Should You Walk 10,000 Steps Per Day for Weight Loss? Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Walking Walking for Weight Loss Walking 10,000 Steps Per Day for Losing Weight By Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. Learn about our editorial process Updated on September 13, 2021 Medically reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and nutrition and exercise healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Anisha Shah, MD Medically reviewed by Anisha Shah, MD Anisha Shah, MD, is a board-certified internist, interventional cardiologist, and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Verywell Table of Contents View All Table of Contents How to Reach 10,000 Steps How to Burn Calories Tips to Get More Steps You've probably heard that you should walk 10,000 steps per day for fitness and weight loss. Is this a fitness myth or is there any research that shows that it works? The 10,000 steps-a-day concept was originally popularized in Japan and was not based on medical research. But now, researchers are investigating whether it's a useful goal. So far, studies show that 10,000 steps per day isn't a magic number, but it is a good indicator of how much activity a person is achieving in a day. In fact, one study of steps per day and weight showed that people who logged more pedometer steps per day weighed less, on average. If getting 10,000 steps per day is your goal, here is what you need to know about getting those steps in. How to Get Your 10 000 Steps Taking 10,000 steps is equal to walking approximately 5 miles. Unless you have an active job, such as a waiter or nurse, it is difficult to log 10,000 steps with daily activity only. An inactive person takes 3,000 steps or less in their daily activity of moving around the house. Most people achieve 10,000 steps by taking one or more sustained walks or runs, the equivalent of 30 to 60 minutes of walking. That equals the minimum daily exercise recommendation from most health authorities to reduce health risks. If you'd like to take more daily steps for health and fitness, start by determining your baseline. Track your steps for a week or so using an activity tracker or smartphone app (many phones have a built-in step counter). You don't have to jump from 3,000 steps a day to 10,000 overnight. Once you have a sense of your daily average, aim to add 2,000 to 2,500 steps a day to begin (about a mile). Walking a mile burns about 80 calories for a 150-pound person. As you get comfortable with this additional exercise, lengthen your walks, or take more short walks, so you get closer to 10,000 daily steps. How Walking Can Help You Lose Weight How to Burn Enough Calories for Weight Loss Most weight loss programs recommend burning 200 to 300 calories per day in moderate to vigorous exercise. The number of calories you burn by walking depends primarily on how much you weigh and secondarily on your speed of motion. Everyone burns calories just sitting and breathing, which you can estimate with this calories per day calculator. You burn more calories per minute when you get up and walk, and even more if you run. Depending on your weight, walking 10,000 steps burns between 250 and 600 calories. You can use a steps to calories converter chart to estimate this for yourself. You will need to know your approximate steps per mile. Many activity trackers estimate calorie burn based on your step count. These devices also take into account how fast you are walking or running when estimating the calories you burn. How to Add Steps and Intensity Walking 10,000 steps per day, with 3,000 of those steps at a brisk walking to jogging pace, should help you burn enough calories to lose weight. If you are already logging 10,000 steps a day and not losing weight or maintaining your weight, then the key is to add another 2,000 more steps per day while eating the same amount or less. The challenge is that logging more steps becomes time-consuming. Instead, burn more calories in the same time period by increasing your exercise intensity. You can boost intensity by taking more of your steps at a brisk walking or running pace, or adding intervals such as hills or stairs. Also try to set aside time for dedicated moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise, whether that is walking, resistance training, or some other form of exercise that you enjoy. Many fitness trackers and smartwatches detect whether or not your movement is enough to be considered moderate or vigorous exercise. For weight loss, also work on eliminating empty calories and getting good nutrition from everything you eat. A food and exercise diary can help you spot where to make improvements. Some online programs or phone apps let you track all your data in one place (fitness, nutrition, sleep, water intake, and so on). A Word From Verywell If your goal is to increase your steps in a day, start by getting a good handle on how many steps you are already taking in a day's time. From there, you can set goals for gradually increasing your steps. Moving in manageable chunks toward your goal is more effective than trying to do everything at once. Plus, there is less chance of getting injured or feeling overwhelmed along the way. Additionally, if you are hoping to achieve your weight management goals by adding more steps, it can help to talk to a healthcare provider first or even a registered dietitian. They can help you put together a plan that works for you. 5 Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Tudor-Locke C, Craig CL, Brown WJ, et al. How many steps/day are enough? For adults. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011;8:79. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-8-79 Tudor-Locke C, Schuna JM, Han HO, et al. Step-based physical activity metrics and cardiometabolic risk: NHANES 2005-2006. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017;49(2):283-291. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001100 American Heart Association. American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids. Bassett DR, Toth LP, Lamunion SR, Crouter SE. Step counting: A review of measurement considerations and health-related applications. Sports Med. 2017;47(7):1303-1315. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0663-1 Swift DL, Johannsen NM, Lavie CJ, Earnest CP, Church TS. The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;56(4):441-7. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012 Additional Reading Tudor-Locke C. Steps to better cardiovascular health: How many steps does it take to achieve good health and how confident are we in this number?. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep. 2010;4(4):271-276. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-010-0109-5 By Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles How Many Steps Do People Walk a Day on Average? 10 Steps to Success When Walking for Weight Loss How Many Calories Can You Burn While Walking? How Many Steps Are There in a Mile? How to Get Paid to Walk Using Apps How Walking Can Help You Lose Weight The Right Walking Speed to Burn Fat and Build Aerobic Fitness How Many Calories Do You Burn Walking a Mile? How Long Should You Work Out to Lose Weight? The Best Pedometer Apps of 2022 How Many Steps Should You Aim for Each Day? Why You Aren't Losing Weight With Walking Nutrition to Support Walking for Weight Loss Your New Treadmill Walking Plan for Weight Loss Use a Simple Weight Maintenance or Weight Loss Calculator for Calories How to Use Interval Walking for Weight Loss When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept All