Almost everywhere, including the gym, the mantra "keep it simple" is widely embraced. All behaviors are assumed to fail unless they are particularly extreme or brutal.
This false belief is a significant contributor to the fact that so many people have trouble getting healthy, seeing any improvement in their lives, becoming discouraged, and missing out on all the simple ways to do so.
That's not to say you won't have to put in some work, but the time and energy investment required to see improvements in your health and mood is likely much smaller than you anticipate.
It's time to walk, whether just starting or fine-tuning your routine to achieve maximum benefit. Learn the benefits of walking and how to incorporate it into your weight loss routine.
Is Walking Better Than Running?
Understanding the distinction between "healthy habits" and "fat loss habits" is one of the most challenging aspects of health. A healthy diet does not necessarily result in weight loss. A straightforward case in point would be a typical nutritional blunder. You can gain weight even if you eat a lot of so-called "healthy" food.
On the flip side, if something aids in fat loss, it does not automatically make it healthy. Kansas State University professor Dr. Mark Haub demonstrated this by dropping 27 pounds on the Twinkie diet.
It is also the case with physical activity. Disagreements about the "best" form of physical activity are too common. Some exercises are better for weight loss than others. One such exercise is weight lifting. Some claim that weight training is superior to running for fat loss.
Can Walking Help With Fat Loss?
Not very sensational, but if you put in the time and effort, walking can be just as effective as other methods.
Visualize each accomplishment as a step toward the big goal. A 5-minute walk breaks every hour can help you burn an extra 660 calories per week, according to a study published in 2011 in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
If you did that every day for an entire year, you'd lose about 9 or 10 pounds. When extrapolated over the workday, that's a minimum of 40 minutes of walking on at least five days a week. Further, only some have the luxury of taking a walk every hour. It's a lot of work, but even if you put in a quarter of the time, you'd notice a difference.
Proven Health Benefits Of Walking
Studies have shown that walking has numerous positive effects on health and should not be underestimated. The 61 participants included both healthy and overweight adults, as well as those with diabetes. Before the study, nobody in the group ever exercised. The researchers had the volunteers try out three different diet and lifestyle regimens for a week.