subject: How to Walk Your Way to Your Right Size [print this page] How to Walk Your Way to Your Right Size How to Walk Your Way to Your Right Size
If you're looking for a low impact form of exercise for weight loss then it's time to hit the pavement. Walking offers an excellent way to help the body get to its right size while providing conditioning for the heart and the lungs.
Exercise is an important component of any weight loss plan and walking is something most people can do regardless of their fitness level. It's also an effective means of controlling your weight once you get to your right size and it's the type of exercise that can maintain your health for years to come.
It's common for people to sometimes brush aside walking as a way to shed pounds. Instead they choose an exercise they believe will burn more calories. But what ends up happening is after a few weeks of performing the chosen exercise they often feel disappointed with the lack of results they're seeing in their bodies. Losing weight and keeping it off permanently isn't just about burning as many calories as possible during exercise. It takes time to lose weight. In fact fast weight loss is not usually healthy and is rarely effective over a long-term basis.
Burning Fat Directly by Walking:
Burning calories is important but it's not the only thing that matters, especially when you're just starting out. To lose excess fat from your body walking wins top marks, as it's a lighter and gentler form of physical fitness whereby it assists fat in being burned directly.
Another reason walking can be instrumental in permanent weight loss is because it helps the individual to slowly and gradually over time build up their fitness level. In other words, it can be the precursor for other forms of exercise that'll help the body to burn larger numbers of calories and speed up the rate at which weight loss occurs.
When you walk at a moderate pace (not speed walking but just regular walking speed) for a period of 20 30 minutes at a time stored fat in your body is burned. The walking action also builds muscle and speeds up the body's rate of metabolism. Walking has been shown to help reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke and colon cancer.
When you're just starting out on your walking regime it's wise to work on the amount of distance you walk before you worry about your pace. Speed is secondary for novice walkers. Concentrate on developing a schedule and a rhythm and mapping out different walking routes to keep your routines interesting and motivating. A rule of thumb is that an individual who weighs in the range of 180 pounds should burn an estimated 100 calories for every mile walked.
Weight and Calories:
Do you know how many calories make up a pound of fat? The answer is 3500.
What that means is to burn off a pound of fat in a week more or less you'll need to burn off 3500 more calories than you consume in the foods you eat on a weekly basis. You can do this by exercising more, by eating less or by doing a little of both.
In fact for more effective weight loss combining the two is highly recommended. You want to be both sensible and safe when you begin a weight loss program. For that reason a realistic and healthy goal for shedding pounds is to aim for one to two lbs of weight loss per week.
Positive Benefits of Walking:
Besides the reduction in health risks, walking boasts an assortment of other health benefits. These include:
Higher percentage of body fat is burned by the action of walking
Improves energy levels
Increase a person's health and fitness
Relaxing and rejuvenating to the body and mind
Excellent stress buster
Walking helps to burn fat effectively because it's done at a steady and consistent pace. You can walk faster and then slower and do interval training in this way but what is significant about walking is that it helps the body to get in, and stay in, fat-burning mode the entire time the exercise is being performed. This in turn makes permanent weight loss a more attainable goal.
Make walking a part of your everyday life and do what you can to enjoy your walks. Walk at whatever time of day is most convenient and most purposeful for you. Remember too that walking can be used as a jumping off point to other types of physical activities. Combine your walking time with eating a healthy diet and taking care of yourself in the absolute best way possible. Before you know it the pounds will begin to disappear and you will be amazed at how good you feel, not to mention look!
