Walking for Weight Loss

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Walking For Weight Loss & Wellness

Walking is one of the easiest ways to get the exercise you need to stay healthy. 

Experts recommend at least 2½ hours of moderate activity (such as brisk walking, brisk cycling, or yard work) a week. It's fine to walk in blocks of 10 minutes or more throughout your day and week.

• If you're worried about how brisk walking might affect your health, talk with your doctor before you start a walking program.
• Start with a short-term goal. For example, walk for 5 or 10 minutes every day. Or increase your number of steps by 300 to 500 each day.
• After you've made walking a habit, set a longer-term goal. You may want to set a goal of walking briskly for at least 30 minutes a day or work up to 10,000 steps a day. You can try to do this 5 days a week or more.
• You can wear a pedometer to track your steps each day.
• To stay motivated, find a walking partner, such as a family member, friend, or coworker. Daily dog walks are also a great way to keep up your walking routine.

You don't have to walk all at once. You can split it up. It's fine to walk in blocks of 10 minutes or more at a time. If you use a pedometer, you might be surprised to see how many steps you take by simply doing chores and errands or by taking walking breaks during the day. 

There are many ways to walk more without going on a long walk. Use the stairs instead of the elevator, or park farther away from work or a store. Instead of e-mailing or phoning a coworker or neighbor, walk over. When you meet with someone or visit with a friend, suggest taking a walk instead of staying inside.

To get the heart-healthy benefits of walking, you need to walk briskly enough to increase your heart rate and breathing, but not so fast that you can't talk comfortably.

Brisk walking is a form of aerobic exercise. This is exercise that increases your heart rate for an extended time. Aerobic exercise helps strengthen your heart, lungs, and muscles. A strong heart carries more blood, along with oxygen and nutrients, to the rest of the body. Aerobic exercise also lowers blood pressure and can help you stay at a healthy weight.

Walking and other aerobic exercise also can improve your mood and energy. Regular exercise helps prevent and reduce symptoms of depression. It helps reduce symptoms of anxiety in children and teens.

Walking also keeps your bones healthy. It is a weight-bearing activity, which means that it works the muscles and bones against gravity. This can help reduce your risk of osteoporosis and broken bones.

Walking, like all physical activity, burns calories. Being active is important for staying at a healthy weight.

How can you make a walking program part of your life?

 

Think of walking as an easy way to burn calories and stay fit while you go about your daily routine. You can make walking an important part of your life by getting friends and family to join you and by finding new ways to put steps in your day.

Walk with others

• Ask family members, friends, and coworkers to join you. Set goals together.
• Join a walking group or club.
• Set a goal to take part in an organized fitness walk.
• Walk a dog every day.
• Plan family outings around walks together. Being physically active with kids sets an example they'll follow as they grow older.

Add steps whenever you can

• Schedule walks on your daily calendar.
• Buy a pedometer at a sporting goods store. A pedometer counts how many steps you take. The first time you wear it, count how many steps you normally take in a day. Wear your pedometer every day, and set a goal for increasing the number of steps each day. At first, try to add 300 to 500 steps to your day. Then work toward 2,000 more steps a day. A good long-term goal is to get 10,000 steps a day.
• Instead of watching TV or going out to eat, go out for a walk.
• At work, get up and move around once an hour.
• When possible, walk to the grocery store, doctor appointments, work, school, or shopping. You could walk a lap around the grocery store before you start shopping.
• Park your car farther away from work or other places you're going.
• Walk around your neighborhood or around a park.
• Walk during TV commercials.

Be safe

• Know your surroundings. Walk in a well-lighted, safe place.
• Carry a cell phone for emergencies.
• Wear comfortable shoes and socks that cushion your feet.
• Pay attention to your walking surface. Use sidewalks and paths.
• If you usually walk outside and the weather is bad, take comfortable shoes to the mall and walk several laps inside.
• Drink plenty of water before, during, and after you are active. This is very important when it's hot out and when you do intense exercise. Take a water bottle with you when you walk.

Where to go from here

 

Now that you have read this information, you are ready to plan a walking program that suits you.

Talk with your doctor if you're worried about how brisk walking might affect your health

If you have questions about this information, print it out and take it with you when you visit your doctor.

