Walking for Weight Loss. Does it help or not?

Does walking help in weight loss? This question is asked so many times. Walking or any sort of physical activity is always helpful for human body.

Walking can help in many ways but many researchers show continuous walking can help in weight loss and weight management.

Walking also helps in keeping you away from many diseases. Walking makes you feel good by improving your mood. You become more energetic, positive and internally happy.

So in this article, we will mainly talk about walking benefits on weight loss. Here we go:

Walking increases metabolic rate and help you in burning extra calories.

Walking increases metabolic rate and more you walk more calories you will burn.

You need to be regular at walking. Walking regularly will help in burning more calories. This is well-known fact that you need to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. So more calories you burn more will be the effect on weight loss. There are so many studies which say that walking helps in weight loss.

People these days are very busy in their day to day life and those who are doing office job have to sit 8-9 hours regularly. This type of lifestyle where you are sitting 8-9 hours on the job and don’t get time for any physical activity leads to weight gain issues. So getting 30-45 minutes regular walking in morning or evening will help a lot.

Some other form of physical activities like outdoor games to name a few football, tennis, dancing, running, the gym also helps in weight loss but most of the people are not regular at the gym or in any sort of outdoor activities. Walking is the easiest form of exercise and one can easily adapt it to a daily routine. Walking uphill and walking long step will have added benefits.

Best tips When You are walking for Weight Loss

You need to keep in mind few important things before you start walking for weight loss. These few small but important points will improve your walking and you will see significant weight loss. So here are some points to help you make walking fun and more easy and effective:

Choose the Right Pair of Shoes to Get Maximum Benefits

Choose the right type of shoes so you feel comfortable to walk. When you don’t have the right pair of shoes for walking which makes you comfortable, you will end up running less and will feel tired and restless very soon. So shoes which are lightweight,  low-heeled, have flexible soles and stiff heel are good to go. They will improve your performance.

Drink Green Tea Regularly

Studies have shown that green tea helps in weight loss when taken after any sort of exercise. So green tea combined with walking will help you lose more weight. There are so many studies which prove green tea benefits for weight loss when combined with any sort of physical activity. Green tea contains caffeine which acts as a stimulant for the fat burning process.

There is a very low content of caffeine in green tea but enough to stimulate the fat burning process. Green tea also improves exercise performance and that is proved in many studies.

Find a Walking Buddy Who Can Go Walking with You

Find someone who can provide moral support to you. Go walking with a friend who inspires and support you in your weight loss goals.

Go Walking before Morning Breakfast

Hit the ground before you eat something or take your morning breakfast. When you do walking without eating anything, you burn calories stored inside your belly. It helps you burn stubborn belly fat. So you will end up burning more calories stored in your body and will lose significant weight. Also, eat protein-rich and low carb breakfast so you don’t eat more calories from your breakfast.

Walk Briskly with Long Steps

Walk as you are late for something. Walk with long steps and as quick as possible. This will help in burning more calories and you will notice a difference soon. This will also help you protect against heart diseases and will make you feel better.

Increase Daily Water Intake.

Increased water intake combined with any sort of physical activity like running, walking help in burning more calories. Water helps you increase metabolic rate when paired with running. So increase your water intake to at least 2 liters per day so you gain more benefit from your regular running.

Do More Incidental Walking

Look for the things that you can do without using a vehicle. Going to a friends home or a shop nearby, go walking without any vehicle. Use stairs instead of a lift. Indulge in small activities which involve walking like using public transport system than your own vehicle for office and other normal activities.

This way you will cover some distance by walking to reach bus stops. So anytime you see walking opportunity, it gives you a chance to lose that stubborn belly fat which makes you look bad.

Walk Up the Hill

When you walk uphill you add more resistance to your walking. Same way you use incline option on your treadmill in a gym.  This way you increase your heart rate and so increase the metabolic rate.

Increase in metabolic rate burn more calories and you end up losing more weight. So whenever you get a chance to walk uphill, you must cash this opportunity because you want to look better and to become healthier.

