This is a big commitment. Walking 7 miles a day tips over from a typical walking for weight loss plan to a full-fledged exercise program.
The results can be impressive. Walk 7 miles every day for a month or more and you’ll see significant improvements in your overall fitness level. Expect to be leaner and stronger while gaining all the numerous health benefits of walking for fitness such as reduced risk of heart disease and improved blood sugar control.
But, if you walk 7 miles it takes a big chunk of time out of your day. Read on to find out how much and get some tips to fit your walking routine into your daily schedule.
How Far Is 7 Miles?
7 miles is 12,320 yards or 11,265 meters – 11.3K.
How many steps in 7 miles?
If you prefer to count distance in steps using a fitness tracker, the number of steps it takes to walk 7 miles will depend on fitness levels, average step length (stride length), and walking pace.
As a rough guide, walking 7 miles is equivalent to 14,000 to 16,800 steps.
How Long Does It Take To Walk 7 Miles?
It takes a significant amount of time to walk 7 miles if you’re walking the whole distance in one go. Walking on flat terrain, most people will take 105 to 126 minutes to walk 7 miles – that’s over 2 hours of walking every day.
This is walking at a brisk pace, 15 to 18 minutes per mile, or an average walking speed of just over 3 to 4 miles per hour (mph).
Fitness will have the biggest impact on your walking speed. Age, gender, walking terrain, elevation, and effort level will all contribute to your speed.
If you can power walk at 5 mph you can complete the distance in 84 minutes – but that’s extremely fast walking.
At the other end of the spectrum, stroll around 7 miles and it could take nearly 3 hours.
When you’re walking for fitness and weight loss, the aim is to walk at a brisk pace. Your heart rate will be elevated but you can still walk and talk. You’ll be making an effort to maintain your pace.
The chart below shows how long it takes to walk 7 miles at different paces:
| Walking Speed (mph) | Walking Pace (min/mile) | Time Taken To Walk 7 Miles (hour: min) |
| 2.5 | 24.0 | 2:48 |
| 2.75 | 21.8 | 2:33 |
| 3.0 | 20.0 | 2:20 |
| 3.25 | 18.5 | 2:11 |
| 3.5 | 17.1 | 2:00 |
| 3.75 | 16.0 | 1:52 |
| 4.0 | 15.0 | 1:45 |
| 4.25 | 14.1 | 1:39 |
| 4.5 | 13.3 | 1:33 |
| 4.75 | 12.6 | 1:28 |
| 5.0 | 12.0 | 1:24 |
Calories Burned Walking 7 Miles
If you walk 7 miles a day to lose weight, you’re going to burn a lot of calories. How many calories will depend on your body weight and walking speed, but most people will burn 80 to 100 calories per mile.
Use our calories burned walking 7 miles chart or our Calories Burned Walking Calculator to find out how many more calories you can burn from walking.
The number of calories burned walking 7 miles varies from 392 to 1659! But typically you can expect to burn approximately 600 to 800 calories walking 7 miles at a brisk pace.
You can increase the calorie burn by walking uphill or walking faster. Typically the average walking speed is 3 to 4 miles per hour but if you can increase your average walking pace to 4.5 miles per hour you’ll note a significant increase in calorie burn.
Can Walking 7 Miles A Day Help You Lose Weight?
Taking on 7 miles every day is an excellent aid to losing weight. Not only are you burning calories – you’ll be spending about two hours a day walking and that’s a big part of your spare time.
There’ll be less time spent on the couch eating high-calorie snacks!
Of course, walking can make you hungry, so it’s best to combine your exercise efforts with a healthy diet.
When you’re walking for weight loss fill up on lean protein, whole grains, vegetables, some fruit, and small amounts of healthy fats. Find out more with these tips for what to eat after walking for weight loss.
Seven miles every day is a sizeable distance and you’ll need to fuel your body like an athlete to make sure you recover fully between sessions. Focus on eating the nutritious food your body needs and the weight will drop off.
Walking 7 Miles A Day Results
How much weight loss will depend on your starting weight and exercise intensity but most people can expect to lose about 2 pounds a week and 8 to 10 pounds a month walking 7 miles every day.
This guide: How Much Should I Walk According To My BMI will help you find your weight loss target.
