How Much Weight Can You Lose by Walking 30 Minutes a Day?

2011-07-08 00:00:00 by Maria Parepalo

You can exercise for hours, but if your daily calorie intake from food is more than your body’s daily calorie need, you will not lose weight. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than your body burns. By doing this, your body will start burning its stored energy, or fat, to make up the energy difference.

You can exercise for hours, but if your daily calorie intake from food is more than your body's daily calorie need, you will not lose weight. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than your body burns. By doing this, your body will start burning its stored energy, or fat, to make up the energy difference. Exercising will increase your body's daily energy demand, but to lose weight, you still need to take in fewer calories.

Evaluate Your Basal Metabolic Rate

To evaluate how much weight you can lose by walking, you first need to evaluate how much energy your body requires on a daily basis. Calculate your body's metabolic rate by using the variables of your weight, height, age and sex: For women, calculate (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x your age) + 655 to find your BMR. For men, calculate (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) + 66. The final number of the equation equals the minimum number of calories your body needs every day to remain at your present weight.

Evaluate How Many Calories You Can Eat

Multiply your basal metabolic rate by an activity factor. If your general activity level is low, for example if you have a desk job and a very sedentary lifestyle, use 1.2. If you are moderately active, for example you walk on your job throughout the day and exercise three to five days a week, use factor 1.55. If you are highly active every day and exercise vigorously, use 1.9. The number you will get is your daily energy need. This is how much you can eat every day without gaining or losing weight.

How Much Will Walking Burn

Next you need to evaluate how many calories a 30-minute walk will burn. The amount of energy you burn depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise and also your body weight. If you walk at a slow pace, for example 2.5 mph, you will obviously burn less energy than if you walk at a moderate pace of 3.5 mph. In addition, the more you weigh the more calories you burn. For example, a 120 pound person will burn around 80 calories walking on level ground at 2.5 mph for 30 minutes. However, walking 3.5 mph, uphill, will burn 180 calories. A 150 pound person doing the same exercises will burn 100 and 200 calories, respectively.