Walking To Lose Weight
Can walking help a person lose weight? There is conflicting information about whether or not walking can help a person lose weight. Any exercise is better than none and will not only help with weight loss efforts, but will also help a person attain better health and more stamina.
The Naysayers
There are people who are negative about the benefits of walking to lose weight. A fitness center I once belonged to (for a very short time) told me I would never lose any weight by walking because it wouldn’t get my heart rate up high enough to burn any fat. While I understand that going for a slow leisurely stroll every night was not going to burn lots of calories, I was also disappointed to have the fitness center owners be so negative about one of my activity choices. At the time I was very out of shape and any activity at all should have been encouraged.
Walking is a great activity for people who are out of shape and need to start exercising slowly. Walking can be done slowly to start, for short periods, with the intensity and duration being built up over time.
So, while leisurely walking may not burn lots of fat and calories, the exercise is still good for you. Remember, any exercise is better than none. But, make sure to check with your doctor or health professional before starting any exercise regime, even walking, especially if you have been very sedentary and inactive for a long time.
Yes, Walking Is Great
Walking is an exercise recommended by almost any health or weight loss expert. It can be done almost anywhere. No fancy equipment is needed (if it’s raining wear a raincoat; if it’s cold and snowing wear boots and bundle up; if it’s storming find an indoor area to walk, or have an indoor walking video at home to use on those days; if it’s dark walk in a safe well lit area; if you don’t feel safe walking after dark outdoors find an indoor area, use the indoor walking video, or look for an inexpensive used treadmill). And people from beginner to advanced can safely partake in it.
Walking is a great cardio exercise and is great for your heart and overall well-being. Combining it with weight training exercise and a reduced calorie diet will help you reach your weight loss goals.
If you really want to kick your walking routine into high gear though, try power walking or try one of the walking plans that includes intervals of higher intensity walking and/or exercise moves to do during the walks to boost the number of calories burned. To find some plans to review, go online and type in any of the following search terms: power walking, walking plan, fitness walking.
And, remember that more exercise and walking is something you can incorporate into your daily routine. For example, when shopping, pick the most outlying parking spot so you have farther to walk to and from the store. Take the steps instead of the elevator whenever possible. If you work, take a couple of five minute walking breaks a few times a day.
And to make daily walks more fun and to keep you more motivated, encourage your family to walk with you or find a walking buddy.
Dorrie Ruplinger
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/walking-to-lose-weight-72883.html
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October 18, 2009 - 8:41 am
Can a person lose weight just by walking?
I read this book about walking to lose weight. I walk all the time and never seem to lose any. Can someone help me lose some weight here? I need to drop about 50 pounds to really be happy with myself.
October 18, 2009 - 1:43 pm
walking burns calories. just slow…
diet and exercise….
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October 18, 2009 - 1:45 pm
yes, as long as you decrease your calorie intake so you are burning more than you are consuming
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October 18, 2009 - 1:47 pm
actually yes you can. It has to do with how far and how much energy you put it into. Course if you modify your diet it will help to.
I lost around 15lbs in 2 months walking.
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October 18, 2009 - 1:49 pm
I think you need to walk at least 2-3 hours a day and keep a relatively low diet to acheive some weight lost.
The key is still output vs input.
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October 18, 2009 - 1:51 pm
You can lose weight pretty fast by "walking fast" for a quarter mile, then jogging a quarter mile.
Do this, alternating speed for 3 to 5 miles per day… you’ll drop fast!
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October 18, 2009 - 1:53 pm
I eat right, walk, and loose weight. So I guess it can be done, but 50lbs? that I’m not sure about. Good luck!
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October 18, 2009 - 1:55 pm
yes you can lose weight just walking, it should be for at least 30 mins a day, even if you have to break it up into 10 min segments. but,… and there is always a but you have to cut back on your caloric intake, eat less but more gratifiying fulling foods, high in fiber and drink plenty of WATER not just fluids but WATER. 64 oz’s per day.
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October 18, 2009 - 1:57 pm
walk fasta
and fasta
and fater
and a little faster
and b4 u know it ur walking pretty fast.
and while ur walking dont eat
so if never stop walking u never eat
and u get skinny
d
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October 18, 2009 - 1:59 pm
yes. but you need to walk at a very brisk pace (fast) and keep your arms moving! i guess you could call this power walking. but you would need to do this very frequently and stay on a good diet. it is probably almost impossible to lose weight just by walking if you are not watching what you eat. always remember this, "burn more than you take in"
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October 18, 2009 - 2:01 pm
Yes.
Did you know that (Maybe this can motivates you more);
1-5 minutes walk
Causes your heartbeat increase from 70 to 100 times per minute, your blood flows more faster and your muscle starts to feel a little hot. If you continue walking more than 5 minutes, your body will burn 5 calories per minute instead of just 1 calorie in a time you relax.
6-10 minutes walk
Your heartbeat increase from 100 to 140 times per minute. The burnt calories increase become 6 calories per minute and the blood pressure got a little bit higher. This will make more bloods and oxygens flow especially to move the muscle.
You can read here for more informations on benefits of walking due to its time spent;
http://healthydiettips.blogspot.com/2006/10/tips-8-walk-and-diet.html
It should go together with healthy diet. Eat healthy, watch your food! Drink water a lot. And be patience. It needs time and effort!
