Walk Off the Fat: How to Lose 10 Pounds by Walking

Walking is a great way to lose 10 pounds, as this form of exercise burns calories while being kind to your joints. Best of all, walking can be done anytime, anyway. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes and some motivation. In order to walk off 10 pounds, you will need to incorporate walking into your daily schedule whenever possible.

Calories Burned From Walking

As you begin your weight loss journey, where you'll be traveling by foot, you'll need to understand how many calories are burned from this type of activity. If you're seriously looking to lose weight through walking, you'll need to walk fast during your workout sessions; the quicker you walk, the more calories you'll burn. If you're around 150 pounds, you'll burn the following calories at the listed speeds:

• 2.0 MPH (slow pace) - 170 calories per hour
• 3.0 MPH (moderate pace) - 224 calories per hour
• 4.0 MPH (brisk pace) - 340 calories per hour
• 5.0 MPH (speed walking) - 544 per hour

As you can see, your pace while walking will determine how long it takes you to lose 10 pounds. The difference between a saunter and a speed walk is a big one, and you can more than triple your calories burned by walking fast. Also, if you add intensity to your workout and walk up hills, you will burn even more calories.

Devising a Walking Plan

Now that you know how many calories can be burned from walking, you'll need to devise a plan to reach your goal weight. You should aim to lose no more than 2 pounds per week to ensure safe and permanent weight loss. To lose 1 pound a week, you need to create a 500 calorie deficit each day and burn an extra 3500 calories a week. If you stick to a low calorie diet and walk for an hour each day, you should be able to lose a pound a week.

Don't forget to track your daily food consumption and workouts on Fitday's online journal to make sure you're on track to reaching your goal. By monitoring your daily activity and calorie count, you'll know if your diet and exercise efforts will equal weight loss. If they don't, you can alter your eating habits or workout routine accordingly.

While devising your walking plan, make sure to change it up so you don't get bored. Maybe you can go for a hike one day, then for a speed walk by the beach or lake the next. Gather a group of friends to walk with you, and together you can all benefit your health while catching up and having a good time.

Walk Whenever Possible

Walking is so easy to fit into your daily routine. If you walk whenever possible, in addition to your devised walking plan, you'll burn even more calories throughout the day and keep your metabolism working at its maximum capability. Here are some ways you can fit some extra steps into your day:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Walk to get lunch, to the store, to the gym...walk everywhere!
• Park far from the store entrance to force yourself to walk.
• Take a few extra laps at the shopping mall.
• Sign up for an organized walk.

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