Walking To Lose Weight

Walking for weight loss is another means of spiritual development according to a recent comment by a minister actively encouraging his congregation to lose weight. Certainly action can be devalued in living a life concerned with higher things whether religion or the pursuit of artistic goals.

It has become traditional to avoid “perfecting” our bodies when focusing on the more spiritual yet most of us are far from the danger of physical perfection and as was popular some time ago, could be more on track treating our body as a”temple”.

The walking for weight loss lifestyle has much to offer those who  enjoy contemplative or meditative practices.  In some faiths labyrinths or mazes are depicted specifically to encourage this form of walking solace or mindfulness.

Of course the purpose of this walking is not for weight loss, and the slow pace is not designed to increase the heart rate, nevertheless in other venues such as the great outdoors, vigorous exercises can coincide with a peaceful, even rejuvenated, mind.

When walking for weight loss is a daily routine, one you look forward to, and feel refreshed and revitalised after, then a sense of grace descends on your life.

By adding a pedometer and daily target of 10,000+ steps, the relatively peaceful walk becomes an effective weight loss tool.

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Pilates is something which I have tried and still am left wondering what it is all about. I suspect it is the usual -that to really enjoy a process one needs to fully commit to it before the many benefits become obvious. Walking for weight loss is in this category too. Simply put to enjoy the weight loss and health results which are reliably available from walking to lose weight, you have to commit to it!

And while I know people who swear Pilates is the only thing which keeps them functioning, the same is claimed for walking from those with back problems.

It is  more likely to be that both have major benefits and are not direct substitutes for each other. Walking has weight loss and strengthening effects on the muscles of the lower body but does not do much for the shape of your bottom.

Pilates is dedicated to strengthening the core muscle groups and this is obviously a very effective when tightening and toning rather than trying to lose weight.

Each is of benefit however walking for weight loss is an every day and life time commitment. Counting pedometer steps is a very easy way to include activity of all sorts in your lifestyle!

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Even walking for weight loss develops the musculature of the lower body and therefore can distort weight measurement on the scales when checking for weight loss. Fat is lighter for the same volume than muscle so trading one for the other can mean that the scales don’t show a loss or (heaven forbid) there may be a gain, while measurements should show a definite decrease. One would think then that measuring the appropriate parts of the body would be the best way to track weight loss.

Well it is…but there is a difficulty in measuring techniques and self measuring especially. How accurate are your measurements?

A good policy is to get someone else preferably a professional who has been trained but a girl friend (or wife) would do, to take the measurements. As this can be embarrassing this may not be your preferred option. If so do it yourself but be sure that you know exactly where you are measuring and repeat it at least one time to check the result. I do the bust or nipple line, under the bust (bra line), the waist at its smallest, hips (largest point), upper thigh and lower thigh (just above the knee) and the arm between the shoulder and elbow.

Obviously give yourself some time walking for weight loss before checking to see how many inches (!) you have lost. How long to leave depends on the frequency and type of exercise. My old routine was to leave it for 10 days of 10,000 steps before checking. Counting pedometer steps is one of the easiest ways to lose weight.

The type of exercise will also affect where you see the results.

Even though we are told that spot reduction doesn’t work and loss depends upon overall body fat reduction, if you measure you will find definite differences in the rates of loss. Weight training is great at sculpting the more difficult body parts. Walking to lose weight particularly walking up hills, naturally tightens thighs and bottom. The top half of the body can be neglected when walking for weight loss so it helps to add arm movements perhaps using hand weights during your walking routine.

We all know about buying jeans or some other item of clothing “hoping” that they will be an incentive for weight loss. How often does that work?

But I do recommend purchasing or finding a piece of clothing which is just too tight. It needn’t be expensive and may not even be something you want to wear but it can act as a demonstration of weight loss. It needs to not do up or strain across buttons etc. then take a photo. Over time check on the fit and notice where your measurements have changed. If necessary look at the photo to reassure yourself that it does now fit better. If certain parts are not reducing at the required rate then take specific action for that area.

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