walking!

Question
Hi im trying to lose weight by mainly walking and eating less. I was wondering how many miles should i walk per day or per week to begin to lose weight?

Answer
Hi Sara,
It's tough to say. I would begin with walking for a distance that is challenging for you, then slowly increase from there. Ideally though, walking alone for weightloss will be far from ideal. While walking will provide a slight challenge to your cardiovascular system, it neglects the musculoskeletal system (muscles, tendons, ligaments), which is mainly challenged through resistance training.
Resistance training I would say is even more important for weight loss than cardio (walking) will be. Resistance training will help you preserve your muscle tissue while you lose weight, which in turn will help keep your metabolism boosted. Studies have also shown that post exercise, resistance training will keep metabolism boosted for several hours (up to 24), where after cardio metabolism returns to normal levels within 1 hr.
The walking is a great first step, but I don't see it making that big of an impact (unless of course you have a lot of weight to lose then it will definately help), but if you're only looking for 10-20 lbs I don't see it doing that much.
As for eating, what are you typically eating now? and how frequently, unfortunately, eating less isn't always the answer, usually it comes down to eating frequently throughout the day of unprocessed foods low in sugar along with some quality protein.
I know that's not the answer you were probably looking for, but it's the truth. Get back to me if you have further questions

-Mark
[email protected]

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