Walk to Lose Weight

Walking is an excellent activity to choose for your weight loss goals. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned exerciser walking is among some of the best choices to add to your fitness regime.

If you are able to walk even just a little bit you can benefit from the powers of walking.

No special equipment is required and in this case as in all cases of fitness a little is better than nothing. You do not need walking poles or fancy shoes and clothing to get out and start walking.

However, having said that though there are excellent shoes and clothing that is available that will enhance your walking experience.

Walking for Weight Loss

Whether you choose to add walking gear to your wardrobe or not it is best to wear brightly colored outerwear so you are readily seen on the roads. This can be a cheep as a strip of reflective tape on your jacket or get a traffic vest for a couple of bucks from online or your local hardware store.

If you are elderly or obese – and after you have checked with your health professional about walking as a benefit for you – for safety and assistance you may consider a walker for stability and support.

There are also walkers with seats so if you tire during your walk you can rest comfortably and then continue on your walk. Again check with your doctor, but by using a walker with a seat you can be comfortable knowing if you have to sit down you can and because of that you can push yourself a little bit so you will experience steady improvements in your abilities.

Again please check with your treating practitioner.

For most people walking is a natural and easy exercise that often doesn’t get the credit it deserves when planning to start a life of fitness.

I assure you that walking – even only a few minutes – will help you to lose weight and get fit.

Exercise for weight loss
Generally speaking exercising for weight loss has both an immediate effect and a residual effect.

What this means is; when you exercise you increase your caloric expenditure. The immediate effect of exercise is you are burning calories during your exercise time.

Regular exercising also increases your metabolic rate meaning you will also begin to burn more calories even when you are not exercising.

Even though walking is simple and easy to do walking for exercise will help you lose weight. See the article on Calories Burned Walking.

Weight loss methods
Among all the weight loss methods advertised out there they can all be classified as either caloric intake reduction or increased caloric expenditure.

The most efficient way of losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight is to do a combination of both. But don’t worry about doing everything at once.

The number one reason that I have seen why people do not complete their weight loss goal is the misconception of all or nothing.

That’s not your fault, you are told so often that to lose weight and be fit you have to do this, and that, and this, and that!

It gets confusing, overwhelming, and in some cases, far too technical.

Don’t worry about it. Just pick a thing and once you have mastered that, then pick another thing.

Since you are on this page about walking for weight loss lets assume you have decided to choose to add walking in your life.

Simple as walking may be there are a zillion excuses you will come up with for not doing it. Don’t worry, decide you will win this one and if each day you decide you want to be a walker, you will become a walker.

You will see the most rapid improvements if you are walking everyday for weight loss but don’t worry if you miss a day, just do your best and keep making the decision to walk.

Once walking has become habit then choose something else to change in your dietary or fitness activities.

Simple weight loss
I call this simple weight loss because walking is the simplest of all exercises. It involves little to no preparation and can be done practically anywhere and you can definitely walk to lose weight.

If the weather outside is frightful (did you break into song?) then there is indoor walking you can do. March in place, do high stepping kicks or a side to side gait, that’s all it takes to start walking off weight.

Here is a sample walking video for weight loss using indoor walking exercises.