I Walked 30 Minutes a Day for 30 Days: Here’s What Happened
After gaining 25 pounds (which is nearly a quarter of my starting body weight!!) after starting my corporate job and struggling to lose it for over 3 years, I was feeling pretty over it.
I’ve started numerous workout programs over the past few years but nothing has ever stuck.
It’s either been too hard, or too much effort to think about creating a split schedule or finding exercise modifications, or just flat out boring, so I’ve just stopped.
And time marched on.
Then I’d do it again, and end up quitting for the same exact reasons stated above.
So this time, I thought I’d switch it up a bit and start with something that’s simple, easy, and doesn’t require any thought at all: Walking.
And I made it a challenge. 30 minutes a day for 30 days straight – or else 👀
I mean, how hard could it be? It’s just walking!
You are so very right!! But also, wrong.
Here’s what I learned walking 30 minutes every day for 30 days.
1. The hard part isn’t the walking (if you are able-bodied), it’s the consistency.
If I’ve learned anything from this 30-day walking challenge, it’s this. It doesn’t matter how easy, how absolutely grueling, how boring, or how fun the workout is.
>>The hardest part will always be just showing up.<<
So show up, even if it’s just for a minute. Because that minute will turn into 5, which will turn into 10, which will turn into 30.
2. Adaptability is your friend.
Weather, changing work schedules, doctor’s appointments – all a part of life. And they can all make consistency difficult if you don’t adapt and sometimes plan ahead.
My walks have been entirely dependent on weather since I don’t currently have access to a treadmill. I luckily had pretty decent early fall weather, but there were a few days of heavy rain that meant a walk outside just wasn’t gonna happen, my friend.
I didn’t have a treadmill at the time, but instead of completely skipping the walk, I hopped on my rebounder and walked in place for those 30 minutes (definitely threw in a few spin moves as well because how could I not).
Adapt & overcome = 1.
Rain = 0.
I also had numerous doctor’s appointments after work and days I had to stay late at work, so I prioritized taking a walk during work instead of after like I normally do.
Adapt & overcome = 2.
Schedule conflicts = 0.
One sad puppy = 1 🙁
3. Walking 30 minutes a day alone isn’t going to result in significant weight loss.
I’m sure you’ve seen those videos on YouTube where people did the exact same thing as me and were able to lose a decent amount of weight just by walking for 30 minutes a day for 30 days.
They’re actually what inspired me to do this in the first place.
When I set out to do this challenge, I did not change my eating habits because I wanted to see if walking for 30 minutes alone would burn enough calories to help me lose weight.
It didn’t, at least not significantly.
A 30-minute walk is equivalent to an additional ~100 calories burned per day.
To put that into perspective, it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1 pound of fat. So on average, you’d need to burn an extra 500 calories per day in order to lose 1 pound of body fat.
Meaning, a 30-minute brisk walk isn’t enough on its own to see much, if any, weight loss.
If your goal is to lose weight from walking alone, you need to do any combination of the following:
- Walk for longer than 30 minutes (10,000 to 15,000 steps is ideal)
- Walk faster so you exert more energy and cover more ground (I averaged about a 21-minute mile because my dog likes to stop and sniff every 2 seconds)
- Walk on an incline
- Add additional weight
Walking for 30 minutes alone will not result in significant weight loss if you don’t also reduce your calorie intake.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it at all!!! Please see takeaway #4.
4. Walking shouldn’t just be about weight loss.
I think it’s good to remember that exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate or how you look.
That’s not to say it isn’t a powerful tool for weight loss, because it is. It’s just so much more than that.
For such a simple form of movement, the benefits of walking are vast:
- Improves cardiovascular health
- Boosts immune function
- Improves joint health
- May prevent arthritis
- Increases stamina
- Improves sleep
- Increases bone strength
- Reduces risk of many diseases
- Improves mood
- Increases mobility
- Burns fat
I’d like to also note that it forces you to slow down and be present. Unless of course you’re speed-walking 😜
And if you’re walking outside, you get all the added benefits of fresh air, sunshine, and of course, nature.
5. A daily walking routine motivated me to make other healthy choices.
As I stated earlier, I did not change my eating habits or add in any extra workouts during this 30-day walking challenge because I wanted to see what walking alone would do for me.
But I was deeply inspired to.
The simple act of taking myself for a walk every day meant that I was consciously choosing to do something that’s good for me, and it made me want to do more.
So once those 30 days were up, you betcha I incorporated other changes in addition to the daily walks.
Heck, I even went on walks in the frigid December cold, that’s how much this challenge impacted me!
I do think it’s important to note that changing too many things at once can be overwhelming and often leads you right back to where you started. Starting with something small and attainable then building upon that once its become habit is key in creating lasting habits.
Which is why setting yourself a goal of walking every day, even if it’s for 10 minutes, is a great first step.
6. Getting up and moving >>> sitting.
So much of our lives are spent sitting.
- In the car.
- At work.
- At school.
- In waiting rooms.
- At events.
- During meals.
We sit, sit, sit, sit, sit.
And we’re stiff, stiff, stiff, stiff, stiff.
If you live a fairly sedentary life like me, daily walks can help break up all the sitting and keep you mobile. Just a 30-minute walk is ~3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, which is pretty significant when 8+ hours of your day is spent on your bum.
Anything we can do to offset how much we sit is well worth the time and effort.
Bonus points go to walking because it requires absolutely no screens to make it happen. It’s probably the one thing that truly gets us away from our screen dependency.
That’s what I call a win-win-win. We all win.
7. Walking is easy.
Of all the forms of exercise out there, walking is one of the most accessible options there is.
- It’s easy to do.
- And very easy on the body.
- It requires no thinking.
- It’s free.
- You can do it anywhere.
Which is what makes it perfect to start with and increases your likelihood of sticking with it.
So let’s get walkin’, my friend.
And may you be as thrilled to go on a walk as all dogs are when they hear the w-word.