Source: WebMD

How to Stay on a Diet

Expert diet tips to keep you from being a diet dropout.

 

Will this be the year you lose weight for good, or will you end up a diet dropout? Most dieters start out with great intentions for diet success -- hitting the gym every day and cutting calories to a minimum. But before long, when the results are not fast enough, and maintaining the routine gets tough, they throw in the towel.

Typically, people last about six months on a diet -- even less if the plan is really strict, says Catherine Champagne, PhD, RD, a researcher with Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

"When diet plans differ immensely from previous eating patterns, restrict favorite foods or entire food groups, dieting usually lasts for a much shorter time," she says.

Reasons for Diet Failure

According to the experts, these are the four leading causes of diet dropout:

1.Choosing the Wrong Diet
Choosing a restrictive diet that doesn't fit your lifestyle is a major reason for giving up on weight loss efforts, says Holly Wyatt, MD, Colorado University's program director for obesity research and education. When the diet is too difficult in the first place, sustaining it long term will be almost impossible. Factor in boredom, and all it takes is one misstep to cause a dieter to give up.

"There is no one perfect diet that is the best," says Wyatt. "Instead, look for a sound diet plan that you can live with, day in and day out." It should also allow you to enjoy small portions of your favorite foods.

Diet Success Tip: Diets that work are diets that last. Don't think of your eating plan as a "diet" you can go on and off of. Choose a healthy plan that fits your lifestyle -- one that you can see following for the rest of your life.

Successful losers understand that whether they're trying to lose weight or maintain the lost weight, theirs is a lifestyle of constant vigilance.

"Losing weight and maintaining it is among the most difficult things people can do because it has no end," says Gary Foster, PhD, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. "To succeed is to make the vigilance part of a regular lifestyle."

2.Unrealistic Expectations
Failing to lose weight quickly enough is the Achilles heel of most dieters, says Champagne. Weight loss may take longer than anticipated, or your diet may need adjustments along the way.
"Most dieters want to lose large amounts of weight and aren't happy unless they lose 30%-40%" of their body weight, says Wyatt.
When you set the bar unrealistically high, she says, it can feel like you failed when you don't meet your goals. And when you think of yourself as a failure, this can trigger a return to old eating habits.

Diet Success Tip: You might not fit into those skinny jeans, but keep in mind that losing even a little weight goes a long way toward improving your health. Research has shown that losing 10% of your body weight (for example, going from 200 to 180 pounds) can have big payoffs for your health.
"Medically, 10% weight loss can lower blood pressure, cholesterol [and] triglyceride levels, improve glucose sensitivity and sleep apnea," says Wyatt.
In addition, it can help you feel better about yourself.

3.Dieting Without Exercise
Some people just don't like to exercise, or have physical limitations that prevent them from doing it. But if you don't want to be a diet drop-out, you need to find some form of physical activity you can do most days of the week.
"If there is one behavior that predicts weight loss success, it is being physically active on a regular basis," says Foster.
Further, physical activity brings many health and psychological benefits aside from weight loss.

Diet Success Tip: Exercise does not have to happen in a gym - try gardening, dancing, walking, bike riding, or playing tennis, whatever you enjoy. Start slowly and gradually increase your intensity. Check with your doctor if you have physical limitations. Working out in the pool, for example, cushions joints and adds the extra benefit of water resistance. One of the simplest and easiest ways to exercise is to trap on a pedometer and count your steps throughout the day, aiming for 10,000 each day.

4.Not Changing Your Environment
Willpower alone won't cut it. To be a successful loser, you need to create a diet-friendly environment at home, work, and socially.

"It is hard to continually push away from the wings at happy hour, candy on your desk, or a house full of temptations. If you want to succeed, you need to make changes in your environment so you are not constantly dealing with or resisting temptations," says Wyatt.

When you can't eat the same things as your friends, or your family doesn't support your weight-loss efforts, this makes dieting more difficult, says Champagne.

Diet Success Tip: Seek support from your family, friends, and co-workers. And, Wyatt suggests, remove temptations wherever you can. Stock your kitchen with nutritious foods so you have ingredients on hand for healthy meals and snacks. Take nutritious snacks and meals with you when you're on the go so you'll be prepared when hunger strikes. Remove the candy dish from your desk, skip happy hour with your friends -- do whatever it takes to set yourself up for success, even if it means hanging around with different friends.

