Walking 3 miles a day: Is it good for weight loss?

3 miles is approximately 6,000-7,500 steps, or 45 minutes to 1 hour of your time. Walking 3 miles a day is a good way to increase your daily energy expenditure and thus stimulate weight loss. At the same time, this kind of low-impact physical activity also offers the following benefits:

• Improved cardiovascular fitness
• Improved fat-muscle ratio
• Stronger bones
• Increased endurance
• Reduced risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes

• Counteraction to the weight-promoting genes
• Easier management of sugar cravings
• Reduced risk of developing breast cancer
• Joint pain relief
• Improved immune function

Important: Although walking 3 miles a day is considered absolutely safe for most people, it’s still crucial that you follow certain rules to make the most out of it. This includes picking suitable gear, staying hydrated, and turning walking into an enjoyable routine. Also, it’s important to consider any contraindications for walking that you might have.

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Anyone who has ever considered dropping a few pounds and getting shredded knows – weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than you spend. A healthy calorie deficit is the main pillar of weight loss. And while it’s technically possible to create this deficit solely by adjusting your diet and switching to low-calorie meals, healthy weight loss should also involve regular physical activity.

Increasing calorie expenditure, of course, requires implementing regular workouts, such as strength training. This will help you lose weight without losing muscle. However, a good training schedule will only include 2-3 workouts per week, so that your muscles have enough time to recover. In the meantime, you still want to stay physically active without straining your muscles too much, and walking is a perfect choice.

There are many different approaches to walking for weight loss. In this guide, we’ll look at one of the popular options – walking 3 miles a day. We’ll look at the effectiveness and potential benefits of this option and give you practical tips to achieve the best results.

Can You Lose Weight Walking 3 Miles a Day?

Let’s start with the basics. Is walking 3 miles a day good for weight loss or not?

The short answer is yes. Any type of physical activity burns calories, and when you burn more of them than you consume with food, you lose weight. Walking 3 miles a day, in particular, can help you burn anywhere between 160 and 479 calories. The exact number of calories burned depends on your body mass index, pace, terrain, etc.

So yes, walking on a daily basis can indeed help you lose weight. However, there is one important note – it will only work if you consume fewer calories than you spend. The optimal recommended deficit is about 500–750 calories per day. It’s important that you consume around 1,000-1,500 calories (without going into extreme, low-calorie diets) and create additional deficits with physical activity, such as walking.

Benefits of Walking 3 Miles a Day

As you already know, walking 3 miles a day can indeed help you lose weight if you adhere to a calorie deficit at the same time. However, a slimmed-down body isn’t the only gain.

Here are some additional health benefits of walking 3 miles a day that you can feel:

• Improved cardiovascular fitness
• Improved fat-muscle ratio
• Stronger bones
• Increased endurance
• Reduced risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes

And that’s not all. According to Harvard Medical School, there are also a few additional, lesser-known benefits of daily walking:

• Counteraction to the weight-promoting genes
• Easier management of sugar cravings
• Reduced risk of developing breast cancer
• Joint pain relief
• Improved immune function

How Many Steps Is 3 Miles?

As a rule of thumb, you can consider that every mile you walk contains approximately 2,000 to 2,500 steps. That is, 3 miles is about 6,000 to 7,500 steps, which takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

However, it’s important to remember that the specific number of steps you take per mile depends on a number of factors, including:

• Your height. Taller people tend to have longer strides and thus make fewer steps compared to shorter people in the same distance.
• Pace. The faster you move, the fewer steps you may eventually have.
• Type of terrain. If you are walking on the hilly terrain, your strides may become shorter, resulting in more steps.
• Type of activity. The numbers presented above are calculated for simple walking. Other types of activity, for example, hiking, might take more steps per mile.

Tracking Miles vs. Steps

Before you set off on your walking challenge, you might be wondering whether it’s better to track miles or steps. Generally speaking, there is no single “correct” answer to this question. Tracking both miles or steps can help you take an organized approach to your physical activity and ensure that you’re making progress day after day. This can also make you feel more motivated every time to hit the goal.

The only thing worth considering is the ease of tracking. Keeping an eye on the miles you walk per day is easy. All you need to do is determine a specific route and look up how many miles there are between point A and B. Tracking steps might be a bit trickier.

How to Accurately Track Your Steps

If you want to focus on steps, there are two ways to track their number:

1. The old-fashioned way: Take 20-30 steps and measure the distance you walk. Then divide the distance by the number of steps to get your average stride length. Then divide 5,280 (feet in a mile) by your stride length (also in feet), and you will get the approximate number of steps you take per mile.
2. The easy way: Get yourself some kind of wearables, for example, a smartwatch or fitness band. Your wearable device will easily track both the number of steps you take and the distance you walk, making progress tracking pretty much effortless.

Walking 3 Miles a Day: Practical Tips for Success

Now that you know that walking 3 miles a day can help you lose weight and gain lots of health benefits, you might feel tempted to get started as soon as possible. Here are a few practical tips to help you ensure safety and make the most out of your walking routine:

• Invest in proper gear. You want to buy comfy clothes and supportive shoes to prevent any discomfort during your walks. Also, mind the weather when choosing your gear.
• Consider investing in wearables. A smartwatch or fitness bracelet will make it easier to track your progress.
• Make warm-ups and cool-downs essential elements of your daily walks. These help prepare your muscles for the load and prevent injuries.
• Ensure proper hydration at all times.
• Look for ways to make your daily walks enjoyable. For example, pick scenic routes, listen to music, audiobooks, or podcasts in the process, etc. 
• Vary your walking pace and terrain types to receive better fat-burning effects.
• Track results and recognize small wins to stay motivated.
• Listen to your body and address any pains or other issues that may appear.
• Remember about proper nutrition and calorie deficit to achieve your body goals.

FAQ

Will walking 3 miles a day help lose weight?

Yes, it can. Just like any other physical activity, walking makes your body burn calories. In particular, walking 3 miles a day burns about 160 to 479 calories, which adds up to your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). However, it’s important to remember that weight loss only happens when there is a calorie deficit. That is, you will lose weight if you consume fewer calories than you expend and vice versa.

Is it better if I track miles or steps?

Generally, any amount of daily activity is good for your health and weight loss. That is, you’re not obliged to track either of them. However, it’s believed that setting and accomplishing a certain daily goal will make your physical activity more organized and help you feel motivated. If this is the goal, it doesn’t really matter whether your goal will be walking 3 miles a day or taking 6,000-7,500 steps. However, tracking miles might be easier, especially if you don’t have any wearables to track your steps. And you can also easily calculate your approximate number of steps based on the number of miles walked.

Are there any contraindications for walking 3 miles a day?

Walking is generally considered a low-impact and accessible exercise that suits most people. And walking 3 miles a day, in particular, can be a good starting point that will let you see the first progress without putting too much strain on your body. However, there might be some  contraindications. People who have conditions like uncontrolled high blood pressure, severe heart issues, lung issues, severe arthritis, recent surgery, and others may want to be careful with walking. The best approach is to consult with your healthcare provider to ensure that walking is safe for you and prevent worsening symptoms.

Conclusion

So, is walking 3 miles a day good for you? In general, it is. As you now know, walking every day is associated with a range of health benefits, including improved cardiovascular fitness, increased endurance, reduced risks of different diseases and cancers, and more. At the same time, it’s a great type of low-impact physical activity that suits almost everyone and can help you increase your daily calorie expenditure and thus lose weight.

After reading this guide, you should have a better idea of how walking 3 miles a day can benefit you and what you can do to make the most out of it. Use this knowledge to hop on your weight loss journey and achieve the progress you aim for!

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