Don’t Eat More Calories than You Burn with Walking

You will not lose weight if you will eat more calories than you burned. So chose your diet wisely. Don’t eat outside stuff mainly soft drinks, pizza, burgers, fried items like chips, salted items, and any processed food item. They contain high calories because soft drinks and processed items contain added sugar in them.

Similarly, fried items and salty item also contain the high amount of calories so avoid these items as well. Stock up your store with healthy foods like veggies, salads, nuts, fruits etc. Go for protein rich diet like eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, pulses, legumes etc. Protein-rich diet has low calories and increases metabolism. You can use nuts like cashews, almonds, walnuts, water-rich fruits as healthy snacks alternative.

Let’s Discuss Some More Benefits of Walking

Preserve Lean Muscle

Walking makes weight loss process easier by preventing muscle mass loss. Walking helps in preventing muscle loss and thus it does not slow down the metabolic rate that generally happens during weight loss. So you keep burning calories at a good rate and process remain easy with walking.

Improves Your Sleep

Do you have a sleep problem, then walking can help. People who don’t get enough sleep tend to gain weight. Studies show that walking improves sleep. Walking help you make stress free and you feel better in your day to day life.

Your body and mind remain healthy and this feel-good factor of stress-free life make you sleep better. So walking help you fight sleep problem and make you active and more energetic at work.

It Improves Your Mood

Walking or any sort of exercise helps you make stress free and improves your mood. When you exercise, a feel-good hormone is released into your brain. So walking 30 minutes a day will help you keep stress free, makes your heart healthy and improves your mood.

Walking has also shown results in a decrease in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and memory loss. It helps increase longevity in older people.

Helps You Maintain Weight

When you lose weight, chances are high you may regain that weight. So here comes the weight management. Many people see the reverse process of gaining weight after losing it fast. So exercise or walking is very helpful in keeping weight off.

Walking helps in burning more calories regularly and also keep your metabolism at a good rate. So if you are doing 30 minutes walking regularly, you can control weight easily.  A study shows that to maintain a healthy weight, one m, must walk 150-200 minutes per week,

There are so many studies which show that people who exercise or walk regularly remain successful at managing weight other than those who don’t do any sort of exercise or walking.

Walking can be Done Anywhere and Doesn’t Require Equipment

Walking is like a gift for you. You don’t need to hit the gym for walking. You can do it without any equipment and without paying any fee. You can go walking any time according to your schedule.

Walking is the best option for people who are busy and can’t go gym daily. Walking is the best option for people who cannot afford gym and fitness classes.

How to Incorporate More Walking Into Your Lifestyle

Now we know walking has so many benefits at every stage of life. So now the question is how to incorporate more walking into your day to day life. The recommended walking per week is at least 150 minutes that makes 20 minutes each day walking for 7 days a week or 30 minutes for 5 days a week.

Here are some ideas which can be helpful to incorporate more walking into your lifestyle:

1)    Use stairs whenever you get a chance. Try avoiding lifts to increase walking habits.

2)    Don’t use vehicles for small works like going to friend’s home, nearby market etc.

3)    Use public transport instead of using a personal vehicle. You will get a chance to walk from office to bus stop and bus stop to home.

4)    Indulge your dog in your exercise or walking routine can make weight loss fun

5)    Make friends who can go walking with you.

6)    Take a brisk walk after lunch and dinner.

Walking to Lose Weight: How Much Do We Need to Do?

So how much walking is required if you are looking to lose weight? This question depends on so many factors like your body weight, sleep pattern, work pattern and your diet to name a few. General recommendations are doing 150 minutes of walking per week. Which come out 30 minutes per day for 5 days a week.

So you should give at least 30 minutes per day if you are looking to lose weight with the help of walking. So Doing a little math how much calories you take per day and how much you are burning will help you understand your walking requirement. Eat fewer calories than you burn if you are seriously looking to see weight loss results.

Walking is a good way to keep you fit and healthy. You can manage as well as lose weight with regular walking. Control your calorie intake and start walking 30 minutes a day to get your fitness back.

30 minutes a day can change your life, so start walking today to make yourself beautiful and more energetic.

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