Exercising is essential for those who want to lose weight. Indeed, it is difficult to lose weight or maintain the results achieved without exercising. While walking is not considered an activity that requires particular effort, it is perfect to fit into your daily routine with the aim of burning more calories and improving fitness. By simply walking 30 minutes longer than normal, you can be able to burn up to 150 extra calories. Furthermore, walking is a low-intensity activity, so it can be practiced by most people, unlike running, for example. Start walking for healthy weight loss today!
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Walking for Weight Loss
Step 1. Walk correctly
As with most disciplines, there is a correct form of walking. Even though it is a low-intensity activity, doing it incorrectly runs the risk of injury or causing excessive muscle soreness.
- Walk with your shoulders back, low and relaxed. The neck should be completely relaxed and the face should remain facing forward.
- As you advance, make sure it hits the ground first with your heel. Always place your heel first, and then make the whole foot adhere to the ground up to the toe. At this point, the fingers must push against the ground to facilitate the next step.
- To move and balance the whole body, let the arms swing naturally, alternating with the legs (the right arm advances with the left foot and vice versa).
Step 2. Ideally, you should walk at least 30 minutes every day or so
In fact, health professionals recommend exercising at least 150 minutes per week.
- Walking half an hour a day for 5 days a week allows you to reach the goal recommended by doctors (150 minutes, or 2 and a half hours). Unfortunately, however, this amount of movement is only enough to maintain the current weight.
- Most experts suggest walking almost every day for 45 minutes. This way, you will be able to burn more calories.
- If 45 minutes is too long for your current physical condition, start by walking for 10, 20, or 30 minutes. Do not feel discouraged, it is still a great starting point, you can gradually increase the duration of the workout, up to 30 or 45 minutes.
Step 3. Gradually increase the pace
In addition to increasing the duration of the workout, try to increase the speed. Walking at a faster pace can help you lose weight in less time.
- Some scientific studies have shown that walking for a short time, but at a brisk pace, can burn more calories than walking for a long time, but slowly. Specifically, more abdominal fat is burned (especially in women).
- Nowadays, the practice of walking with large, rapid strides is often referred to as "power walking". In this case, the pace to be sustained is around 6, 5 km / h. You can use this as a reference if you are using a treadmill or a tool with which to track your speed. Power walking allows you to burn up to 550 calories per hour, based on age, weight, gender and fitness.
Step 4. Assess the intensity of your workout
If you have been walking for several weeks and would like to increase your power and pace to burn more calories, you must first determine what level you are currently at. At that point, you can decide how to change the pace.
- If you can speak and converse without too much breathlessness, it means that you are training at a moderate intensity. On the other hand, if you are short of breath and can only speak short sentences without having to stop to breathe, it means that you are walking at a high or moderately high pace.
- In addition to walking faster, there are other ways to increase the degree of effort required by training to start burning more calories.
- For example: walking uphill or pushing a stroller. You can also try carrying wrist or ankle weights in a backpack to keep on your back, and then wearing them at 1-2 minute intervals during the core of your workout. Remember that walking with weights on your ankles or wrists for 20 minutes or more could cause injury and joint discomfort in your knees, hips, elbows and shoulders, so wear them only for very short intervals.
Step 5. Plan 1-2 rest days per week
Including breaks in your exercise routine is important, regardless of the type of physical activity. This way the body will have a chance to rest and recover appropriately.
- As with any other discipline, making excessive physical exertion can increase the risk of injury, pain in the muscles and run into the state of physical discomfort called "exercise burnout", in which excessive fatigue ends up "burning" the resources of the body.
- Take regular breaks by stopping your regular exercise routine. For example, train for two consecutive days, then rest for a full day.
- During the days off, try to keep yourself active anyway. Instead of walking, you can do some stretching exercises or a revitalizing yoga session.
Part 2 of 4: Keeping Motivation High
Step 1. Join a group of sporty walkers
While most people enjoy walking, it is not easy to remain constant over a long period of time. Joining a sports walker group is an effective and fun way to keep feeling motivated.
