This 21-Day Shed The Pounds Walking Plan is for complete beginners. It’s for anyone who’s neglected their fitness and suddenly realized they need a walking plan to lose 20 pounds or even more! When you have a lot of weight to lose, getting started is the hardest part, closely followed by sticking to a plan.
Losing 20 pounds will take more than a 3-week walking plan. I want you to lose weight slowly and safely and keep it off for good. Shed the pounds too fast, and your weight will quickly rebound. This 21-Day Walking Plan will help you build a walking habit. Stick to the plan, and at the end of three weeks, you’ll find walking every day will come naturally. Skip a day and you’ll miss it! Your new good habit will help you lose the excess weight for good.
Follow this walking plan for fat loss. Most people lose 2 pounds per week – that’s 6 pounds in total. All you have to do is walk and eat a little better.
Walking Plan For Fat Loss
Let’s destroy a few myths:
- Myth 1: You need to run to lose weight. When you’re overweight, running puts a lot of stress on your body. Going from no exercise to running is a huge step and it’s the reason a lot of new runners end up getting injured. It’s far better to build a walking habit first. You can burn almost as many calories walking compared with running and walking primarily burns fat as fuel.
- Myth 2: You need to take rest days. Walking is natural. It’s the one exercise just about everyone can do. Of course, if you push too hard you will wake up feeling stiff and struggle to get out of bed. So what’s the best way to loosen off stiff muscles? Go for an easy walk! Instead of rest days, the plan includes some easy recovery days.
In theory, you need to walk 5 miles a day to burn one pound of fat a week. This is the science behind our 9-Week Fat Buster Walking Plan where you build up to walking 5 miles a day. But everyone is different and how much body fat you burn depends on your effort level. If you haven’t exercised for years, walking regularly will be a shock to the system. You’re going to burn calories at a higher rate – so to begin with, you don’t need to walk as far to get results.
You don’t need to run, you don’t need to go to the gym, you just need to make sure you’re challenging your body when you walk. This walking for weight loss plan gets progressively harder to maximize your calorie burn.
Walking Speeds Explained
This plan uses 3 different walking speeds:
- Slow is 25 minutes per mile or 2.4 miles per hour. It’s a stroll. The pace should feel easy. If your slow pace is slower than 25 minutes per mile that’s okay.
- Moderate (Mod) is a normal walking pace. For most people, it’s 20 minutes/mile or 3 miles per hour but until your fitness starts to improve you may find your pace is a little slower. You can still talk as you walk but you’re walking with purpose.
- Fast is walking at a brisk pace where you’re pushing yourself. 3.5+ miles per hour, 17 minutes/mile. Talking will be harder and you’ll be out of breath if you hit a hill.
Strength Training
This plan adds speed walking and hill walks in week 3 to give you a taste of how to add intensity to your walking workouts. Speed and hill sessions improve your strength and increase calorie burn.
In time we recommend adding strength training sessions to your walking schedule in line with recommended guidelines. But right now, adapting to walking regularly is enough of a challenge.
Tips To Increase The Benefits Of Walking
- Your workout needs to be challenging but always save a little effort to make sure you’re ready to go again the following day.
- What you eat will make the biggest difference to how much weight you lose following this walking plan. Follow these tips to eat better. Don’t try and change everything overnight. Make one small positive change at a time. When it becomes a habit – add another one.
- Hydrate by drinking to thirst. A top tip to make sure you’re drinking the right amount is to take a small sip of water – if the sip becomes a gulp, you need a drink!
- Drink water, not sugar-filled drinks. Many electrolyte drinks are packed full of sugar and hidden calories. For short walks, water is better.
- Have a healthy snack to hand for when you finish your workout. It stops you from grabbing a sugar-filled high-calorie treat. Better still walk just before your meal time and have a healthy meal prepped and ready for when you finish your walk!
- Invest in some good walking shoes that provide comfort and support.
You’re going to love the benefits of walking. It’s not just about weight loss and improving your cardiovascular fitness. Walking in the fresh air is good for your mental health and helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It helps reduce the risk of Type II Diabetes, can lower blood pressure, and improves the immune system.
