Walk to Increase Weight Loss
By Rachel Carver
Losing weight is hard work. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Research shows fad diets do not work because they eliminate certain foods and are not sustainable, resulting in gaining back any weight you lose. Combining a healthy, balanced diet with regular exercise will put you in a calorie deficit, which will move the number on the scale.
Regular walking is healthy, easy on the body, and can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Implement these walking tips to burn more calories.
Visit a Trail at Least Weekly
A 45-minute, 3-mile walk at a reasonable pace can burn approximately 173 calories. However, a trail hike for the same time and distance can burn as many as 315 calories. Finding a fun, more challenging hiking trail you can visit at least once a week will help you burn 638 more calories in a month. If your weather is decent and you have the time, add another trail hike to your week to improve endurance and raise your calorie numbers.
Window Shop
Many of us head to the store to look for particular items. However, if time allows, browsing a store will increase your step count and burn more calories. An extra 30 minutes of walking store aisles burns 81 calories.
Walk in Intervals
Start your walk at your normal pace, and add short bursts at a faster pace. Incorporating several 1-minute intervals into your walk can burn an additional 30 calories during each long walk.
Warm Up With Lunges
Starting your walk with 10 minutes of lunges will add 50 more calories to your workout. Using a bench or your porch for step-ups will give you the same result. Just make sure you can easily step one foot at a time up and down the step without stumbling if you choose the step-ups.
Take the Stairs
Walking stairs uses more muscles than a walk on a flat surface. Stairs also increase your heart rate. Just five minutes of taking the stairs can help you burn 47 calories. Use the stairs in your office, and add extra stair trips while doing your laundry.
Get Active with Your Family
You can have a blast playing tag or tossing the frisbee with your kids. Maybe you have a park in your neighborhood with a fun trail or playground your kids enjoy. Just 30 minutes of this kind of activity is fun and can burn an extra 150 calories.
Staying active helps combat too much sitting, makes you feel better, and can help you reach your weight loss goals. Be consistent in your actions and you will be successful.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Brownsville, Tex.