When it comes to health and fitness, walking is one of the most favorite exercises because it is considered a friendly and simple activity for everyone. But like other kinds of exercises, walking too much or overtraining can cause the opposite effects and even cause injuries. So, having the appropriate intensity for your walking activity is important.
This article helps you find the answer to the question “How much should I walk according to my BMI calculator?” to help you determine how much you should walk in a day or a week to meet your fitness goals.
How Much Should You Walk According To BMI?
BMI-based weight status
To determine how much should you walk to achieve your fitness goal, you should know what your weight status is, based on BMI results.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the weight status based on BMI data for an adult of 20 years old and above is described as follows:
- BMI <18.5: Underweight
- BMI of 18.5 – 24.9: Healthy weight
- BMI of 25 – 29.9: Overweight
- BMI ≥ 30: Obesity
How much should I walk according to my BMI?
You should walk for at least 150 mins/week (~30 mins/day) if your BMI show healthy weight status. Walking for 200–300 mins/week (~1 hour/day) is recommended for BMI statuses of overweight and obesity.
If your BMI is in a healthy range, you may want to add walking exercise to your workout routine to maintain your overall strength and health. As walking is a form of cardio or aerobic activity, it is recommended to do this cardio exercise with moderate intensity for a minimum of 150 minutes per week, or 30 minutes per day, based on a study by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
If your BMI shows obesity status or you want to lose some weight, the ACSM’s advice is to increase the time to 200–300 minutes (about 3.3–5 hours) per week. This means you can have a 1-hour walk every day to achieve this goal.
How Much Should I Walk According To My BMI To Lose Weight?
To burn excess calories and lose weight effectively, you can walk 30-60 minutes at a brisk pace (brisk walking) every day of the week. This means your total brisk walking time is about 2.5 hours/week.
Remember, you can customize your walking time depending on your daily working schedule. It is not a problem if your walking period is shorter or longer, just ensure you complete at least 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week.
If you just start to take up a walking plan for losing weight, you can start at a slower pace and shorter walk to get used to the program first. Then, gradually increasing the pace and periods to gain higher duration and intensity for a higher calorie-burning rate.
Moreover, consistency is a key to achieving weight loss. Try to avoid missing more than one day in a row. Stability contributes to burning calories effectively, improving metabolism, and developing new healthy habits. So, keep walking on a daily basis and you can reach your ideal weight.
How many miles should I walk a day to lose weight calculator?
You can calculate how many miles you should walk for weight loss using the following simple formula.
To lose 1 pound by combining walking and diet changes, you will need to participate in 2.5 extra miles of walking a day (5280 extra steps), in combination with reducing 250 calories in your daily consumption, to reach a 500-calorie deficit per day.
The great walking target for losing weight is to walk for 5 miles a day. With this distance, you could burn about 3,500 calories/ week, equal to losing around 1 pound of excess fat.
Besides, you don’t have to walk 5 miles all at once. Instead, you can divide your walk into two or three short walks to fit your daily schedule while maintaining consistency in doing exercise.
How many steps per day to lose weight?
Walking can contribute to your daily energy expenditure of about 15-50%, impacting much on your losing-weight program.
So, increasing your daily activity level could be a good way to achieve your ideal BMI goal. You can track your walking steps to see your activity level in a day. The activity level based on steps can be described as follows.
- Less than 5,000 steps: Sedentary / Inactive
- From 5,000 to 9,999 steps: Lightly active
- From 10,000 to 12,500 steps: Active
- 12,500 and above: Highly active
You should aim for 10,000 to 12,500 steps daily if you’re trying to lose weight or lose body fat. You’ll be well on your way to achieving your health goals when combining your walking routine with a healthy, nutrient-dense diet, and good sleep for good recovery and stress reduction.
Which time is best for walking to lose weight?
You can go walking anytime for your general health, as it helps increase your activity level in a day. Walking every day can prevent future health complications for people without health conditions. But, it may be ideal to walk after meals since it is not only beneficial for weight loss and diabetes management but also helpful for physical and mental well-being.
Additionally, depending on your daily schedule, you can walk in the morning (if you’re a morning riser), before lunchtime or in the middle of the day (especially good for individuals having a sedentary job), or in the late afternoon or evening (ideal for people with many free times in this time period).
Walking Plan To Lose Weight According To BMI Calculator
If you want to start walking for weight loss, just start slow at an easy pace. If you start walking 5 miles at once, it may be a bit overwhelming, especially when you have a sedentary lifestyle.
Here is a suggested walking plan for a new starter like you.
- 1 mile per day
The key of this stage is to get used to the walking regimen. It just takes you about 15-20 mins for the one-mile walk.
You can burn about 100 calories by walking a mile a day. Let’s do some simple calculations here. With one mile of walking consistently for 5 days, you can burn about 500 calories/week. So, you can reach 2000 calories burned in one month. In other words, you could lose more than half a pound in one month.
