Today in this post, I’m going to show you how you could start losing weight by walking. Yes, it can be that easy!
Most people turn away at the idea of using walking as the primary form of cardio for weight loss. Running and other cardio options can be more time efficient, but walking has a lot of benefits towards your health and weight loss journey that aren’t highlighted enough for beginners.
In this simple to follow and comprehensive guide I’m going to show you that it really possible that you can lose weight walking.
Why walking is a great option.
And of course how to lose weight by walking.
Overview
Can you lose weight by just walking?
There have been several studies over the years to gather data for this question. The majority conclusion is that yes, walking is very a very effective tool for the average person to use for weight loss.
Research has show that it can only take 30 minutes of walking a day to have tremendously positive effects on your health.
And more specifically, this study by the journal of nutrition involved a 12 week control group of 82 men and women found strong results for body weight reduction.
After the testing, the two groups ( one walking and one non-walking) were compared. The walking group had a significantly higher increase in both weight loss and total fat mass reduction.
So yes, walking can help improve weight loss as backed by strong data and research.
Benefits of losing weight by walking
1. Losing weight by walking means a easier form of cardio for you
Burning extra calories throughout your day often means doing one of the more intense forms of cardio.
This might be cycling, running, swimming, using a rowing machine or maybe participating in a sport.
Those are all great options but losing weight by walking can be so much easier for you.
For beginners, full time workers, or just others with a exhausting schedule, heavy cardio might be the last thing you want to do after a full day. Not enjoying the activity often leads to bad consistency and eventually quitting.
Walking on the other hand doesn’t get your heart pumping and can be very relaxing. Providing an outlet from the business of your day.
A brisk walk is also schedule friendly. It can be done any time of the day whether that be in the morning before work, afternoon with your kids, or just on a home treadmill whenever you have a gap in your chores.
Could you imagine taking a break from work every 30 minutes and doing a quick sprint or lap around the pool. That doesn’t seem every reasonable now does it?
What about stepping away from your desk and taking a quick walk around the office or outside for a few minutes? That seems much more realistic.
It is recommended that the average person should be walking at least 30 to 45 minutes each day to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
And if you want to go by the number of steps instead, the recommended daily amount is 10,000.
Regardless of time or steps, whatever you choose is easily trackable and can be spread out in your day.
If you want to break up the 30 minutes throughout the day, then it will only take you six 5 minute walks to reach your goal.
10,000 steps sound more like your thing?
Pick up a fitness watch and your steps will be counted for you without much effort on your part. Just take a look at your watch throughout your day to see if you will be on track for the steps you desire.
After a few days of tracking its as simple as looking at the data you have and seeing if you need to adjust.
2. health benefits of walking
There is a good health centered reason to get up from sitting at least every 30 minutes, it can lower your probability of death.
Walking, like most forms of exercises has a ton of benefits for your overall health.
For one, you can greatly improve your heart health by walking, something that needs extra emphasis because cardiovascular disease is the number 1 leading cause of death globally!
How about using walking as a treatment for arthritis? Arthritis.org recommends using walking as a tool to fight the disease that affects 23% of all adults in the U.S.
Walking can help aches and pains in your joints by strengthening the muscles that support them.
And finally, in all the benefits you can get by walking for your health, I want to specifically point out the improvement that activity can have on your mood.
Mental health is rampant and suffering from it means not enjoying life in the ways you could be. Walking has been shown in studies to strongly reduce anxiety, depression and negative moods in general.
Having a positive mood is important for weight loss because it can help decrease your chances of quitting and giving up. Enjoying the process is just as important as the end goal.
3. burns a good amount of calories
Of course, compared to more sweat inducing forms of cardio, walking doesn’t burn as many calories within the same time.
But you might actually be very surprised to find out that walking can help your burn thousands of calories each week.
The average person burns 0.4 calories per step which translates to 400 calories burned when you hit the goal of 10,000 steps.
Hitting 10,000 steps just 5 times a week means you can potentially burn 2,000 extra calories per week. Enough to add a cheat day to your diet!
Consider that 1 pound roughly equals 3,500 calories.
2,000 calories lost equals a weekly drop of over half a pound in weight.
That might not seem like a lot by itself but when added to healthy diet to cut weight, a weight loss of 1 to 1.5 pounds weekly is very achievable.
Still not impressed?
well, If you follow that pace you and are patient, the hard work and determination can give you a substantial reward.
That reward being a drop of 50 to 78 pounds in just 1 year!
How to get started losing weight by walking
Here is the step by step process you can use to start losing weight by walking.
- Start with a goal. How much weight do you want to lose. Of course be realistic with your time frame, losing 10 pounds in a week is most likely going to be unattainable if done in a healthy way. Start small and build your way up if it seems reasonable.
- Create a routine. Next you will want to devise a routine to see how you will implement your own lose weight by walking plan. Just like your goal, its best to start small. If you feel like you can walk go out for a 30 minute walk 5 days a week, that great. Consider starting with 2 or 3 and add more days if you don’t feel overwhelmed.
- Stick to the plan and be consistent. Want to really know how to lose weight by walking? Once you have everything ready, you need to just start and be consistent. Most people fail every year when they make a weight loss goal. Don’t be one of them, be easy on yourself so you don’t feel stressed out. Remember the goal, and even when times get hard and you become impatient, just keep moving forward.