Walking To Lose Weight

Regular readers of this blog know that in my world view it is mental attitude which dominates success in weight loss. Walking for weight loss is the best method to make weight control a lifestyle.  It needs to be a lifestyle change for those of us who have ongoing issues with weight and an apparent failure to correct them.

Walking for weight loss enhances your mood, and reiterating my original premise, the right mood is a must for keeping at weight loss. And this depends upon lots of things such as your metabolism. Weight bearing exercise revs up your metabolism as well as toning your body.

Tip: Try something new! Whenever the old routine is getting tired, add a small change in some way. It may be the major injection your walking to lose weight routine needed at this point.

A couple of weight loss tips:

try a new (and easy) low fat snack recipe-this dill dip appeals to me because I love dill;

go to the library or video store and borrow a Walk Away the Pounds DVD, see if you like it;

make one day a walk everywhere day.

Use your imagination, look at what others are doing and without abandoning your already established walking for weight loss process, add some spice. Try it, if you don’t like it then forget it. Alternatively you may find it works for you, so give walking for weight loss tips a chance!

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For most of us the connection between the food eaten and the calories it contains, the exercise we do and the energy used, is less than clear. If walking is a wonderful weight loss exercise and only 10 minutes twice a day causes us to lose weight it really can’t be that difficult to get the whole diet issue under control. Yet walking uses only 300 calories an hour as a generous estimate, less for a 60 kg woman. Aerobic or power walking could use 400 calories in the same time.

Can using an extra 100 calories daily lose weight when we know that a pound of fat is made up of 3500 calories?

Yet it does. Over time, and more quickly than these figures suggest.

Sometimes it can be easy.

Other times it takes a combined effort of diet and extensive exercise.

There is a magical process which works to make the calories in and out equation more productive than it looks from this information.

It occurs when a number of aspects of diet and movement, metabolism and body chemistry combine in such a way that weight loss occurs quicker than the simple burning of calories suggests.

All things being equal the benefit of calories burned through exercise is more than simply a withdrawal from the fat bank account but the increased metabolic rates and standing body rates of ongoing life support.

Knowing too much can be discouraging and  irrelevant unless you are selectively using monitoring of behaviour rather than results.

The connection between food and calories made by recording food and calories eaten can be insightful and effective.

The connection to exercise is more problematic-it has more than a calories burned impact, dependng on the type of exercise it can effect metabolism as muscle uses more energy for maintenance than fat. And walking for weight loss can provide a way of feeling in control. it offers a solution after the horse has bolted i.e. having overeaten then walking can ameliorate the guilt or physical affects in addition to the calories burned walking.

Recording pedometer steps helps motivation towards achievement of a target such as 10,000 daily steps. It allows the user to become conscious of their movement and liable to add extra when possible. For eating the recording of food as it is eaten becomes a means of avoiding unconscious eating.

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There is a definite place when walking for weight loss for all lengths, intensity and venues. Walking DVDs are a backup tool for instance when going outside, or to the gym is not viable. The variety of  walking options blends beautifully into most lives when a little thought and persistence is applied.

Walking to lose weight can become a part of participant’s lifestyle however to do it successfully your lifestyle must adapt. The type of walking must be what suits you and over time this will probably alter as you move through a series of life changes.

Setting up your own business can also require a major lifestyle change.  It may happen gradually, but eventually it changes your life. Keeping in balance during this process is a major benefit.

This is why I am a fan of one hour walking. If I am feeling anxious or annoyed about a work-related issue, have been stymied in some way from direct action, awaiting resolution of a problem, etc. then a walk often lifts me totally-creates an inspired solution, calms me or creates new ideas, enough to re-focus and bring renewed creative energy and success-thinking to what I am doing. In a new home-based business some activities are less diverting than others and often the support of colleagues is not there in the same way as within an organisation, where it can be taken for granted. Or some aspects of your business through confidentiality or technicality, are best left unshared.

Even with weight loss there is division over whether walking alone or with others is best. Much research supports both arguments but successful long term losers tend to do it alone. The focus and commitment is theirs. Supplement it with others but remember where the responsibility lies. See the benefits of walking for weight loss as also benefiting your business in direct ways: That solution that came during your walking for weight loss; The even tone you can maintain as stress levels decrease.

Focus on your business but walk for one hour and you are soon weighing less and working better. One hour of dedicated walking is 6,000 steps extra added to that day. Anyone targeting 10,000 steps daily, can appreciate how much this contributes towards that goal. Yesterday was my regular shopping, bank, pay bills, day and combined with the one hour walk I did over 17,000 steps. The day before was less active although I prudently put in a few extra steps when I could, and with the one hour walk, did 11,000.

I have gradually built up walking to lose weight to one hour on most days. Occasionally there may be reasons why this slips, either deliberately or not, such as sickness, but this one hour is bringing a lot into my lifestyle and I miss it if I’m not doing it. However just adding in a one hour daily walk is not an overnight accomplishment for most people. It requires changes in discipline.  It requires ensuring that it adds value to your day.

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Sometimes things just aren’t the same, like this Walking for Weight Loss blog post! It was deleted and as others have linked to it I am trying to replicate it as best I can.

I was making the point that with any mainstream topic of interest even walking there is divergent opinion. There is no way that all the advice is right for everyone but  a lot is very good. The participant in a weight loss program needs to take responsibility-not hand it over to someone else unless they are prepared to commit themselves no matter what. Some of what was said follows. My apologies for the missing links.

It seems that even walking has controversy. Walking to lose weight is, of course, as controversial as any other weight loss topic. It can become a passionate belief system for some and weight loss success, which has such massive consequences for daily life, can create a zealot with “the” answer. (I am using zealot in the nice sense of the word!)

Aggressive Street Walking: Not a sport but a lifestyle.

Also an article on the health benefits of walking down stairs has picked up my spirits on this issue. Multiple benefits flow from walking up steps but there are advantages associated with both directions of exercise. Some groups have advocated not stepping down stairs because of potential joint damage.

I, and many others who are walking for weight loss, choose those diet and expert tips which suit us rather than get tossed around with each new piece of advice.

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While I have tended to use Walk Away the Pounds as a backup for those difficult times when bad weather or being tied to home for business or personal reasons has left me short of the time for an effective walk, today has started the process of more consistent and purposeful use of this wonderful walking to lose weight resource.

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