the right equipment and warm up properly.
Climbing hills or stairs requires more effort than walking on flat ground. This burns more calories: 30% more, on average ! So don’t hesitate to take up hill walking whenever you can. Bonus tip : walking on certain grounds, such as gravel, also requires more effort. So you can also include them in your walking program to boost your weight loss.
How does interval walking work ? Alternate between a faster pace, for 30 seconds for example, and a slower pace for 30 seconds throughout your walk. This breaks up the monotony of walking and speeds up fat burning.
When it comes to walking for weight loss, Nordic walking is one of the best options. It involves moving at a brisk pace using specially adapted Nordic walking poles. Similar to those used in cross-country skiing, they give the arms and upper body a good workout during exercise. This increases caloric expenditure compared with “classic” walking.
Can you lose weight by walking ? Yes. Can walking help you stay fit ? Yes, it can. Will it specifically target belly fat, including your visceral fat ? Not necessarily.
When you walk regularly, your body will draw on your fat reserves, but it can do so just as well on your thighs and buttocks as on your stomach… If and only if you reduce your calorie intake at the same time, because if you consume too many calories your body won’t need to draw on your fat reserves during exercise. That’s the basis of weight management.
The good news is that you don’t need to follow a drastic diet to achieve your goals. All you need to do is adopt a balanced diet, giving priority to slimming foods.
However, if you’re targeting belly fat, there’s no reason why you can’t combine walking with specific belly-loss exercises. Think of the Bodysculptor belt. Easy to use at home, it slims the waist and tones the tummy effortlessly and painlessly, thanks to its gentle, non-invasive technology.
1 ” Physical training causes greater metabolic effects when performed in the afternoon compared to the morning in metabolically compromised humans ,” The Physiological Society, December 23, 2020
” The association between number of daily steps and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a meta-analysis,” European journal of preventive cardiology, August 09, 2023.
3 ” Load-carrying conditioning leads to task-specific physical and psychophysical improvements in men ,” National Library of Medicine, September 2019
