Oct 31, 2010 Tracy Rose
Walking Is Not An Effective Way to Burn Fat - Luke Todd
Walking is a popular weight loss method. Nearly every weight loss plan suggests walking as part of the weight loss journey. There are, however, pros and cons of walking for weight loss. Walking is not a highly effective way to lose weight. Here are some reasons why walking is good and bad when it comes to reaching your weight loss goals.
The Pros of Walking to Lose Weight
Walking is a great starting point for beginners on their weight loss journey. It's something almost everyone can do at their own pace. Walking can be done in small increments throughout the day. It can be done anywhere and there are no start up fees involved. Walking is also a good way to generally improve your health. Walking improves heart health, improves blood flow, strengthens the immune system, increases energy and relieves depression.
The Cons of Walking to Lose Weight
According to The Mayo Clinic, you can expect to burn 277-414 calories per hour walking at a moderate pace, depending on your weight. To put it another way, walking for 30 minutes per day only burns approximately 150 calories. So that after dinner walk may not be doing you as much good as you thought. At that rate, you'd only be losing about a third of a pound per week, assuming you were keeping your calorie intake the same.
Aside from not burning enough calories, walking isn't an effective weight loss plan because it doesn't burn much fat and only slightly increases metabolism. The afterburn for a post walking workout is minimal when compared to higher intensity cardio or weight lifting. Walking also has its limitations because you need to be able to progress in your workout to lose weight. Maxing out at a four mile an hour pace isn't going to help you keep losing once your body adjusts to it. The difference is, that high intensity workouts can be adjusted as your body adjusts to the workout routine and you can challenge yourself more. The same is true for weight lifting.
What is More Effective at Burning Fat Than Walking?
While walking is better than no exercise at all, you might feel like it is a waste of your time after you've been doing it a while and aren't seeing weight loss results. A better way to burn more fat is to include high intensity interval training (HIIT) in your workouts. HIIT is an increase in your speed or intensity that quickly raises your heart rate. The idea is to raise your heart rate significantly, then return to a light or moderate exercise until your heart rate is fully recovered, then hit the high intensity moves again. This method is particularly good at raising metabolism and burning fat. Running is just one way to accomplish this. You could also filter in jumping rope, jumping jacks or any number of activities that gets the heart rate up.
Weight lifting or resistance training is also a good method for burning more fat and losing more weight. Lifting heavy weights burns fat for many hours post-workout. It also helps maintain and build lean muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories, even when the body is at rest.
Depending on whether you are at the beginning stages of your weight loss journey, you need to decide, based on the pros and cons of walking, if walking is going to be enough to stimulate weight loss for you. Walking is a great place to start, but if you have hit a plateau or the weight won't come off, it may be time to switch things up and change the intensity of your workout.
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