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Are you looking for a physical activity that is easy, simple, requires no fancy equipment and yet helps get it shape? Well, try walking to lose weight.
Why walk to lose weight?
To start with walking is an aerobic exercise. Therefore, it will provide you with all the benefits that an aerobic exercise does like a healthy heart, increased overall fitness and energy level, improved blood circulation and stamina. It helps in increasing body’s percentage of lean body mass (bones and muscles) and decreasing body’s percentage of fat.
In addition being a low impact exercise it can be practiced by anyone, no matter what their age or fitness level. It places less stress on your joints than running or cycling. Moreover, you don’t have to go to a gym to do it. You can walk in any nearby park or even inside your home.
How many calories will it burn?
The answer to this question will vary from one person to another depending on one’s weight, pace of walking, length of legs etc. On an average, however, a person weighing 150 pounds, walking at a speed of two to three and a half miles an hour can expect to burn 80 calories per mile. Regular walking can reduce your weight by more than a pound a day.
How to walk to lose weight?
If you have been used to a sedentary lifestyle so far, then go for slow pace walking to start with. You can go for a 20 minute stroll in the morning and a 30 minute stroll after supper. If you don’t have so much time on hand then try walking for 5 minutes every hour. You can later move on to brisk walking, power walking or race walking to gain further benefits.
Until then try making little lifestyle changes that help you average 10000 steps a day to lose weight. You can achieve this by increasing your background activity like walking to the market, using the staircase instead of the elevator, taking a few minutes off from your work for a short walk in the office.
To keep yourself motivated find a walking partner like your family, a friend or even your dog to give you company. Add a little diet control to regular walking to shed your weight in a healthy way that is sustained and lifelong.
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