More Tips for Diet Success

Experts offer these additional weight loss tips:

• Keep track of your progress. Besides exercise, experts say, the second most important behavior is self-monitoring. "Tracking how much you eat and weighing in a minimum of once weekly is critical to weight loss success," says Foster. Experts suggest giving yourself a "safe" weight range. When your weight starts going beyond the range, scale back on calories and/or pump up the exercise. And don't delay. "Get back on track quickly before the lapse in behavior results in going off the diet plan," says Foster.
• Jump-start your weight loss by following a fairly strict plan for a short time. This can give you quick results to strengthen your motivation. After this short-term period, switch to a more sustainable plan, says Foster.
• Make small, gradual changes instead of totally revising your eating habits. Try a new change each week, and build upon your success.
• Reward yourself (but not with food) when you achieve small goals, such as losing 5 pounds or exercising five days a week.
• Forget about "dieting." Instead, think about strategies to satisfy your hunger for fewer calories. Eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein can help manage your appetite.
• Identify what led to your weight gain and address it. For example, if you overeat because of stress, consider a stress management course. Develop a strategy to address areas in which you're vulnerable so you can set yourself up for success.
• Don't get discouraged if you regain a little weight after your initial loss. Some studies have shown that about 80% of dieters will have some regain, says Foster. "Nobody advocates yo-yo dieting because it is better to change behaviors, lose weight, and keep it off, but we do know that weight cycling does not lower metabolism or appear to cause adverse psychological effects," Foster says.

Source: WebMD

How to Lose 20 Pounds by Walking

Walking is a great way to lose 20 pounds for many reasons, and knowing how to do it effectively will help you reach your goal weight in no time. Walking is enjoyable for most people, easy on your joints, and one of the safest forms of exercise. Many people find they can stick to a walking program long term which is essential for weight maintenance. The key to losing 20 pounds by walking is to set appropriate goals and understand the fundamentals of weight loss.

How Long Will it Take Me to Lose 20 Pounds?

At a weight loss rate of ½ -1 pound per week, it will likely take you at least 20 weeks to lose 20 pounds. Losing weight at this pace is safe and will help you keep the weight off long term. To accomplish a weight loss of ½ - 1 pound per week, try to burn an extra 250-500 calories per day by walking. If you find you're not burning this many calories by walking alone, simply reduce your calorie intake through diet in addition to walking.

How Often Should I Walk?

If you're a beginner, start by walking 3 days per week for at least 15-20 minutes. Gradually increase the frequency and duration of your walks until you are walking 30-60 minutes per day, most days of the week. To help keep your walks enjoyable try alternate walking indoors with walking outdoors, watching television during your walks (using a treadmill), or listening to music or a book on tape with headphones. For most people it's not walking they dislike, but becoming bored during the walk. Work walking into your regular routine and make it a priority.

How Many Calories Can I Burn By Walking?

The number of calories per minute you can burn by walking is determined by your body weight and walking pace. If you walk at a pace of 4 miles per hour (a common pace) you can burn the following amount of calories per minute: 120 lb. person = 4.7 calories; 140 lb. person = 5.5 calories; 160 lb. person = 6.3 calories; 180 lb. person = 7.1 calories; 200 lb. person = 7.8 calories; and 220 lb. person  = 8.6 calories. If you plan to lose 20 pounds by walking alone, try to burn at least 250 extra calories during your walk per day. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds you'd have to walk at least 40 minutes per day at a pace of 4 miles per hour to lose ½ pound per week. If you're unsure of your pace, try walking on a treadmill to give you a better idea.

How Can I Lose Weight and Stay Toned?

Walking alone will definitely help you lose weight, however adding resistance exercise to your routine will help keep you tight and toned during your weight loss. Try walking with arm or ankle weights some days or interval train a few days per week (alternate power walking with moderately paced walks). On the days you don't walk, try lifting weights, Pilates or strength band training to stay toned while losing 20 pounds.

Source: FitDay

Walking And Weight Loss