Walking Weight Off: How a Daily Walk Can Help You Shed Pounds

It is no secret that walking weight off is made possible by regular physical exercise. Besides helping you shed those unwanted pounds, walking boasts numerous health benefits that run the gamut from reducing your risk of getting cancer to increasing the strength of your bones. As such, walking is oftentimes recommended as part of weight-loss regimens. As a form of pure, physical exercise, walking is very easy to do since you need nothing except a good pair of athletic shoes to give you cushion and support. You don't need any fancy equipment or additional training before you can start. Walking is the natural way to lose weight.

Walking as a Calorie Burner

One way that walking helps you shed those unwanted pounds in an effective manner is by helping you burn those equally unwanted calories. The whole concept of weight and, furthermore, weight gain is based on calorie intake. That means that you have to balance your calories if you at least want to maintain your weight, because weight is determined by how many calories you take in versus how many you burn off.

To lose weight, all you have to do is burn off more than you eat, or just reduce your calorie intake in the first place. The basic formula for walking off pounds is this: your weight multiplied by the distance you walk equals the energy used when walking, which is the energy used to burn off calories.

Speed of Walking

When you walk to lose weight, you are advised to begin your daily walk with a warm-up session of about 5 to 10 minutes that features an easy gait. This will inform your muscles that they need to use their fat reserves to provide the energy for the upcoming walk. During a weight-loss walk, the speed you should walk at is one called a "determined" pace. This pace is characterized by noticeable breathing, but in such a way that it does not interfere with carrying on a conversation. Also, at this pace, your heart rate should be beating at in between 60 percent to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. You should keep this pace--the "determined" pace--for a total of 30 minutes per daily walking workout, especially if you have conditioned yourself to make it to that duration.

Length of Walking

You are recommended to walk at the "determined" pace rate for anywhere between 30 minutes to 60 minutes at 50 percent to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. If your hectic work life or schedule in general does not permit this investment each day, then simply divide your walking workout into two or even three, daily sessions that are much shorter than the 30-minute to 60-minute recommendation. If you can really invest the time, you should slow down your 30- to 60-minute walking workout towards the end so that you can stretch it into a 90- to 120-minute workout.

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