Weight loss happens when you keep challenging your body. If you find your weight loss starts to slow, try increasing the intensity – walk uphills, use walking poles, or add high-intensity interval training workouts.
Make sure you’re aiming for a healthy normal weight target and not aiming for excessive weight loss.
Gaining Weight
If you find yourself gaining weight when you first start walking 7 miles every day – don’t panic.
Most of it will be temporary water weight retention as your body adjusts to your long daily walks. Find out more about gaining weight.
What Happens To Your Body
If you’re new to regular exercise you can expect some big changes! You’re going to get leaner and stronger! Expect strong leg muscles and a more defined core, replacing excess belly fat with good core strength.
You’ll also be full of energy, feel terrific and glow with good physical health!
However, to get the best results from your daily walk, make sure you don’t overdo it. Build up your daily mileage gradually and if you get sore from all the walking – take a rest day.
Walking 7 Miles A Day Benefits
There are quite a few benefits to walking every day:
- Weight Loss: You’ll burn calories and lose pounds.
- Fitness Gains: You’ll develop better cardiovascular fitness, stronger legs, a more defined core, and improved mobility.
- Health Benefits: Regular walking reduces the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, Cardiovascular disease, stroke, certain types of cancer, and osteoporosis.
- Mental Health Benefits: Exercise produces endorphins – the feel-good hormones. Walking can help with depression, anxiety, and stress.
- More Energy: You’ll have more energy and be able to concentrate for longer.
- Social Benefits: You may also meet people when you walk outside or join a walking group.
- Improved Sleep Quality: Regular exercise helps you sleep better at night.
How To Walk 7 Miles Every Day
Maybe if you’re young and already used to exercise you can jump straight in and start walking 7 miles daily from the word go. For everyone else, it’s best to build up the distance gradually.
#1 Check In With Your Doctor
If you haven’t exercised for a while, you’re carrying a lot of excess weight or you have an existing medical condition, get checked out by your doctor before starting your walking program.
#2 Aim For Good Walking Form
Good form will make walking easier and more efficient. Learn how to walk properly before you start.
#3 Set A Target
Decide on your fitness goals – set your long-term fitness goals. Make them:
- Specific – a clear goal not a vague aim.
- Measurable – it’s only a goal if it’s measurable.
- Attainable – is it something you can achieve in the time allocated?
- Relevant – does it match your inspirations and current fitness level?
- Time-bound – even if it’s a long-term goal it still needs a time limit.
Decide whether you’re walking 7 miles daily for a week, a month, or a year. The clearer the goal the better. Find out more about long-term goal setting.
#4 Start With An Easy Build-up Program
Start with a distance you’re already comfortable walking such as 2 miles a day or 3 miles a day. Gradually increase the distance to 4 miles, then 5 miles… aim for one mile extra per day per week.
Alternatively, try our Fat Buster Walking Plan. You’ll build up to walking 5 miles a day over 9 weeks. In week 10, just add an extra mile to your daily walking workout. In week 11, up your distance to 7 miles every day.
#5 Strength Training
Walking 7 miles daily easily exceeds the recommended minimum targets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for moderate-intensity aerobic activity of 150 minutes a week.
To improve your overall fitness level and hit recommended targets for muscle-strengthening activities add 2 strength training sessions a week. These bodyweight exercises or yoga classes are ideal. The strength exercises will aid your walking and help prevent injuries.
#6 Break Up The Distance
If 7 miles is too much in one go, break it up. You’ll still get all the benefits if you walk your 7 miles in 2 or 3 short sessions. For example, walk to work, walk in your lunch break, and walk home again.
#7 Add Steps
Look for opportunities to walk more during the day. Here are some suggestions to improve your daily step count.
Thoughts from Love Life Be Fit
A 7-mile daily walk is a major investment in your health and fitness. You’ll not only lose weight and build muscle strength, but you’ll also start to think of yourself as an athlete!
It’s a serious undertaking. You’ll need to build up your daily mileage slowly and mitigate the risk of injury. Eat nutritious food to fuel your body, change your walking shoes or trainers regularly to protect your joints, and enjoy the journey to better fitness!
Take a look at our other related walking posts: walking 6 miles a day, calories burned walking 30 minutes, walking 20,000 steps a day.