Walking is a great form of exercise for those trying to lose weight. It’s low impact and can be done anywhere, anytime. Aside from a good pair of walking shoes or boots, no equipment is required.
Any sensible weight loss program is a combination of a healthy diet and healthy exercise. In this article I am concentrating on the exercise aspect of the weight loss equation.
As I’m sure you know, before embarking on a vigorous exercise regimen, you should consult your doctor to make sure you don’t have any serious underlying health problems.
Ok, so why walk instead of run? Surely running is a “better” form of exercise for weight loss and would burn more calories in less time.
Well yes and no! It’s true that vigorous running burns more calories than easy walking, but if you’re very overweight, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to do a lot of running without injuring yourself, while walking is a fairly safe form of exercise. , as long as you watch where you put your feet.
As you start to get fitter, you can increase the speed of your walk. A very brisk walk burns almost as many calories as running per covered mile. It just takes a little more time to go those miles.
Perhaps you find it difficult to make time to exercise? One piece of advice I would give is to incorporate some walking into your daily routine. Let’s say you take a train into town every day. Could you get off one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way? Park at the other end of the lot and walk those extra meters. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Too many floors for that? Just get down a couple of floors early and walk up 2 flights of stairs. When you’re okay with that, start doing 3 flights. It all adds up.
Buy yourself a dog, a breed that really likes exercise. Don’t pick a lapdog! A border collie can be a fantastic exercise partner because he is crazy about getting outside and running, but he does show the dog some commitment. If you can’t take it out for at least 30 minutes, twice a day, scrap that idea.
Walking is a great stress buster. If you’re having a tough time at the office, then take your sandwich and walk to a nice park, graveyard, or some other quiet spot and eat it there.
The point of all this is that it’s easy to integrate walking into your life, so it’s a form of exercise you’re more likely to stick with.