- You can look for such a group online, at the gym, or even at work or church. Generally, members are divided into categories of people who have the same level of fitness and meet regularly to walk together.
- Some scientific studies have shown that the odds of staying constant are increased when training in the company of friends or other people.
- If you can't find a walker group, start it yourself. Ask friends, family and colleagues if they would like to walk with you. For example, you could go for a walk with some coworkers during your lunch break.
Step 2. Purchase a pedometer or download a fitness app on your mobile
By measuring the distances and calories burned you will feel stimulated to keep walking. To chase away laziness, you can also join an online fitness group, thus connecting with other people who want to get in shape.
- Pedometers are very popular tools, available in various forms, for example as an app for smartphones or wrist smartwatches. Studies have shown that their use makes people more motivated and competitive. Many feel energized when they try to outdo themselves or others. Try throwing a daily challenge to your friends.
- Another way to keep track of the distances you run and make training more fun is to use an online fitness program. Many are compatible with the most modern pedometers and compare their progress with that of other people enrolled in the program. It is a way to compete in a fun way with others by observing who runs the greatest distance every day.
Step 3. Vary your workout routine
While walking can be very relaxing and enjoyable, over time you may start to get bored. Try to prevent boredom by changing your training schedule often.
- If you've been walking on the treadmill before, consider taking outdoor walks. You will be able to enjoy nature, landscapes and fresh air. You can also organize weekend trips.
- Another way to make every walk more interesting is to download your favorite music tracks, audiobooks or podcasts. They will help you keep focus, motivation and interest while walking, wherever you are. Prepare a large playlist of content to listen to.
Step 4. Plan for rewards
Regardless of the type of physical activity you are doing or the goals you want to achieve, rewarding yourself when you reach milestones is a very effective way to stay motivated.
- The scientific studies carried out have also confirmed the usefulness of rewarding yourself along the path that leads to reaching your goals in terms of weight and fitness.
- For example, reward yourself for sticking to your training schedule for a certain amount of time, losing the first 5 kg or walking a certain distance.
- Don't use food as a reward if you're trying to lose weight. Choose a reward that has nothing to do with the board, for example, give yourself a new pair of walking shoes, sportswear or download some new music.
Part 3 of 4: Modifying Your Diet to Promote Weight Loss
Step 1. Cut down on calories
Walking or "power walking" regularly can help you lose weight, but the fact remains that you need to change your diet as well.
- An easy way to promote weight loss is to reduce the number of calories consumed throughout the day. Simply by cutting off around 500 calories a day you could be able to lose 500g to 1kg each week.
- What you should do is start keeping a food diary to record everything you eat and drink on a typical day. Make a note of every meal, drink, and snack you normally consume. Use an online calorie calculator to get an estimate of how many you generally consume in your day.
- Subtract 500 calories from this number to set your new goal and be able to lose weight.
Step 2. Choose lean protein sources
To reduce the number of calories and the waistline, it is important that the foods that are part of the diet are able to support the efforts you make throughout the day.
- Lean protein sources are low in calories, so they can help you lose weight. Include a serving (20-30g) of protein with each meal to help you reach your daily goal.
- Lean protein sources include: poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy products, lean cuts of beef and pork, tofu, legumes, and fish.
Step 3. Fill up on fruit and vegetables
Like lean protein foods, fruits and vegetables also contain only a few calories, so they can help you lose weight and stick to your daily calorie limit.
- Despite being low in calories, fruits and vegetables are naturally rich in fiber, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.
- Foods that contain a lot of fiber tend to be bulky, yet low-calorie, so fullness is achieved much faster.
- In addition to a serving of lean protein, remember to include one or two servings of fruit and vegetables with each meal. Consider 150g for meaty vegetables, 50g for leafy greens, and 75g for fruit.
Step 4. Go for whole grains
Another food group that can help you feel full while consuming fewer calories is that made up of whole grains.
