Walking To Lose Weight
By Scott Soloff
Physical activity is essential in a complete weight loss program. You get to achieve at least two benefits. Exercise will help to tone flabby muscles and you also get to burn calories. The best activity to burn fat is aerobic exercise. One of the best ways to get an aerobic workout is by walking.
Walking is the easiest and most effect form of aerobic activity. The nice thing about walking is that it is low impact and available to almost everyone. There is just a little bit more to walking than placing one food in front of the other.
The first thing to know is you need to increase the speed while walking. This is because of how the body draws on the stored fat as opposed to other stored energy sources. Normally, when working out, 30 minutes of exercise is sufficient for burning fat. When you walk it should be a minimum of 45 minutes. Ideally, you should increase this to an hour over time.
At first you may think that you are too busy to walk an hour everyday. The secret to this is to start your day out with a walking regimen. Yes, it does mean getting up earlier. The results are worth the effort. Besides losing weight, you will begin to feel better with increased energy levels.
A leisurely stroll will not give you the aerobic workout that your body requires. Kick it up a bit and at the same time do not over do it. The rule of thumb is that if you can not talk and walk at the same time, you are over doing it.
Weight to a large extent is determined by the balance of calories. That is, how many calories you burn versus how many you consume. Losing weight is largely a matter of either increasing your activity to burn more calories or eating less calories, or both.
One pound of fat is the equivalent to approximately 3,500 calories. In order to lose a pound per week you need to expend 3,500 more calories than you eat in that week. As mentioned above, this can be either through increased activity, decreased eating, or ideally-both. A sensible goal is to lose between 1 to 2 pounds of fat per week.
Approach your walking regimen in the following manner. Increase the amount of miles you walk over time. Focus your training by increasing the distance before you increase your speed. Walk a minimum of five days per week. The calories that you burn by walking a few extra minutes far outweigh any other changes that you implement.
One last thing. Walking outside is preferable to walking inside. However, if the weather does not permit, a treadmill is helpful, and useful, until the weather improves.
Walking an hour per day is also associated with other health benefits. Walking helps cut the risk of heart disease, breast and colon cancer, stroke and diabetes. Taking this into consideration it is worth the effort to include a walking program into your busy day.
Approach your walking regimen in the following manner. Increase the amount of miles you walk over time. Focus your training by increasing the distance before you increase your speed. Walk a minimum of five days per week. The calories that you burn by walking a few extra minutes far outweigh any other changes that you implement.
About the Author: Scott Soloff is the publisher of
http://www.natural-remedy-dot-com.com/fatburnerreviews/herbal_fat_burners.html where he provides additional advice, tips and hard to find information on Weight Loss. Sign up for my free ecourse: 10 Steps To Lose Weight Without Dieting.
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