Walking to Lose Weight - 3 Steps in the Right Direction

With obesity at record levels, many look for ways toshould be looking at the 4 miles an hour rate
exercise and lose weight without committing too muchsuggested earlier. After a few weeks, start increasing
time or dying of boredom on a treadmill. Luckily, in thisthe length of your walks. Remember, the longer you
article, I am going to show you how you can leveragewalk, the more calories you will burn! In general, you
one of your most natural daily activities into actualshould walk around 5-6 times a week to start seeing
weight loss! If you ever considered walking to loseresults.
weight, then here's how you can get the most bang
for your buck.3. Medical Preparation
1. PostureLike any form of exercise, walking can be dangerous
Keep your back straight and your arms moving. Ideally,to your health if not done right. Breath deeply as you
you should be swinging your arms at a 90 degreewalk and slow down (or stop) immediately if you're out
angle to the rest of your body. Avoid walking in curvesof breath or start feeling dizzy. If you're out of shape,
and stick to a path that follows a straight line. Walkbegin with walking sessions lasting 5-10 minutes. Do
briskly - take more shorter steps rather than big longsome stretching before you start walking. Also, be
ones. 4 miles an hour is considered to be a good ratesure to always set goals for how long you want your
for weight loss.walking session to last or how far you want to get.
2. RoutineThis will allow you to track your progress better as
For best results, making walking a regular activity.well as make walking more efficient.
Research shows that a healthy adult takes 10,000As you can see, walking to lose weight is extremely
steps a day, which is what you should be aiming for.easy. Following these three simple steps will set you
Your walking sessions should be at least 30 minuteson a road to weight loss in no time. However, keep in
long. For best results, break them down into 3 stages -mind that it's unlikely you will ever lose weight by
warm up, brisk walk, cool down. The first and the thirdwalking around. In other words, regular forms of
stage should last about 5 minutes each.exercise, just aerobic or resistance training, will still
During these stages, you should walk slowly, either toaccount for most of your weight loss. However, aside
prepare yourself for the second stage or to calmfrom them, walking to lose weight is a very nice
down after it. During the brisk walking stage, yousupplement to your weight loss efforts!