Walking is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to lose weight and stay fit. It has been shown that people who walk regularly have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, colon cancer, depression and anxiety than those who do not exercise at all or are sedentary. Moreover, it can help prevent weight gain as you age.
Walking is a great way to start an exercise routine if you are new to exercising or if you have been inactive for a long time. It is low impact, so it doesn’t stress your joints, and it can be done almost anywhere. You can go for a brisk walk around your neighbourhood, at the park or on a hiking trail. But is 45 minutes enough walking to lose weight, gain fitness and receive all the amazing benefits?
A daily 45-minute walk burns about 300+ calories, depending on how much you weigh. An average person would lose around a pound of weight every 2 weeks if they consistently walk for 45 minutes a day. The results would be more substantial if you were to incorporate a calorie deficit within your diet, or take up other means of burning calories along with the 45-minute daily walk.
Walking is a healthy way of losing weight or even just remaining fit over the long term. Still, the weight loss by walking is a gradual process, not immediate, with results visible only after weeks of walking, so patience is vital if you want to reduce your weight by regularly using walking as your means of exercise.
Walking is also enjoyable and a refreshing adventure for all of us, especially if you get outside and experience fresh air. It is important to start slowly and gradually increase your walking time and intensity over time. If you are new to exercise, aim to walk for 10 minutes per day at a moderate pace. Once you are comfortable with that, work up to 30 minutes per day. If you are already active, aim to walk for 45 to 60 minutes per day at a brisk pace.
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How Much Weight Can You Lose Walking 45 Minutes a Day?
On average, you will burn approximately 200-300 calories walking at a brisk pace (3.5mph) for 45 minutes. If you walk every day for 45 minutes, you can expect to lose 0.5 pounds each week. Therefore, if you walk every day for 45 minutes in 10 weeks, you will lose around 5 pounds of body fat.
Walking is a slow and gradual method to achieve your desired weight loss, so needless to say, it’s not a miracle cure for losing weight. The amount of weight you lose over time by walking depends on your body weight and the consistency of your walking habits – easing off or having cheat days will only distance you from achieving your goal weight.
According to Health Day, a daily news source for healthier living, an average 190-pound person can lose about one pound (0.5 kg) weight if they do a 45-minute walk every day for 2 weeks. Walking for 45 minutes a day at normal speed would amount to a distance of 4 kilometres per day, which is enough to burn 250-300 calories per day and 1700-1800 calories per week.
The amount of weight you have also contributed to how much you can lose by walking. For example, a person weighing 190 pounds would lose weight more quickly than an overweight or obese person. However, your weight loss amount doesn’t differ whether you’re walking those 45 minutes on a treadmill or in the open air. (Find out how much weight you can lose walking on a treadmill and the benefits)
Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to walk continuously for 45 minutes at one time if you are overweight or getting back into a fitness routine. Instead, we recommend dividing the 45-minute walking time throughout the day (for example, 10 minutes in the morning, 20 in the afternoon, and 20 at night), which would lose weight the same as walking for 45 minutes continuously.
Is Walking 45 minutes a Day Enough Exercise?
According to most health specialists, walking for 45 minutes to an hour a day is the perfect way to maintain your overall health and lose some weight. Walking is not meant to be strenuous enough to grant you excessive weight loss results in small amounts of time, but instead for you to lose weight gradually in a matter of 6 months to a year.
Some people argue that walking 45 minutes a day is not nearly enough to achieve a person’s desired weight loss. Their reasoning behind this statement is that they believe walking is a prolonged weight loss process. People should take up other measures of losing weight, such as going to the gym, exercising, doing yoga, healthy diets, or cutting back on calories to achieve their desired weight loss quickly.
While all that does hold true in some regard, it’s also important to know that walking is the healthiest form of exercise you can easily incorporate into your daily life and schedule. Walking does not require any rigorously strenuous activity or great expenses, and you just have to be prepared to take out some time of your day to allot to walking and commit to it.
However, suppose you want to lose weight quicker. In that case, you can incorporate other measures of weight loss into your routine, for instance, spinning, cycling, jogging, yoga, dieting, but walking is the perfect exercise to start you off in your weight loss journey, especially if you’re a woman who has just given birth or a person suffering from long term obesity. (Not ready for 45 minutes? Here’s why 30 minutes might be better for you)
What Speed Should I Walk to Lose Weight Fast?
To lose weight fast by walking, you need to burn around 500 calories each session. A 5mph (8km) walking speed, which is a very brisk walk for 45 minutes to 1 hour, will burn 500 calories. If you walk every day at this speed, you could lose 1 pound of body fat weekly resulting in faster weight loss.
Timers are not an efficient parameter to measure a person’s walking speed. Instead, you should count your steps and the number of steps you take in a set time, for example, a minute, as a parameter of your speed. Or just count your steps for 30 seconds and multiply it by 2 to get the average of steps you take per minute.
According to Medicine Health, if you’re walking for health reasons and not trying to tire yourself out while also getting in some exercise, a speed of 120 steps per minute would be enough. For a 45-minute walk, this would get you a distance of about 2.5 miles (20 minutes per mile). This speed should be enough for people not looking to lose weight faster but improve their digestion, bodily functions and overall health.
Naturally, to walk for weight loss, you’ll have to pick up the pace a bit and increase your speed to about 130-140 steps per minute. This would cover a distance of 3 miles in 45 minutes (15 minutes per mile) because of your speedy disposition, which would also get your blood pumping faster and get more adrenaline into your body, helping you burn off calories faster and quicker, resulting in a leaner body after a few months.
How Far Can You Walk In 45 Minutes?
On average, you can walk between 2.5 – 3 miles (4-5km) in 45 minutes at a brisk walking pace without stopping. Over the distance, it’s approximately 5000-6000 steps, and you will burn around 300 calories. However, it depends on your height, length of strides and pace.
It’s difficult to calculate your distance and steps unless your using a step tracker or have a fitness watch to total your distance. However, you can plan out your route before your walk and use this as your guide. To improve and gain fitness, add 5 minutes to your walk after each week. This way, you will steadily increase your fitness and overall distance without exhausting yourself in the process.
Conclusion
45 minutes of walking should be enough for most people. It’s a great way to get back into regular exercise and begin losing unwanted weight. However, suppose you are looking to increase your fitness level or lose weight. In that case, you may want to consider walking for a longer duration or incorporating a more vigorous activity into your routine. I recommend spinning here’s way.