Will walking a mile a day help lose weight? A full overview

The Daily Mile–a global health initiative for students has long gone beyond schools and become a generalized rule for people looking to lose weight. But, will walking a mile a day help lose weight in real life?

On average, walking one mile can burn between 80 and 120 calories, which is about 0.2-0.3 lbs of fat in a week. Running is a much more intensive and time-efficient approach. It can let you burn between 100 and 160+ calories. Both activities are good for developing discipline and increasing your overall energy expenditure. However, it takes a calorie deficit to lose weight. That is, any activity, be it walking or running, can help you drop excess pounds, as long as you consume fewer calories than you spend. 

The “Daily Mile” started as an initiative aimed at improving the health and fitness of children across the world. Today, this widely adopted physical activity program for kids has been a little modified and has gone beyond schools. It implies either walking or running for a mile a day and is actively popularized among adults looking to lose weight. But will walking a mile a day help lose weight in real life? Let’s figure it out!

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The Daily Mile: Brief History

Many of you have probably heard about a rule of thumb of going for at least a mile a day to elevate physical activity, improve health, and, potentially, lose weight. This concept has been around for many years, and though it’s not a science-backed rule, it actually didn’t come out of nowhere.

The original idea of the Daily Mile belongs to Elaine Wyllie–the headteacher at St Ninians Primary School in Stirling, Scotland. The idea came to Elaine in 2012, when she noticed a lack of basic physical fitness in her students, many of which couldn’t run around a school field without stopping. Hoping to address the issue, she encouraged students to run around the field for 15 minutes every day as a health practice.

The initiative has been quickly picked up by other schools and nurseries. By this time, over 21,000 educational facilities are actively participating in this program. Furthermore, the concept behind this initiative has gone so viral that it’s now used beyond schools. Namely, by regular people looking to lose weight and improve their fitness.

Does a Mile a Day Help Lose Weight?

If you are currently seeking ways to lose weight and get toned, chances are that you are considering a wealth of options that are trending on the web. These can include various diets, fitness challenges, and many others. The so-called Daily Mile might be just one of the many options you are looking at. Yet, it’s absolutely natural to wonder: “Will a mile a day help lose weight,” before you engage in a long-term commitment.

So, is there any real proof behind this concept? In order to answer this question, we need to understand the basics of weight loss. Your current body mass index (BMI) and any changes in it are controlled by your metabolism–a bodily function that’s responsible for converting the food and drinks you consume into energy that helps your body function.

There are two parts that matter in this process:

• Basic functioning - Every person has a basal metabolic rate (BMR), which stands for the amount of calories your body needs to support vital functioning (such as heartbeat, breathing, temperature maintenance, etc.) at rest. BMR is calculated individually and constitutes the amount of calories you HAVE to consume to keep your body functioning.
• Added activity - Apart from vital functioning, there are also plenty of other activities that you perform throughout the day, such as walking, household tasks, and sports. They increase the total energy expenditure and thus, require you to consume more calories to fuel your body for them.

Weight loss occurs when you create an energy deficit and consume fewer calories than you spend. To stimulate it, you need to get 10-25% less energy from food and drinks than what you spend per day. This implies rethinking your diet and, at the same time, increasing your added activity with the help of exercise.

So, will walking 1 mile a day help lose weight? Following the logic of how weight loss happens, the short answer is “yes.” Overcoming a one-mile distance every day is a good way to increase your added activity and thus, create the deficit you need to start dropping pounds. However, the result will depend on a number of factors, one of which is the intensiveness of your exercise–aka whether you are walking or running.

Does Walking a Mile a Day Help Lose Weight?

As you already know, any physical activity can contribute to weight loss, as long as there is a deficit. Walking, from this perspective, is one of the best and most accessible types of exercise because it doesn’t require any special equipment or going to the gym to get started. But can walking one mile a day help lose weight?

Let’s look at calorie expenditure. The exact amount of burnt calories depends on your weight, metabolism, step count, and external conditions, for example, whether you are going up or down. On average, a 150-lb person should burn around 100 calories if they walk a mile at a mild pace. This will give you a cumulative weekly expenditure of ~700 calories, which translates into approximately 0.2-0.3 lbs of burnt fat.

