Walking to Lose Weight
Walking to lose weight is basically moving your body using your legs. It is a convenient workout that can enable you to get rid of unwanted weight and it will conveniently assist you in reaching your targets of losing weight. It is an enjoyable and safe kind of workout, and a lot of people actually stick to a walking as a way of losing weight in the long term – and this is very important for healthy weight maintenance.
Walking to lose weight helps in the maintenance and development of muscles while burning calories. And since muscle has a higher metabolic rate compared to
fat, it follows that the more muscles the less fat in you, meaning more calories are burnt even when you are at rest.
Set Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals and understanding the basics of weight loss is really the key to losing weight. People who are considered obese or overweight can also
walk to lose weight because these people exert more effort and energy to walk than those individuals of much lower weight. Even if your goal is not to lose
weight, walking provides healthful benefits to the body by improving the lungs and heart.
For those who are just beginning to lose weight by walking, can start by walking for at least 15 to 20 minutes 3 times a week and slowly adding the
duration and frequency until they are walking from 30 to 60 minutes each day.
Add Some Resistance
Adding resistance training to your walking routines, such as walking with ankle or arm weights, can help you stay toned and at the same time lose weight.
Walking builds and tones leg muscles, hips, and buttocks. Walking also improves the endurance and strength of these muscles, allowing you to accomplish
more without getting tired easily. Keep in mind though that stretching your muscles before and after walking is important to prevent injury and improve the
body’s flexibility.
Walking also builds aerobic ability and strengthens another muscle: your heart. With higher aerobic capability, more oxygen is brought to the body enabling
you to maintain longer exercises strengthening your muscles. Walking at least 30 minutes three times a week is required for aerobic conditioning to be
effective.
Guidelines
The following are some guidelines to walking for weight loss, including important steps that you should take to lose weight safely, effectively, and steadily:
Keep a record of what you eat and drink to be conscious of what, how much, and the frequency of your eating and drinking throughout the day and keeping a
track of them.
Measure the distance you have walked. This allows you to make comparisons of different routes to take and which one will help you increase the distance gradually. You can use a pedometer to make it easier for you to know the speed and distance of your walks.
Keep Track of Things
Keep a log that records your progress as you add more to the distance and speed of walking. The usual items you can put in your log book are Date, Time,
Distance, Speed (distance divided by time in minutes multiplied by 60), Amount of calories burned, and Weight.
Set a realistic goal to be able to keep motivated in achieving your desired results.
Let your family and friends know that you are walking to lose weight and share with them your goal, progress, and achievements. Having their support is
another way to get the motivation to keep going until you reach your weight loss goal.
When is The Best Time to Start?
So how do you when is the best time to start walking for weight loss? This is a common question to a lot of individuals and the most popular answer is that
walking should be done in the morning to be effective. There are many different suggestions and opinions, but the bottom line is that the best time to start is
when you are ready and you know that it is right for you. Check out the list below to help you get more effective results on your walking exercise especially if
you are just a beginner:
Get Good Quality Shoes
Shop for good quality walking shoes that will support your feet, knees, hips, and spine. Walking shoes can provide you the needed support and offers
flexibility than other types of shoes. Investing in good quality walking shoes will make sure that you are comfortable and free from pain or blisters or both.
For this reason, you will be able to walk easier and allow you to increase the duration of your walks. Make sure to buy shoes with a proper fit and allow
sufficient room for the toes to wiggle. And always wear athletic socks for added protection.
Try walking down a driveway or path walk for 10 minutes when you begin walking. Increase the duration of your walk gradually by 5 minutes as soon as you
know you can do it. The amount of time you give for walking and the frequency of your walking really depends on you.
Stand up straight by keeping your hips aligned with the upper body. Bending at your hips and hunching over will develop a bad posture. Good posture helps to
make breathing easy and doesn’t put stress on the neck, shoulders, and back. It is recommended to look straight ahead of you than looking at your feet or the
ground.
Relax Your Arms
Your arms should be relaxed when you walk. However, if you do swing your arms, keep your elbows at 90? at your sides and countering it with your legs,
meaning if you move your right leg, you then have to move your left arm. Swing your arms naturally back and forth to add intensity to your walking.
If you are just starting out, avoid using hand weights for walking for these are reserved for more experienced walkers. These weights can increase your heart
rate and develop muscles, but for the beginners, they might cause injury and pain to the wrists and arms. Concentrate on walking faster or longer instead during
the first stages of your walking rather than on putting additional weight load on your body.
Buying a pedometer is essential for keeping track of your speed and progress while walking.
Pace Yourself
If you are ready, try walking briskly or a little faster than you normally do at the beginning of your walking routine. This helps lessen the stress on your joints
especially if you are overweight. Speeding up to an established pace can help in raising the metabolism and burning fat.
Increase your walking time gradually until you can do 30 to 60 minutes each day.
Have A Backup Plan
Always have a backup plan like walking around the mall just in case the weather gets bad and prevent you from doing your usual walking routine.
It doesn’t matter if you just want to walk towards the end of the street or plan a 30-minute walk, these tips can be handy so you can do it right. They are very
simple and easy to follow for an effective walking to lose weight routine.
Losing weight requires burning more calories than you eat each day. In walking for weight loss, the number of calories burned will be determined by the
distance that you walk and your weight. To get the most effective results your walking routine must start from moderate and gradually increasing it to a more
intense level. The more vigorous the exercise and the longer you do it, the more calories burned which result in weight loss.