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October 18, 2009 - 2:03 pm
If you are serious about losing weight, the calories
in the food you eat should be less than the
energy you use. You will have to increase your
metabolic rate now, and plan your diet carefully.
Formulate your own weight loss plan and you will
lose weight faster. More details available at
http://tinyurl.com/m7ckx
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October 18, 2009 - 2:05 pm
The only thing it did for me was improve my cardiovascular. When I was first trying to lose weight I used to alternate walking and jogging on a treadmill. Walking alone is considered a moderate form of exercise and to me only gives minimal results. My suggestion is to incorporate weights with aerobics.
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October 18, 2009 - 2:07 pm
Walking helps you shift your attitude toward health, fitness, and weight loss.Take a year to move through the following 3 steps to make gradual but positive lifestyle changes.
Walk : weight loss
1. Just get out there and walk a little. Build a daily habit. Let’s call it being active. Don’t think about changing clothes, going to a gym, jumping around for an hour, or changing clothes.
Just take a short walk to the bus stop, the corner mailbox, or the convenience store for a gallon of milk. Find ways to add an extra 2,000 steps into your daily routine.
Buy and wear a pedometer to measure your steps. A 20-minute walk is about 120 steps per minute, or 2,400 steps. You can break that up into 3 walks of 800 steps each.
How far you walk or how fast you walk aren’t important. It’s simply walking in short spurts most days of the week. Be careful. Once you start paying attention to walking, you’ll want to walk farther.
Add a simple 4-minute stretch routine a few days a week after your walk to maintain your natural range of motion. Just stand up, even if you’re at work fully dressed in work clothes. Put one leg back, bend the front knee, and lean forward to stretch the calf muscle. For thighs, grab your ankle from behind, keep your knees close together. Lean forward to stretch your lower back.
Eventually add a simple 2-minute warm-up before you walk: Hold on to a railing for balance and circle your ankle, one leg at a time. Then swing each leg, forward and back. Put your hands on your hips for a circular trunk rotation. This gets the blood flowing and leaves your muscles less prone to injury.
Goal: You’ll realize you don’t have to hurt to feel better. After a walk, you’ll feel invigorated and happy.
2. Walk longer, build strength. Start increasing your walking distance, and you’ll begin to see weight loss. During this second phase, increasing distance means increasing time to 45-60 minutes 2 days a week.
Walking for weight loss
You can cover serious distance in an hour of walking and walk even longer on weekends. Build up to a half-day or day-long hike. This increase in duration increases weight loss, burns more calories, and builds strength as you get off the beaten path and hike up and down hills on a challenging course.
Hike 2 miles somewhere and back at a brisk pace. Ask at any outdoor shop about the best places to hike, such as conservation land, state parks, a waterfront, or rail trail. Go for a full-day trek through a bird sanctuary, take a picnic to a waterfall, or go on an organized hike with a group.
When the weather outside is frightful, many people turn to treadmills. Admittedly, treadmills are boring, but spice up a complete treadmill workout by using elevation to give the sense of a trail. You don’t have to follow the preprogrammed courses. Create your own interval training with hills. Make it a mental game. Life isn’t automated, and your treadmill workout shouldn’t be either. Ascend and descend by varying your elevations and speeds.
Pick 5 of your favorite CDs for your portable Walkman – classical, country, rock and roll, even rap. Hit random play, and whatever song comes up, go that tempo. Start and end with an easy one. Put a fan in front of the treadmill to create natural cooling from the wind you’d normally get on a trail.
Keep an activity log. Noting your daily activity is a great motivator, especially when you see those miles start to build up. Tally your daily, weekly, and monthly totals. You’ll hate to write down “0” for any day.
Goal: Walk vigorously for a longer period of time twice a week. If you don’t see dramatic weight loss, it may be because you are building muscle.
3. Walk faster and seek variety. In this 16-week segment, you’ll find the athlete within. Speed up your walking and you’ll see total body fitness improvements. A couple days a week, go fast enough to break a sweat and breathe hard.
walk for weight loss
Use the 1-to-10 scale of perceived rate of exertion to measure endurance. Think of 1 as watching TV; 10 is sucking air (you can’t go any farther). Daily walks, for example, are 5 or even 6-6.5 sometimes. Twice a week, crank it up to 7, 8, or 9 on a steep hill for a few minutes. Now you’re burning serious calories and building real aerobic fitness through interval training.
Need variety? Complement your walking with a counterbalancing exercise such as martial arts, yoga, water aerobics, or a court sport like tennis.
Goal: Walk in a 5K or 10K event such as a corporate cup run/walk, a fund-raising race for the cure, or other organized community activity.
How to measure progress: Other than simply feeling great and watching the scale, you can actually measure what fitness walking is doing for your body. Before you begin your activity program, have your doctor check your cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose (high levels can be a sign of early or undiagnosed diabetes), and your body mass index. BMI is a number that reflects your height-to-weight ratio (simply take your weight in pounds, multiply by 703 and divide by your height in inches squared—keep this number under 25 for optimal health).
Measure again at 26 and 52 weeks. You’ll see marked improvements, but not necessarily on the scale. You may be turning fat into muscle, which weighs more than fat. The best measure is how you feel—about yourself.
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