Check In With Your Doctor
If you haven’t exercised for a while, you’re carrying a lot of excess weight or you have any pre-existing medical issues, it’s always best to check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
21-Day Shed The Pounds Walking Plan
Week one of this walking plan for fat loss will ease you into walking every day. As your legs get stronger, week 2 increases the pace, and week 3 uses hills or steps to up the intensity.
Week 1
In the first week, you’ll be building a routine of walking twice a day. These are short walks at a moderate pace. If you struggle to make time for two walks a day, combine into one longer walk.
Both walks will be at a moderate pace, approximately 20 minutes/mile. Try and maintain a consistent pace where you can still talk but you’re walking with purpose. These are the two walks:
- In a fasted state first thing in the morning. Exercising fasted, with depleted glycogen stores may force your body to fat burn. The research is a bit shaky so if you find this too hard eat a light breakfast first. Fasted or not, always drink some water before you walk.
- Before your evening meal. Exercising before you eat allows you to replenish your muscles after your walking workout without consuming extra food. You won’t be tempted to snack if you have a healthy meal prepped and waiting.
| Week 1 | Walk AM | Walk PM |
| Day 1 | 10 min mod | 10 min mod |
| Day 2 | 10 min mod | 10 min mod |
| Day 3 | 10 min mod | 15 min mod |
| Day 4 | 10 min mod | 15 min mod |
| Day 5 | 10 min mod | 10 min mod |
| Day 6 | 15 min mod | 20 min mod |
| Day 7 | 15 min mod | 20 min mod |
Week 2
This is where the fun starts! Your morning walks stay the same but in the afternoon we’re adding in some fast-paced walking. You’ll be walking at a brisk pace 3.5+ miles per hour, around 17 minutes per mile. You should still be able to talk but only in short sentences.
| Week 2 | Walk AM | Walk PM |
| Day 8 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, 5 min fast, 5 min mod |
| Day 9 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, 5 min fast, 5 min mod |
| Day 10 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, 5 min fast, repeat 2 times |
| Day 11 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, 5 min fast, repeat 2 times |
| Day 12 | 10 min mod | 15 min mod |
| Day 13 | 15 min mod | 5 min mod, 10 min fast, 5 min mod |
| Day 14 | 15 min mod | 5 min mod, 5 min fast, repeat 3 times |
Week 3
This time we’re mixing up the paces but also adding in 2 hill sessions. You’ll need to find a local hill or a flight of steps. The aim is to push but not overdo it. You’ll be a little out of breath during the hill sessions but take a break if your heart rate soars. For the hill sessions use the easy recovery time to walk back down.
| Week 3 | Walk AM | Walk PM |
| Day 15 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, 5 min fast, repeat 2 times |
| Day 16 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, (3 min hills, 3 min easy, repeat 2 times), 5 min mod |
| Day 17 | 10 min mod | 25 min mod |
| Day 18 | 10 min mod | 5 min mod, (3 min hills, 3 min easy, repeat 2 times), 5 min mod |
| Day 19 | 10 min mod | 15 min mod |
| Day 20 | 15 min mod | 5 min mod, 10 min fast, repeat 2 times |
| Day 21 | 15 min mod | 45 min mod |
Thoughts From Love Life Be Fit
Keep with the program and at the end of 3 weeks you should notice a big difference to your energy levels and hopefully, your clothing will feel a little looser! Expect to lose about 6 pounds, especially if you’re making healthy changes to your diet.
During the first week or two you may not notice any pounds lost on the scale. Don’t panic. You could be retaining fluid because of the impact of exercising when your body’s not used to it or you may be building muscle. Find out more about why you’re not losing weight walking!
Don’t stop at the end of this walking plan for fat loss! Keep the momentum going. Try our 28 Day walking Plan For Weight Loss or our 9-Week Fat Buster Walking Plan. You can even create your own program with tips from our extensive guides for walking for weight loss.