How much is too much?

Question
I want to step up my walking to everyday, but I'd like to burn a set amount of calories. I use a Sunnto training watch that monitors my heart rate and calories burned. I'd like to burn at least 2,000 calories a day in exercise. Walking at least 8 miles at a moderate pace (about a 16-15 minute mile is what I've worked up to) burns about 1800 calories for me. If I did this everyday--would that be considered over training? Someone told me that I should only walk 4 miles--but I feel that's too little. Is it safe to attempt to walk everyday at least 8 miles?

Answer
First of all, you did not give any background info, so it is hard to talk about your personal situation. I'm also not sure where you came up with the goal of 2,000 calories per day. That is about how many calories an elite marathon runner trains per day. Eight miles per day of walking would typically not burn that many calories by itself. I'm not sure how your training watch comes up with 1,800 calories for 8 miles of walking.

However, taking over two hours to walk 8 miles every day is no small undertaking, and your body needs time to adapt to such a workload. If you are sure you want to do this, be sure to build up the mileage and pace gradually. Increasing weekly mileage by no more than 10% per week is a good guideline. Otherwise, you risk injury.

All 2,000 calories do not have to be burned by walking. You could broaden your exercise program to include many types of exercise in addition to walking. Weight lifting and stretching are two other components of a well-rounded exercise program.

In the final analysis, you certainly don't have to exercise 2,000 calories a day to be healthy. I applaud your enthusiasm for exercise, but a more moderate approach might work better for you.