So, ensure to do it consistently and enjoy the process!
- 3 miles per day
After you get familiar with the initial walking regimen, it’s time for you to increase the distance. At this stage, you can increase to 3 miles of walking per day.
It may take you an hour to finish at a brisk pace and will burn 210-360 calories. Keep this rate for a month and you can lose around 2 pounds.
- 5 miles per day
Ideally, you should endeavor to walk 5 miles briskly every day as part of your daily routine if you really want to push yourself. You can spend an hour going to the park after work or before work at a set time. Then, include two other 15-minute walks a day at opportune times, such as your lunch break or after your groceries.
The total walking time for a brisk walk of 5 miles is about 1.5 hours. The result would be a loss of 4 pounds of body fat per month, as you would burn 3500 calories a week.
- Customize your walking routine
You can customize your walking routine to fit your needs. Often, you will have more free time on the weekend, thus this is a suitable time for a long walk while the weekdays are for shorter walks.
Make up your own exercise routine by mixing and matching new routines until you find the one that works best for you. If things don’t seem to work, it’s totally okay to remove and try the new one!
Should You Walk Every Day?
To maintain your body fitness and general health, you should walk every day. Just a 30-minute brisk walk a day can help you increase your activity level and manage your weight. As a result, you can prevent the risk of various health issues like heart diseases, strokes, high blood pressure, and type-2 diabetes.
Is it better to walk faster or longer?
It depends on your body weight and the purpose of your workout. For individuals with obesity, slow walking burns more calories than walking at their normal pace. Moreover, walking at a slower pace of 2 miles per hour can reduce their knee joint stress by up to 25% compared with brisk walking at 3 miles per hour.
Besides, when your BMI is not too high, you can walk faster to stimulate the heart rate and metabolism.
What is a good distance to walk every day?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should aim to walk 10,000 steps a day. Usually, this is equivalent to 8 kilometers or 5 miles.
However, it’s better to focus on the walking time not the distance or quantity of steps. Focusing on time makes it easier to keep a consistent schedule because you can customize your walking time to fit your schedule. Ensure to take at least 30 minutes of walking every day can bring great differences.
Is walking 2 miles a day good?
You can burn calories and increase your health by walking two miles a day, but building sustainable, long-term habits is the most important thing. And your effective walking plan will need more than 2 miles a day.
Is walking 4 hours a day too much?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, moderate-intensity cardio exercise should be between two and a half and five hours per week, so walking for 4-5 hours in a single session might be a bit excessive.
Is Too Much Walking Bad For You?
Excessive exercise can lead to overuse injuries such as tendinitis and stress fractures that occur from repeated trauma, regardless of gender. It can also affect your immune system. An excessive amount of exercise suppresses your immune system, even though moderate exercise can improve it.
What Are Health Benefits Of Walking?
Here are some benefits of walking:
- Helping burn calories and manage body weight and fat
- Boosting your mood
- Reducing blood sugar levels
- Improving your heart health
- Help relieve joint pain and build stronger legs.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Walking?
- Negligible calorie burn
- Neglect your upper body since it focuses much on lower body muscles
- Risk of injuries for individuals with bad backs, leg pains, or foot issues
- Excessive walking can cause elevated resting heart rate (RHR) and increase irritability.
FAQs
Does slow-walking count as exercise?
Compared with brisk walking for exercise, slow walking is a form of meditation and centering that doesn’t raise your heart rate. It does provide physical benefits, though. It is surprising that walking slowly at 2 mph burns more calories than fast walking at 3 to 4 mph, especially for obese people.
Can walking reduce belly fat?
Doing regular aerobic exercises, like walking, can help reduce belly fat and control obesity. Walking helps burn calories, contributing greatly to losing body fat, including belly fat. Combine walking with strength training and weight training to effectively reduce belly fat.
Will walking 2 miles a day tone my legs?
You can lose fat and get slimmer legs by walking 2 miles a day at a brisk pace. But it is not that significant. If you want more serious results, you should increase to 3-5 miles of brisk walking a day.
Can I lose weight by walking 30 minutes everyday?
As mentioned above, 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise a day, such as walking, can help you lose weight. So, you can get weight loss with 30-minute walking at a brisk pace every day. Remember to combine tracking your calorie consumption for an effective calorie deficit.
I’m Renee L. Bazile, and I’m passionate about health and fitness. Keeping fit and active has always been a passion of mine.
I graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a degree in Exercise Science. I believe being healthy and fit is the key to a happy and successful life.
Over the past ten years, I have trained more than 10.000 clients in the fitness industry. My goal is to help others achieve their fitness goals. The saying goes, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Therefore, we all need to exercise regularly to maintain health and fitness.
In 2019, I became an expert on health & fitness topics for ThisIsGuernsey after starting my blog about health & fitness. I relax and rebalance my life by walking, fishing, and blogging in my free time.