Most of the time, it seems like common knowledge that walking is a great way to lose weight. But is this actually true? Is walking really more effective than doing any other exercise? And even if it does help, how much help does it actually give you?

Walking And Diet

Well, for starters, it is true that walking helps you lose weight if you have a bad diet. In fact, a study indicated that people who were on a diet and did nothing else to reduce their caloric intake lost more weight when they started walking.

Why is this? Well, while some other forms of exercise help people lose weight while on a diet because they make you feel more energized and therefore eat less, walking seems to help the best when the diet is already limiting your calorie intake.

Walking burns fat with no exercise

If you’re used to doing a lot of exercises, it can be hard to start exercising in a new way. Well, the truth is that when someone starts exercising for the first time, it’s possible that they will find it hard to move their muscles with a new exercise because they may have been inactive for a long time. However, if you don’t have any problem with this, you can walk every day.

Sometimes, you don’t feel like doing anything that requires a lot of effort because it will only make you tired and worn out. So instead, you’ll opt to sit around or watch TV. However, if you’re planning to lose weight and if walking is the only exercise that you’re planning to do, maybe this will be enough motivation for you to go out and walk every day.

Meal timing before walking

It is especially important that you have a good meal before you start walking. There are many reasons why this is important, but one of the main reasons is that you’re going to feel lighter if you have a good meal before starting your walk. And believe it or not, the reason why you’ll be lighter when walking has to do with calories.

A calorie is something that everyone knows about except for those who are trying to lose weight, apparently. What do you think happens when you have a meal? You begin to digest the food that you have eaten, right? Well, this is also true for the calories. In fact, if you have a big meal before your walk, the calories from the food will take longer to digest.

And since it takes more time for energy to be produced from food that has been digested properly, you’re going to feel energetic and lighter during your walk.

Does Walking Help You Lose Weight?

A common concern people have is whether or not walking helps you lose weight. There are a lot of conflicting opinions online. Some say that while it doesn’t really burn many calories, it does improve your mood, which, in turn, can help with weight loss.

Others say that jogging or running burns more calories and is the better option for weight loss. The truth lies somewhere in between since there are some studies that show jogging will do more to help you lose weight than walking, but there are other studies that show the opposite result.

A study that was published in the Nature journal showed that people who jogged burned 300 more calories per day than people who walked. The study was conducted on 50 obese adults who were put on an exercise program for a period of 12 weeks. Each participant had to walk or run for 45 minutes a day at a speed of 5 miles per hour.

The participants who jogged burned 300 calories more per day than those who walked. Another study of the American Journal of Physiology, showed that walking, jogging, or running for one hour per day did increase the calorie burn by 20% over the course of a week. 

Why Should You Walk To Lose Weight?

If you are familiar with the common phrase “a walk in the park,” you might not know that it refers to how easy it is to walk around a park. As for what it does for your health, the science behind walking should already have convinced you that being active should be part of your life. Now, there are Walking is not only important for your health, but it can also help you lose weight.

Walking improves Fidgeting (tensing up and relaxing), which burns more calories than sitting still. But if you need the motivation to get on your feet more often, try some of these other reasons why walking can be beneficial for weight loss:

•  You’re able to create a better connection between your brain and “hunger” center since the neurons that connect the two are stimulated during exercise. The result is that you’re less likely to feel hungrier after having walked, which also helps with losing weight.
•  Your body actually burns more calories when your muscles are contracted because of the intense activity involved in walking. This means that when you’re outside, you’ll burn more calories when doing things such as climbing stairs.
•  Walking will help you avoid the tendency to eat when you’re in a state of inactivity because your body wants to keep you safe.
•  By walking, you keep the spine in good alignment. This keeps you injury-free and prevents back pain because your bones are in a proper position to support it.
•  Walking will strengthen your bones, making it easier for them to support your weight evenly.
•  Walking improves breathing and heart rate. When you’re in motion, these elements become stronger and more regular, improving the function of the lungs and the pumping function of the heart.
•  Walking helps to reduce stress because it makes you feel calmer and more relaxed.
•  You’ll be able to focus better on what you’re doing because your mind will be free from all sorts of thought patterns. It can help when it comes to planning your meals or preparing your daily schedule for work and school.

What Part Of The Body Does Walking Tone Up?

Walking burns fat on thighs

If you’re overweight, one of the areas that you’re probably ashamed of is your thighs. It seems that many women believe that their thighs are like cottage cheese or cheesecake because it’s creamy and soft.

However, just like other parts of body, your thighs can be toned and shapely. So if you’re planning to lose weight and reduce the fats on your thighs, there is actually nothing better than walking. The calories that you’ll burn from walking will help remove fat from your thighs. The greatest part is that you don’t need to walk a lot to lose weight on your thighs. Walking for 30 minutes a day will be enough.

