Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous or complicated to be effective. Something as simple as a daily walk can go a long way toward building a healthier life. If you’re looking to shed some pounds in the process, you might wonder how walking affects weight loss. Follow along as we answer the age-old question “How many calories do you burn walking?” and guide you through getting the most out of this activity.
How Many Calories Do You Burn Walking?
Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the “How many calories do you burn walking?” question. Multiple factors can significantly affect the number of calories burned walking, including:
- Your weight
- Walking speed
- Distance covered
- Terrain
Your weight is arguably the most important factor in losing weight in general. Simply put, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn when exercising. The second most important factor when talking about walking, in particular, is the distance you walk. The further you go, the more calories you’ll burn.
As a rule of thumb, a 180-pound person will burn around 100 calories per mile when walking at a typical walking pace. The number drops to 65 for a 120-pound person.
Naturally, you’ll burn more calories as you increase your walking speed. However, you can still get an excellent workout when walking at a regular pace but going the distance. Here’s what we mean by a regular walking pace:
- <2.5 mph: slow, natural pace
- 3.0-3.5 mph: moderate pace
- 3.5-4.0 mph: brisk pace
- 4.0-4.5 mph: very brisk pace
- >4.5 mph: power walking or race walking
To help you understand how all these numbers come together, here’s a table explaining how many calories people burn when walking for an hour. You’ll notice how their weight and pace affect the final number.
|
Weight |
3.5 mph pace |
4.0 mph pace |
4.5 mph pace |
|
125 lbs. |
240 |
298 |
356 |
|
155 lbs. |
270 |
334 |
400 |
|
185 lbs. |
300 |
372 |
444 |
|
215 lbs. |
412 |
432 |
516 |
|
245 lbs. |
469 |
492 |
588 |
|
285 lbs. |
527 |
552 |
660 |
|
305 lbs. |
584 |
613 |
723 |
The table is a result of research conducted by Harvard Health Publishing. The calculations are based on walking on flat surfaces. Walking uphill could drastically increase these figures.
How to Calculate How Many Calories You Burn Walking
These tables are a great way to get a general idea of how many calories you burn walking. However, not every person will be able to find their exact parameters in similar tables. So, here are alternative ways to calculate how many calories you burn walking.
Online Calculator
An online calculator can provide you with an answer to the “How many calories do you burn walking?” question in just a few clicks. However, you can get widely different results depending on the calculator you use.
One of the more reliable calculators is the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) online calorie calculator. If you scroll to the Energy Expenditure section, you can enter your weight, activity, and duration and get a calorie-burning estimate.
For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and walk for an hour at 3.0 mph, you’d get the following result:
“250.1 are the actual calories you would burn during 60 minutes of walking 3 mph (level, moderate pace, firm surface), creating an energy deficit of 178.6 calories.”
The MET Formula
Suppose you’re hesitant to use an online calculator due to the varying results they produce. In that case, you can calculate the calorie expenditure on your own.
To do so, you’ll need to use the MET formula. This formula employs metabolic equivalents (METs) to calculate how many calories you burn while engaging in different activities.
The METs describe the intensity of an activity or an exercise. The higher the MET, the more intensive the activity. To put it into perspective, resting has a MET value of one, while jumping rope is around 12.
You can find the values for each activity online, but walking has an average MET value of 4. This means you exert four times the energy than you would when sitting still.
Here are some MET values that might come in handy:
- 3: Walking at 2.5 mph, downhill
- 3.5: Walking at 3.0 mph on flat and firm surfaces; walking for pleasure
- 4: Walking at 3.5-4.0 mph on flat and firm surfaces
- 4.5: Walking at 4.5 mph on flat and firm surfaces
- 6: Walking at 3.5 mph, uphill
Once you know the MET value of your activity, follow these steps to calculate the calorie expenditure:
- Convert your weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing it by 2.2.
- Multiply the MET value by 0.0175.
- Multiply the result by your weight in kilograms.
