Can walking only help you loose weight ?

 

Can walking only help you loose weight?

The simple answer is yes. Not only it helps you in loosing weight but also serves other health benefits like joint lubrication, reducing risks of various diseases, strengthening bones and managing conditions like high cholesterol and diabetes. Walking for one mile can help you burn around 100 calories.

Many people do not consider walking as an effective way of loosing weight. Although walking is an excellent form of exercise to loose weight depending on how intensely and how long you walk. When combined with low calorie diet, walking promotes weight loss.

How should one start?

One can start from a mild walk of 15 to 20 minutes and then slowly increase the intensity either the speed or distance of walks. The key also is to maintain good calorie deficit ( burning more calories than consumed) which can help in reducing belly fat faster. Walking everyday improves the blood circulation and reduces the risks of diseases as well. On an average, you can burn 100 calories per mile.

Additionally, walking on up hills or inclined routes can help you burn even more calories.

Which is the best time for walking?

Some prefer mornings to be the best time as the roads are traffic free and there is less clutter. Also, walking before breakfast (i.e. empty stomach) serves really great benefits. Some researches suggest the afternoon time as the best time for walking. Others also prefer walking after dinner as it saves them from bloating during sleep time. Therefore, you can choose the most suitable time according to your schedule.

Benefits of loosing weight through walking:-

1. No dependency on gym equipment.

2. No membership money required.

3. Low risk (especially to people with some major health issues who cannot perform heavy exercises.)

4. Very beneficial for heart and diabetic patients.

5. Easiest form of burning calories.

6. Muscles are easy to loose than fat in the process of loosing weight therefore walking helps in preserving the lean muscle.

7. Helps in improving mood.

Things to keep in mind:-

1. Balance is important. So, once you have lost weight you should focus on strength building for which exercise is important.

2. Although effective, you ought to be patient as it is a slow process.

3. Make sure to hydrate yourself during intervals.

4. For better analysis, you can maintain a journal or carry a tracking equipment.

5. Don’t skip the balanced diet part, just because you are walking.

6. Choose a good playlist.

7. Opt healthy snacking.

Conclusion

Although walking is a great way of loosing weight, but make sure to take care of your calorie intake and putting nutritious food on your plate as well. You can start slow and then can intensity your walk by either increasing the time or by making it little more challenging ( you can do it by walking on uphills). You can also try swinging your arms along to exercise them. Last but not least try doing it mindfully.