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Walking To Lose Weight

By Matt Lisk

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 26Dec2008
Word count: 652
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To say that aerobics is good for you is stating the obvious. What is not so obvious is that aerobics does not need to involve learning a workout routine from books or videos, forcing yourself to run or jog when you hate the idea or spending on an expensive cycle or gym membership. One of the easiest and best forms of aerobic exercise is plain and simple walking. It is also a great way to lose weight.

Walking for fat loss is something you can do on our own, with friends, while listening to music or just to be alone with your thoughts. Research has proved that a rhythmic walk will enable your mind to function in a clearer and more focused manner.

Walking is the most natural form of body movement and involves the least chance of strain or injury. No special skills or learning is required - its something you have been doing since you were a baby.

Even if you are obese, there is no preparation or conditioning you need to do. Just start walking. The heavier you are the more energy you need for each step and the more fat you burn. In a funny kind of way, that means that the more overweight you are the more benefit you derive in terms of fat loss from walking.

One pound of body fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. That means that over a period of 7 days, if you burn up 3500 calories more that the total amount you have consumed in that week, you will lose one pound. You should not expect miracles in terms of fat loss from walking. But with a balanced diet and regular walking, you can expect to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week which is not bad at all.

The energy used in walking can be calculated as your weight multiplied by the distance you cover. While the distance you walk is more important that your speed, the rule of the thumb is a brisk walk will result in more fat loss than a slow walk. The best way to begin is to first slowly increase the distance. Suppose you can spare one hour a day for your plan to lose weight. Start by walking for 15 minutes, or whatever time you are comfortable with. Slowly build it up to a full one hour walk without increasing your speed. Once you are walking for the full time, slowly start increasing your speed so you cover a greater distance in the same time. While the amount of fat loss will vary from person to person, a very general estimate is that a 180 pound person will burn 100 calories per mile walking at a normal pace and more if the speed is higher.

You don't have to walk for an hour a day to lose weight, although this is a good time. Even 30 minutes a day will produce results. Don't expect your belly fat to melt away suddenly. Walking will result in fat loss allover the body, including the abdomen.

Walking is aerobic because it increases your heart and metabolic rates. The faster your metabolism, the more fat it burns. And your metabolic rate will not slow down immediately after your finish your walk. It wills stay elevated for some hours, allowing your body to keep burning higher amounts of fat.

Walking to lose weight does not have to be limited to only a fixed daily walk. Any walking you do is good for you and increases your fat loss. Besides the daily walk, think of walking short distances to places you would normally drive. If you need to go to the second or third floor of a building, why not take the stairs instead of the elevator? Small things like this can add significantly to the total amount of walking you do and the total amount of fat loss.

Matt Lisk is a fat loss expert who has used his knowledge to lose over 80 pounds of body fat, reduce his body fat percentage to under 10% and to resolve a variety of health issues he was experiencing. He is the author of Lean State University's Fat Loss 101 Newsletter.

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