walking to lose weight

It is a generally well accepted fact that exercise burns calories and can improve the overall health of the body and mind. Most of us also recognize that walking is one of the simplest and most effective exercises for weight loss and health. What many people don’t realize is that they may not get the most effective returns on their efforts. It really only requires a little tweaking of a simple walking program to make it more effective as a weight loss program.

Many experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of sustained physical activity every day for health. However, 30 minutes of walking a day, while it may initially cause welcome and valuable weight loss for an overweight person, will often not be the final answer. Initial weight loss results may not be sustained as the body adapts and learns to accept the new demands placed on it.

Rest assured, walking (or engaging in other activities) for a sustained 30 minutes a day WILL RESULT in better health, increased energy and well-being, plus SOME weight loss. However, anyone seriously overweight probably won’t achieve the permanent, sustained weight loss they’re looking for in just 30 minutes a day.

It’s a matter of time.

Due to the way the body uses stored fat vs. other stored energy reserves, the first and most valuable step once you’ve gotten into the habit of walking will be to increase the amount of time you’re engaged in activity. Forty-five minutes is better than 30, and 60 is better than 45 minutes.

It is true that walking an hour a day, six or seven times a week can be difficult for some to fit into their schedules. However, simply increasing your activity time to 45 to 60 minutes two to three times a week will produce greater weight loss than keeping all walking to 30 minutes.

Another technique is to increase the speed with which you walk on days that you do not walk more than 30 minutes. This also has the benefit of conditioning the body in a slightly different way than longer, slower-paced walks. Remember, no walk should present extreme shortness of breath. A general rule of thumb is that if you can’t talk or walk, you’re trying to go too fast or too far. Always slowly build up to new levels of effort.

You may also consider adding resistance training, such as with free weights, or equipment such as the Bowflex or Total Gym, or similar exercise equipment. This builds muscle tissue that will burn more calories even at rest. Also, walking exercises only certain muscles and muscle groups. A resistance training program can be used to train muscle groups not usually involved in walking.

While long walks of 45 and 60 minutes will be somewhat more effective if done at the same time, two 30-minute walks in one day will be more beneficial for fitness and weight loss than just one. In fact, many experts recommend getting a pedometer and just trying to make sure you take 10,000 steps every day.

I would like to take a moment to talk about walking vs. running as a weight loss program.

Certainly, if you train to the point where you can run certain distances at certain times, you will almost certainly experience great weight loss if that’s what your body needs. However, you can be as fit as a walking runner with much less danger of injury. A beginning walker in particular is more likely to experience less discomfort during and after a period of exercise than a beginning runner.

Once you’ve built muscle and stamina, you may want to move on to a running program. Also, at the start of any exercise program, whether for weight loss or fitness improvement, the extreme demands on the body and on physical, mental, and motivational resources can cause the program to be abandoned. It is generally easier to transition to a permanent walking program from a sedentary lifestyle than to a running program.

One last argument for at least starting a walking program is that you can sneak into a walking program without any special equipment or preparation, and no one but you needs to know that the shopping trip to the mall was actually your secret walk from the mall. day. . My mother is turning 90 this year. She often drives to a nearby store and shops for a while, putting things in her basket as she walks through the store. She then walks around the store a bit more and puts everything back. That way, she joins the walk, the cart stabilizes her, and she has to reach, stretch, lift, and stoop in a safe, comfortable, and air-conditioned environment. It’s an added bonus that my son-in-law is one of the managers of that store.

There’s an old saying that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step…the same goes for a successful weight loss program.