The number you get is how many calories you’ve burned per minute. To get the exact number for your particular activity, multiply it by the minutes you’ve spent doing it. So, the formula would look like this:
MET x 0.0175 x weight (kg) x minutes
For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and you’ve walked for an hour at 3 mph, this is your result:
3.5 x 0.0175 x 68 x 60 = 250 calories burned
Fitness Tracker
By now you might feel that getting fit is challenging as is, so why add math to the process? In that case, you don’t have to calculate the calories burned yourself. Instead, let a fitness tracker answer the question of “How many calories do you burn walking?” for you.
Counting steps is typically one of the most accurate components of a fitness tracker. Wear the tracker on your hip or in your pocket to get the most accurate reading. Wrist trackers can mistake other hand movements for steps and thus produce an exaggerated reading.
When set up correctly, your fitness tracker will know precisely how many steps you’ve taken, the distance you’ve walked, and your walking speed. So, the tracker does most of the work for you.
However, you still have to input some basic information for the device to calculate how many calories you’ve burned walking. The required data are basic physiological characteristics, such as the following:
- Age
- Gender
- Height
- Weight
How to Burn More Calories When Walking
While you can always walk more miles or increase your pace, other factors can increase your calorie expenditure while walking. If you’d like to burn more calories, try the following:
- Choose a more raised terrain for your walking route, increase the incline on your treadmill, or walk upstairs.
- For an even bigger challenge, go hiking instead of walking.
- Include hard-effort intervals when you walk at a much faster pace, followed by recovery periods.
- Use fitness walking poles to add an upper-body muscular effort to walk.
- Add jogging intervals to your walking routine.
- Carry a weighted backpack.
While adding more weight will undoubtedly make you burn more calories, keep in mind this also puts more strain on your feet and joints. So, be careful when packing your backpack, especially if you’re recovering from an injury.
Here’s how much the MET values increase when you spice up your walking routine by adding a load or choosing a more challenging terrain:
- 5: Carrying 1-15 pounds, upstairs
- 6: Carrying 16-24 pounds, upstairs
- 7: Backpacking, general; climbing hills with 0-9 pounds
- 8: Carrying 25-49 pounds upstairs; climbing hills with 21-42 pounds; rock or mountain climbing
- 9: Climbing hills with 42+ pounds
- 10: Carrying 50-74 pounds, upstairs
- 12: Carrying 74+ pounds, upstairs
For more intense intervals, keep in mind that jogging has a MET value of 7, while hiking stands at 6.
Other Benefits of Walking
Besides helping you lose weight, walking is highly beneficial for your overall physical and mental health. What’s more, the benefits span all ages. Here’s why you should take on this accessible activity:
- Walking in natural environments is linked with decreasing the rates of depression, tension, anxiety, and anger.
- Walking in nature can be a mood booster that decreases stress levels.
- People who walk at least 150 to 300 minutes a week are at a lower risk of premature death.
- Walking is pain-free and easier on your joints than high-impact activities like running.
- Walking is an excellent activity for hip fracture prevention in older people.
- Walking has been linked to reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and stabilizing cognitive functioning in people already suffering from this disease.
- Walking has been linked to lowering the risk or the severity of a stroke.
- Walking can lower the rates of cardiovascular disease and improve your blood circulation.
- Walking around 12,000 steps a day can lower blood pressure.
- Active people tend to be less sick or experience less severe symptoms.
- Walking increases your exercise capacity.
- Walking can help you sleep better.
- Walking can aid digestion.
Get Moving
The key to losing weight is finding an activity you enjoy and keeping at it. While it may seem you burn fewer calories walking than through other more vigorous activities, walking is something that won’t bore you quickly.
Other activities like elliptical workouts can easily get repetitive and tedious. In contrast, you can always shake things up when walking by listening to music, changing your route, bringing your dog, or inviting your friends to join you. This way, you’re more likely to stay active and lose weight in a healthy way.