- Whole grains undergo minimal processing and are rich in fiber, protein and other nutrients essential to the health of the body. Like fruit and vegetables, they make the meal more voluminous (so they fill you up sooner) while still providing fewer calories.
- Limit your consumption of refined grains, such as white pasta, bread, and rice. Try to include one or two daily servings of grains and whole foods (about 30g each), such as rice, bread, oats, and quinoa.
Step 5. Limit your consumption of processed, packaged, pre-cooked foods and so-called "junk food"
If you want to be able to lose weight, you need to focus on certain foods and food groups that are healthy, while avoiding those that are harmful to your health and waistline. Almost all industrially processed foods are tasty, but if taken too often they can inhibit weight loss.
- Processed foods generally contain far more fat, sugar, calories, and salt than simpler, more natural foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
- Limit your consumption of fried foods, sausages, ready-made meals (frozen, freeze-dried or canned), fast food, confectionery (candy, cookies, cakes, pastries, etc.), sugary cereals, and drinks that contain sugar.
- If you want to indulge in one of these foods from time to time, be sure to eat a limited amount. Remember that if you put them in your diet too often, it will be very difficult to lose weight, no matter how long you walk.
Part 4 of 4: Weight Loss Scheduled
Step 1. Talk to your doctor
Before embarking on any weight loss program, it is important to get its approval, especially if physical activity will be the main tool you will use to lose weight.
- Describe your intentions to know if losing weight by walking is a safe and appropriate choice for your health. Make him aware of every detail about the method, the goals, the diet and so on.
- Ask him if exercise, specifically walking, is safe and suitable for your current health condition. Also, ask him if you should take any special precautions or if he has any advice for you.
- If you notice that you are having difficulty breathing while walking, stop your exercise routine immediately and report it to your doctor.
Step 2. Determine what body weight is right for you
To lose weight safely and planned, you need to know what your goal is in terms of final weight. Understanding which fitness is ideal for you will help you decide what type of physical and dietary program to follow and how long you need to do it for.
- One way to determine what weight is appropriate for you is to use the ideal weight formula. Various tools are available on the web to calculate it automatically; you can find one by entering the keywords "calculate ideal body weight" in your favorite internet browser. You should get a long list of options that will allow you to determine what weight is appropriate for you, based on your age, gender and height.
- Subtracting your ideal weight from your current one can help you figure out how many pounds you should lose.
- Another way to determine the appropriate weight for your body is to calculate your BMI (short for "Body Mass Index"). In this way, you will be able to quantify how much you should weigh in order for this parameter to take on a value that is considered healthy.
Step 3. Set a goal in terms of weight and time
Once you've figured out how many pounds you want or should lose (and talk to your doctor about it), you can determine what your goal is and set yourself deadlines.
- By combining exercise with diet you should be able to lose about 1/2 to 1 kg of weight per week. It is a safe and sustainable rhythm for the body.
- Mark on your calendar the day you intend to start walking and eating healthier. Considering that you are able to lose ½-1 kg per week, you can calculate how long it will take to achieve the physical shape you want.
Step 4. Find supportive people
Regardless of what type of weight loss plan you plan to follow or what you are willing to do to succeed, being able to rely on the support of others is very important to get you off to a good start.
- Some scientific studies have shown that the chances of being able to follow the dictates of the diet and maintaining the body weight achieved in the long term increase if you can count on the support of others.
- Anyone can be part of your support group - family, friends or colleagues. Ask them to support you as you try to lose weight.
- Another very useful purpose is to ask the people who support you to take part in your project by literally walking by your side. Walking is simple and fun, so many may decide to do it with you.
Advice
- Talk to your doctor to make sure regular walking is a healthy and appropriate choice for your current health condition.
- The most effective way to lose weight is to combine physical activity with a healthy diet.
- Exercising helps you lose weight, but it is even more important for maintaining your body weight over the long term.