Walking burns fat on your stomach

Again, if you’re overweight, you probably have many other parts of your body that are also in need of toning. But maybe one of the most annoying parts is your stomach. It seems that when people get fat on their stomachs, they don’t really care about it because they think that it’s just a part of their body that they can’t control. However, this is completely false because anyone can change the shape and size of their stomach just by walking.

Walking is like running in the sense that it strengthens your leg muscles. This is why you will be able to develop a flatter stomach after walking for a little while. If you were unhappy with your flabby stomach, maybe now’s the right time to walk instead of sitting around and feel bad about it. 

Walking burns fat on legs

If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to focus on where your body holds the most excess. This is often just above your thighs. However, there are more places where you can reduce your fat content. This would be on your legs, especially your calves.

Walking will definitely help you shape up the muscles on both your legs and thighs. If you’re not an athlete, walking is perfect for this because it doesn’t require too much effort on the results that you want.

You don’t have to lift weights or run to burn more calories when walking because it’s already more than enough with just 30 minutes of walking every day. It seems that this area is often neglected by people because it’s not as noticeable as the other parts, such as the back and abdomen.

But since you can’t see your legs, this is where it’s important to pay attention to them because they’re not only an extension of your calves and thighs, but they’re also responsible for running and walking.

Walking burns fat on hips

You can burn all your excess fat in your thighs, stomach, and legs. But what about the sides of your body? Some people are aware that they have too much skin on their hips because they look unattractive. But if you have the same problem, you might want to consider walking as a way to shrink your hips.

When your muscles are strengthened, they contract and expand because of the movement involved in walking. This means that you’re getting rid of excess fat on the side of your body because it’s being burned during exercise. And since you’re able to burn more calories this way, your waist will become smaller and more toned over time.

Walking burns fat on the bottom

If you have a big bottom, you might feel unhappy with it. This is because having a big bottom doesn’t only make you look unattractive; it also makes you feel less confident about yourself. Now, though, you can do something about your problem. You will begin to lose weight on your bottom by walking every day. You don’t have to run or do push-ups to get rid of the fats on the side of your body because walking is already more than enough for this.

8 Health Benefits of Walking

1. Stronger muscles

When you exercise, you can feel your muscles warming up. This is because when you do any sort of exercise, such as walking, your muscles are used in action. They will be in a state of contraction because they’re doing work. And this is why when you walk, your muscles will become stronger and more toned in appearance and consistency.

2. Better posture

When you move in a natural and upright way while walking, your weight is distributed evenly on all fours and all parts of the body.

3. Better blood circulation

Your body’s heartbeat will be much more regular when you walk. It supports the flow of blood throughout the body so that your heart becomes stronger. The heart will pump out fresh blood into the entire body. And this is what makes you feel energized and refreshed after cardio exercises.

4. Regular breathing

Always remember that when you’re in motion, your lungs are working harder because they need enough air to breathe.

5. Better digestion

When you’re in motion, your digestive system works faster. Your circulation will also be more regular. This means that the food that you eat will go faster through your body, making it easier for you to clean out the food that has already been digested.

6. Better sleep

If you want to get better sleep, walk instead of taking a nap. The energy expenditure during sleeping is too large, which is why it’s impossible to get adequate rest while lying down or napping in any sort of position.

7. Reduction of stress

When you’re stressed out, it becomes hard for you to focus on the things that matter. You will have a lack of interest in things that you used to care about. And this is why you feel frustrated and irritable.

8. Reduction of depression

Depression affects people all over the world. This problem can be overcome if only there was a way for them to get enough exercise so that they can function normally again and regain their happiness and self-confidence.

FAQs

How much do I need to walk every day to lose weight?

It is vital for anyone who wants to lose weight to walk every day. One hour of walking will burn about 200-300 calories which would be enough to get rid of the fats on your stomach, thighs, and legs. To lose weight on your hips, you should walk for about 45-60 minutes every day. The number of days that you need to walk is based on how much you can afford because if you want results in only a few days, it would be difficult to reach your desired size.

What is a good distance to walk every day?

It is important to note that the distance that you walk every day should be at least 2 miles. This will help you burn about 1500 calories per week without any problem. If you’re just starting out with walking, it’s recommended that you go for a short distance first and then increase it over time.

How long does walking help you lose weight?

Walking is about 30 minutes long. That’s all you have to do every day for 4-5 days in a row to successfully get rid of the fats on your stomach, thighs, and legs. You can continue walking for as long as you want, but if you want to lose weight, you should at least walk for 30 minutes every day.

You don’t have to run or do push-ups to burn excess fat because it will be more than enough with just walking alone. In the condition that you put your mind into it, you can achieve your desired size in no time at all.

How many calories are 2 miles walking?

Two miles walking will burn about 420 calories. The total number of calories that you will burn from walking depends on how fast you walk and how much time you take to finish a walk. For instance, if you walk at a pace of 3 miles per hour, 2 miles will take about 15 minutes. This means that going at 3 miles per hour will burn about 150 calories in just 15 minutes.