Here's How A Daily Walk Can Help You Drop Pounds

Oct 26, 2018

People have devised many ways to keep off excess pounds. Some play sports while others diet. What you may be surprised to discover is that evidence suggests that a long walk could be all you need.

Walks burn calories just as effectively as these other methods, so here are some steps to take so you don't have to spend money going to a gym or buying expensive health foods.

The calories you burn from walking depend on your speed, the distance you've covered, and your body weight. Setting a regular schedule will you achieve the best results, as well as using a pace counter to measure how much you've walked in a day and calculate how many paces to add to boost weight-loss.

This rough estimation will help when devising a schedule. Keep in mind that every person is different, meaning that a lot depends on your personal characteristics, food habits, health status, and lifestyle.

100 cal = 2,000 paces = 1 mile

2 lbs = 140,000 paces = 6900 cal = 69 miles

For longer walks, you can:

• Avoid taking your car or the bus
• Walk your kids to and from school
• Avoid elevators and escalators
• Take your dog on longer walks

• Bring a friend
• Listen to music or audiobooks
• Go to new places or down different routes
• If you want to continue practicing during the winter, you can use a treadmill in your home. This way you can watch TV or a movie while exercising.

It's important to remember that your paces are uneven, ranging from a foot to a yard. To find the length of your pace, measure a distance of about 30 feet, cover it at your usual space as you count your steps. You then divide the distance by inches (3,600) and the number of steps taken.

• Less than 70 paces per minute: This won't do anything for a healthy person, but is recommended for people recovering from angina or a heart attack.
• 71-90 paces per minute, 2-2.5 mph: Recommended for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
• 91-110 ppm, 2.5-3 mph: A good pace, suitable for healthy people.
• 111-130 ppm: Great exercise, but even people in great shape can have trouble maintaining this speed for a longer period of time.

1. Start off light before gradually increasing pace and duration: Raise the length of the walks first before increasing your pitch. These loads should suit your health condition.

2. Walk regularly: If you can't walk every day, shoot for 2-3 walks a week. You can walk whenever you'd like, but it must be at least 1-1.5 miles after your previous meal.

3. Consult your physician: Get a medical checkup, and do so once or twice a year.

4. Check you posture when walking: Remember to keep your shoulders and torso straight and your stomach sucked in.

Note: a slow walk over a small distance won't accomplish anything, but walking too fast over too great a distance could actually cause harm to yourself.

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Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!