How Much Do You Need To Walk To Lose Weight?
A devoted walking program combined with good nutrition can be a good method of losing weight irrespective of age or fitness level. To achieve your goals you need to work far enough at the right intensity and be attentive to your choice of food.
Things to know and how to get started;
WALKING DURATION AND WEIGHT LOSS
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) reported that people should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a day or 150 minutes a week. While this is beneficial to cardiovascular fitness and helps to fight against diseases, you are expected to do more if you want to lose weight.
ACSM advocates that people who are obese and looking for ways to lose weight or anyone who wants to lose weight should increase the number from 200-300 minutes a week (3.3-5 hours ). Taking a one-hour walk daily for 4-5 days every week will be enough to achieve your goals for weight loss. The extra time you put in for exercise boost your fitness level and calorie burn.
WALKING INTENSITY
All works are not made equal. It is vital to ensure your heart rate gets to a moderate intensity level when you are walking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined moderate-intensity exercise as the activity that increases the heart rate to 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. If you choose to raise the intensity either by incorporating resistance training like weight or a brief period of running. Exercising at a vigorous activity level (ie 70-85% of the maximum heart rate) demands that the time of your walk should be divided into two to get the same benefits. Simply put a 60-minute moderate-intensity walk is equivalent to a 30-minute walk or run at a vigorous intensity level. The use of a heart rate monitor is the most authentic way to measure heart rate.
HOW WALKING COMPARES TO RUNNING
Walking gives the same benefits as running with a reduced possibility of injury but in the case of weight loss, the period is crucial for people who would rather walk. As reported by the American Council of Exercise (ACE), to get the same calorie burn as a 3-mile run, you need to walk for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
TRACKING MEALS
Calculating and recording your daily steps, mileage, time, and exercise intensity are very necessary when you are trying to lose weight but to complete the equation nutrition is equally vital. Entering your lose density food intake and workouts into MyFitnessPal can help you get a more concrete idea of the quantity and types of food you are taking. This helps you to be enlightened, choose better portion sizes, and cut too many calories so you will be healthy and lose weight.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Begin this journey of weight loss by walking a little more than you usually do each day till you can walk for an hour or more 4-5 times weekly. If you keep your pace at a brisk level and be attentive to your nutrition you will genuinely achieve weight loss.