Walking To "Loose Weight"

Does Walking  Help You "Loose Weight?"

Weight Loss Myths—Exposed!

By Matthew G.Kadey, M.Sc., R.D., Runner's World
Thu, Apr 15, 2010

The Myth: Walking won't do much to help you lose weight.

The Truth: Walking may not boost your PR, but taking extra steps every day can have an important cumulative calorie-burning effect, says Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. 

A 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that healthy adults ages 19 to 30 who were car-happy gained up to 15 pounds more over a 15-year period than those who used their own two feet more often to get around. To motivate yourself to walk more, invest in a pedometer.

A 2007 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association determined that using a pedometer can lead to significant decreases in body-mass index and blood pressure. "Aim for 10,000 steps daily," advises McCall. "That's two and half miles of walking, which means you'll burn an extra 250 calories everyday."

You can boost your chances of reaching the 10,000-step goal by walking to a coworker's cubicle instead of e-mailing, trading in the elevator for the stairs, and parking at the farthest corner of the mall lot. You can get the rest of the story and related stories here.

My personal experience with walking

I am not going to cover hydration warm up exercises shoes and any other equipment that some people use to go walking here in this article.  A walking tennis shoe that you are comfortable in is all you need for right now. 

If you are obese and have not done any significant walks before or in a while, it would be a good idea to talk to your doctor or health care practitioner.

Walking does make you "loose weight."  If you have been walking and haven't lost weight, re-evaluate your walking habits, duration's of your walk and eating habits.

So how do you lose weight walking?  It is simple but deceiving. If you were to go walking on a brisk walk for 21/2 hours you would lose about 11/2 to 2 pounds. Those pounds may be water weight, which you would gain back after a full meal with a couple glasses of liquid.

Understanding this is crucial to your weight loss efforts.  When you do a significant walk you may lose a pound. After a meal and liquids you may gain back 3/4 of a pound.  If you had a healthy shake filled with nutrients and vitamins etc. you may only gain back 1/2 pound.

When you repeat this process 4-6 times a week, it is quite possible for you to lose 1pound or more in a week.  Do this for 12 weeks straight and you can see significant changes in you.

Now will you walk 21/2 hours straight?  Probably not, can you do it? Most likely with some practice.  However, you can start small...5 minutes at a time then 7 min, then 10 min, 15 min and before you know it you would be doing 30 minutes.  30 minutes of walking is a milestone.  Do that briskly 3-4 times a week and after 12 weeks you will see significant changes in your weight.

The key here is to be consistent and the frequency of weekly walks.  You can even split your walks in two sessions of 15 or 30 minutes. One early in the morning and one late evening, if that is something you can do. On days when you cannot walk, do some dancing for 15 to 20 minutes. Of course you can start with 5 minutes dances.

To capitalize on your weight loss success from walking, a good effective meal plan could be steam veggies, steamed fish or chicken with a little olive oil. That is, no more than a tea spoon of olive oil on your food.

It is okay to add seasoning to your steamed meal. Sea salt and some spices, black pepper or capsicum or some hot curry would do you good.  You can also make soups.  Be creative, experiment with different soups, just make sure to add veggies with high fiber contents in your soups.

If you like shakes, add some protein shakes in between meals or after your walks.  Listen to your body it will talk to you and tell you what it needs and you won't have to eat what you see advertised on TV.

Be patient with yourself and look at your weight loss efforts as a new healthy life style and not as struggle to lose weight. Whatever you do don't stress yourself out trying to lose weight.  Don't say I am going walking to lose weight, just say I am going out for a walk.

Set some walking goals and have fun with it.  Yes walking can be fun.  Somethings you can do while walking:

Share ideas with a significant other, make plans, discuss whatever.

Walk your dog,

Listen to music, motivational information, lectures etc.

Prayer, let your imagination lead you.

If you are not able to walk or exercise or dance but wants to lose weight, you may want to take a look at what some associates of mine have done and are doing to manage their weight loss efforts here at lose weight in a week. 

They have been able to loose weight with very little changes in diets, work/life activities.

 

******************************************************

About the Author: Germey is a Xyngular Independent Distributor ID# X718567. A budding multi-interest blogger.  He finds pleasure in guiding people to take control of their health, their wealth and their happiness. You can reach him by email:jovialgwt2@gmail.com or text @ 510-239-6735 or just leave your positive comments or questions here on this blog.

*********************************************************

“When health is absent Wisdom cannot reveal itself, Art cannot become manifest, Strength cannot be exerted, Wealth is useless and Reason is powerless”
Herophilies, 300 B.C.