Generally, 100 calories a day isn’t much. If it’s your primary (or only) daily activity, it may not be enough to help you lose weight healthily and sustainably, especially if you are overweight. However, if you combine daily walks with a healthy nutritional deficit and regular exercise, it can contribute to your weight loss progress.

Does Running a Mile a Day Help Lose Weight?

Now that you know the general answer to the question: “Can walking 1 mile a day help lose weight,” you must be wondering about an alternative, more intense type of exercise–running. Just like walking a mile, running for the same distance is a way to increase your daily added activity. However, compared to walking, running increases your heart rate and breathing, which makes it a more effort-heavy cardio exercise that can help you burn more calories and fat.

So, can running a mile a day help lose weight? Just like in the case of walking, running can give you different calorie expenditures depending on a number of factors, including:

• Your weight
• Pace (the faster the more calories you burn)
• Terrain and factors influencing your effort, such as wind resistance, incline, etc.

The general estimate is that an average-sized runner will burn around the same 100 calories per mile, whereas people with excess weight can burn between 110 and 160+ calories.

Will Running a Mile a Day Help Lose Weight Faster Than Walking?

As you now know, walking a mile and running the same mile burn around the same amount of calories. This can make you feel like these two types of exercise are the same. However, if you are trying to understand: “Will walking a mile a day help you lose weight or if running is more effective,” it’s important to look beyond the average calorie expenditure.

In particular, you have to consider not only the average expenditure but the complete range:

• Walking: between 80 and 120 calories
• Running: between 100 and 160+ calories

As you can see, despite the same general estimate, running can actually let you burn a little more calories than walking.

Additionally, when considering: “Will walking one mile a day help lose weight,” you have to consider the time-effectiveness. If you take up a moderate to high pace, you will likely need less time to run a mile than to walk the same distance. Simply put, running gives you more return per minute, meaning that you can spend less time exercising while burning the same amount of calories. Besides, due to its higher intensiveness, running can offer you greater benefits in terms of cardiovascular health, muscle and bone strength, endurance, and metabolism.

On the other hand, walking is considered safer than running in terms of the strain on your joints and injury risk.

An Alternative Approach: Treadmill

Whether you are wondering: “Can walking a mile a day help lose weight” or looking more toward running, there is one alternative solution that you might also think about–a treadmill.

A treadmill is a cardio machine that lets you perform basic exercises like walking and running indoors, which can make them even more accessible and not dependent on weather conditions. But does walking 1 mile a day help lose weight if you are using a treadmill? Generally, yes, it can contribute to your progress. However, it’s worth remembering that working out with a treadmill generally burns fewer calories than when you are outside. This is because walking or running outside requires additional effort to handle different surfaces, keeping the balance, switching between going up and down, etc.

FAQ

Will walking a mile a day help me lose weight?

Walking one mile should help you burn between 80 and 120 calories, depending on individual factors like weight and external factors. This can let you get rid of 0.2-0.3 lbs of fat in a week, under the condition that you walk every single day.

Will running 1 mile a day help lose weight?

Running a mile can let you burn between 100 and 160+ calories. The specific number also depends on a number of factors. Generally, running a mile every day can help you burn more fat in a week while making your exercise routine more time-effective and beneficial.

Will walking a mile every day help lose weight without a deficit?

As you now know, both walking and running a mile burns some calories. These calories add up to your basal metabolic rate and can help stimulate weight loss, but only in one case–if you create the needed energy deficit. So if you are wondering: “Can walking a mile a day help you lose weight on its own,” the answer is “no.” It always requires a deficit to lose pounds.

Conclusion

So, does walking a mile a day help you lose weight? As you now know, both walking and running a mile every single day is a good way to increase your basic daily activity and boost energy expenditure. However, in order to lose weight, it’s not enough to just spend more calories, you always need to create a deficit and consume fewer calories at the same time.

Use all this knowledge to find an effective weight management strategy that works for you!

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