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I’m a huge proponent of making walks a consistent part of your fitness routine. Not only is walking a great, low-impact exercise, it’s an excellent way to relieve stress and recover from other workout activities. But can walking alone actually help you lose weight? You bet it can. Here’s everything you need to know about using your own two feet to burn calories and reach your goals this summer.
So how much walking does it really take to start seeing results? As with anything else, that really depends on your goals. Walking is an excellent, low-intensity way to improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risk of a whole host of other health conditions. To start reaping these benefits, theAmerican College of Sports Medicine (ASCM) recommends walking 150 minutes per week, which shakes out to 5 days a week of 30-minute walks. If you’ve been leading a sedentary life, it’s important to just get out and move, so setting a 150-minute goal is a great place to start.
But if you’re really focusing on weight loss, it’s probably going to take more than a few 30-minute walks to get the results your after. For that reason, the ASCM recommends increasing your total walking time to 200-300 minutes, if weight loss is your goal. While taking a 45-minute walk 5-7 times a week will get the job done, you could also break that block into smaller increments. If you take your dog for a 15-20 minute walk before work, add in a 30-minute stroll after dinner to round out your day (as an added bonus, walking after a meal is great for digestion, too) –– when it comes to duration, balancing your lifestyle factors with your total minutes for the week is key to seeing long-term results.
While you don’t need to swing your arms and hips like an Olympic Race Walker to reach your weight-loss goal, the intensity of your walk is still an important factor in the equation. In general, you should be aiming to up your heart rate to a moderate level (which theCDC defines as between 46% and 76% of your maximum heart rate).
If you have a watch or another wearable device that can monitor your heart rate, feel free to use it, but don’t feel like you need fancy equipment to get the job done. You can also you the perceived exertion to make sure you’re walking with enough intensity –– on a scale of 0-10 (0 is sitting on the couch, 10 is sprinting for your life away from an angry bear), aim for something in the 5-7 range.
Have you ever heard the saying, “You can’t exercise away a bad diet?” It might sound cliche, but it’s true –– while any type of exercise, including walking, is an important part of the equation when it comes to weight loss, the only way you’re truly going to get the results you want is by cleaning up your diet.
And while healthy eating might seem complicated, especially if you’ve struggled with it in the past, you don’t have to settle for a lifetime of restriction and misery to lose weight. By focusing on getting the right macros –– protein, carbs, and fat –– to properly fuel your body, you’ll be satisfied, energized, and getting results all at the same time.
For more information on using macros to fuel your body the right way, you’ll want to sign up forNutrithority’s Excellence Academy. Whether you’re a seasoned macro pro or just getting started, it’s a great resource to help you fine-tune the food you’re putting in your body. And the best part? It’s acompletely freeresource, so be sure to check it out.
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