If you are wondering if you can lose weight by walking, the answer is yes! According to a research done by the World Health Organisation(WHO), around 2 million deaths every year happen due to physical inactivity. Lack of physical activities can create a lot of health problems such as

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Cardiovascular diseases
• High blood pressure
• Heart diseases
• Colon cancer
• Lipid disorders
• Osteoporosis

Walking helps in preventing chronic diseases and also helps in losing weight. It was found in a study that an average person lost an average of 3 pounds by walking. This might sound obvious, but the more you walk, the more weight you can lose.

Why is walking good for losing weight?

Walking, unlike going to the gym or working out at home, requires no equipment except the walking shoes. Walking can be done almost anywhere. Walking is also less likely to stress the joints in the knees in the way that running or jogging can.

Everybody knows how to walk, but that doesn’t mean it can not be done in a better way and burn more calories. Just because walking upright, in a natural way is an easy way for humans to expend energy from the food we eat and drinks we have does not mean there is not a better way to learn and do it better to burn your belly fat and extra calories.

The following tips will tell you how walking can help you lose weight and reach your body goals.

Tips for walking to lose weight

1. Choose the right pair of shoes

The only equipment that is necessary for walking when you want to lose weight is a good pair of shoes. The right walking shoes have stiff heel counters and flexible shoes to prevent side to side motion.

2. Making a good walking playlist

Make a playlist of the songs you wanna listen to while walking. Listening to music while walking will uplift your mood and motivate you to push yourself harder and go farther. The best part of this is that you probably will get so engaged in listening to music, you will not even notice the extra effort you put in to push yourself.

3. Prepare a route

It is good to have an idea about where you will be walking every day. If you know the route, you will be more confident and comfortable as you will know what to expect to walk, and no time will be wasted in figuring out the routes.

4. Find a walking partner

When you have a walking buddy or partner, you have strong support and motivation to achieve your weight loss goal.

5. Be well prepared for weather conditions

No matter where you live, it is better to check the weather before you go out for walking. Do not let windy, icy, cold, wet, or hot weather ruin your mood and stop you from going out and walking your belly off.

6. Keep tabs on your strides

It is always a good idea to keep tabs on your strides to see where you are on the road to achieving your weight loss goals. Nowadays, there are many apps that offer financial incentives for their members who clock up a certain number of strides in a day. These incentives act as a motivator for the members who go out for walking to lose weight.

If you want to find out the number of strides you are clocking up, you should get a pedometer. There is no ideal way to find out the number of steps you should take on your walk every day, but you can use the pedometer to keep track of the number of steps you take while walking every day. And of course, the more you walk, the more calories you burn.

7. Walk briskly

Walking at a slow pace is not effective if you wanna lose weight. If you can fit in at least 30-40 minutes of brisk walking every day on a flat surface, you will have more than 1500 calories burned in a week.

8. Walk before having breakfast

The best time to go on a walk is soon after you wake up and before you have your breakfast. Walking early in the morning is more beneficial for burning fat because, in the morning, your body is already calorie deficit as you have not eaten anything since your dinner. Because your body is in a calorie deficit, it will ignite the abilities if fat burning in your body.

9. Make sure to swing your arms

Swinging your arms while walking helps to speed your pace and provides an excellent upper body workout. Moreover, swinging your arms will help you burn extra calories. To swing your arms, bend your arms at an angle of 90 degrees and pump them from the shoulder.

10. Go faster but in the right way

Doctors suggest that there are two ways to increase your walking pace. You can either take faster strides or longer strides. Faster strides are better because taking longer strides can increase strain on your legs and feet and cause pain.

11. Walk uphills

The best example of interval training is to walk briskly on a short uphill. It is also good for your leg muscles and knees.

12. Do high-intensity walks

Do not forget to add hight intensity walks on your walking routine. Do at least a 20-30 minutes of high intense walking every alternate or 3 consecutive days per week. High-intensity walks will help you burn more fat.

13. Make Walking a part of your everyday routine

Making new habits can be difficult, but commitment and motivation is all you need to keep going. Once it becomes a part of your daily routine, you will be habituated, and habits keep you going.

14. Do not starve yourself after your walk

Post-workout nutrition is crucial to achieving your fitness goals. It is essential that you refuel your body immediately after a brisk walking session. It helps decrease protein breakdown, increase protein synthesis, replenish glycogen levels, and increase the ability to build muscles. But also do not eat more calories than your walk burned.