Have you heard that walking to lose belly fat is a good idea?

Well, it is… but not exactly. Confused? Good, read on.

Firstly, walking can indeed help you burn fat. In fact, it’s a great fat burner. 🙌 Additionally, there are so many added benefits of walking that you really can’t afford to ignore it.

However, does walking burn belly fat? The answer is… not specifically.

The truth is that you simply cannot target fat around your stomach. The body doesn’t work like that.

Before you despair and never walk again, the good news is that walking can help you burn fat, and some of that will come from your belly. Woo hoo!

Interested? Let’s take a closer look…

Why you can’t specifically target belly fat

Beer belly, muffin top, spare tire… call it what you want, nobody likes the fat that gathers around your midsection. 👎

Fortunately, walking to lose belly fat is possible because walking does burn calories and fat. However, you cannot consciously choose which area you lose it from.

In other words, you cannot perform specific exercises (such as sit ups or crunches) in a quest to lose belly fat. Nor can you wish your body to lose fat from that area.

A lot of research, such as this study from 2011 on the effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat, confirms this.

The bottom line is that losing weight in general will help melt fat from your body, including your belly, although you won’t actually have a say when it leaves your midsection.

On the plus side, that means you don’t need to perform hours of sit ups – every cloud has a silver lining! ⛅

How to reduce your body fat percentage

As mentioned several times now, walking to lose belly fat does work, but only as you reduce your overall bodyfat percentage.

To do this you need to be in a calorie deficit.

This doesn’t mean you have to start counting your calories, but it does mean that you must pay attention to what goes into your mouth and how much you move.

In terms of what goes into your mouth, it’s quite simple:

1 – Eat lower-calorie whole foods 🥕

It makes sense to eat lower-calorie whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains and some lean proteins.

Eating these foods will help you nourish your body and satisfy your hunger, without consuming too many calories.

Especially when you also…

2 – Eat slooowly ⏳

Slow eating is a great habit to get into if you want to lose weight. Studies have shown that the slower you eat, the fewer calories you consume over time.

Plus you tend to get more satisfaction with your food and aid your digestion. Win-win-win.

3 – When you feel around 80% full, STOP EATING! 🫸

This is important. So important that I have written a full article on the concept of eating to 80% full (sometimes known as hara hachi bu).

Essentially, to do this practice, you must consider what it feels like to be 100% full and stop just short of that.

The truth is that when you feel 100% full you have already eaten too much. Stopping at 80% is a great way to keep your calories in check without actually counting them.

Over time, doing the above three steps will help you lose weight without counting calories.

There are certainly more aspects to losing weight through what you eat, yet these three points are the most important to me.

Hang on, wasn’t this article about WALKING to lose belly fat?! 🚶

Yes, you are right – but the words above had to be said.

The truth of the matter is that you can’t just start walking while continuing to eat as you have been and expect anything to change.

However, if you can eat lower-calorie foods and stop before you are full, then walking will assist you in your fat-loss quest.

How many steps a day to lose belly fat?

Just a quick answer to the question of how many steps a day to lose belly fat: it completely depends.

The rule of thumb is 10,000 steps a day, but if you currently walk 1,000 steps a day, it’s probably not sensible to attempt such a high number.

Instead, aim to increase your steps by around 200-500 a day for a week. The following week, increase the step count another 200-500, then repeat.

Over a period of a few weeks, you will (hopefully) begin consistently walking more and more until you reach – and exceed – 10,000 a day.

To back this up, a study from 2018 states that walking 10,000 steps a day is associated with weight loss. Ultimately, aiming to increase your daily step count is not a bad idea.

However, it’s not as important as what follows…

How to walk to burn fat using heart rate zones

You may have heard of heart rate zones, which signify where your heart rate is in relation to its maximum beats per minute (BPM).

There are many heart rate zones, including a fat-burning zone, which is typically 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate (MHR).

This is the green area in the chart above.

Walking within this heart rate zone will mean your body primarily uses fat as a fuel source. This moderate-intensity activity keeps your heart rate elevated enough to stimulate fat metabolism, but not so high that your body primarily relies on carbohydrates for energy.

To determine your MHR, use the formula 220 minus your age. This means that if you are 40, your maximum (100%) heart rate is 180 BPM. In this example, your fat-burning zone will be around 65% of 180 BPM, so 117 BPM.

You should aim to walk within this range for extended periods. Around 30 minutes is a good length of time to aim for.

Naturally, to determine your heart rate while walking, you will need to wear a heart rate monitor – either a chest strap or smartwatch, which will allow you to access live heart rate data.

Other benefits of walking

As mentioned, walking has more benefits than simply burning fat.

For example, it can strengthen your muscles and joints, it can boost your mental wellbeing, and it can improve your cardiovascular health. 💓

Additionally, walking after a meal can improve your digestion, which I cover more in my article on Italy’s after-dinner walking habit.

In short, walking more every day is the ideal way to boost your physical and mental health, whether you want to target specific weight issues or not.

The final word on walking to lose belly fat

So, walking to lose belly fat… it can be done.

But only when you: a) combine it with a healthier diet and better eating habits, and b) don’t expect the fat to only come off your belly.

Remember that you have to lower your total bodyfat percentage. It’s up to your body to determine from where this fat will be lost. Walking will certainly help with this.