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Which Exercise Burns More Calories: Brisk Walking or Grocery Shopping?

If you're looking for a way to burn calories to lose fat but don't have access to a gym, consider simple, everyday methods of exercising. You don't need a treadmill or stationary bicycle to burn calories; you can burn calories through activities you're likely doing on a regular basis, including walking and shopping for groceries.

  1. Burning Calories

    • The key to losing fat is burning more calories than you consume through a combination of exercise and a healthy diet. A pound of fat is roughly equal to 3,500 calories; therefore, you must burn 3,500 calories more than you consume to lose a pound. Burning this many calories in a short period of time is all but impossible, so MayoClinic.com recommends trying to burn 500 extra calories each day of the week to lose a pound per week.

    Brisk Walking

    • Despite its simplicity, walking at a brisk pace is an effective way to burn calories to maintain a healthy body. The definition of brisk walking varies among people according to such factors as age and mobility, but the Wisconsin Department of Health Services considers 4 miles per hour to be a very brisk pace. A 185-pound person who walks for 30 minutes at a pace of 4 mph will burn about 200 calories, according to Harvard Medical School.

    Grocery Shopping

    • You might be too busy consulting your shopping list and scanning the aisles for items on sale to consider grocery shopping as a type of exercise, but don't be too quick to discount this simple activity. You won't burn quite as many calories grocery shopping as you would walking at a brisk pace, but a 185-pound person will still burn 155 calories in 30 minutes of shopping while pushing a cart.

    Exercise

    • Whether you're walking at a brisk pace or pushing a loaded shopping cart around the supermarket, getting regular exercise is important. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week to keep healthy. The recommended 150 minutes breaks down to less than 25 minutes of exercise per day, provided you work out seven days a week.

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