Weight can be viewed as the result of two processes.
The first process is the eating of calories and the second is
the burning of calories. If a person eats more calories than
he can burn, then he gains weight. Thus, to lose weight, a person
must eat less calories and burn more. The calories that a person
burns must come from the stored fat in his body. One pound of
body fat is equal to about 3,500 calories. If you plan to lose
about one to two pounds a week, then you should burn an equivalent
number of calories. And the right kind of walking exercise can
help you burn these calories.
How should one walk in order to lose pounds?
First, you must do a warm up walk. This is an easy walk that
should last between five to ten minutes. This warm up walk will
signal your muscles that you are about to engage in a pound-losing
walking exercise and that your muscles should burn calories
from stored fat.
After the warm-up walk, do some stretching
or flexibility exercises before you begin walking at a faster
pace. This faster pace should be similar to walking when you
know that you are about ten minutes late for an important appointment.
You can hear your breathing but it is not too labored because
you can still carry on sentence-long conversations. When you
walk at such an intense and determined pace, more calories are
burned because more muscles (including those of the arms) are
involved.
This body-shaping walking exercise should last
between thirty minutes to one hour. If you are a beginner doing
this walking exercise, it is best that you concentrate on how
far you can walk before you work on your speed. To have an idea
of how far should you ideally walk, you should remember that
for an average 160-pound person, walking one mile is equivalent
to burning 100 calories. If you are already walking twenty miles
a week, then you should attempt to increase your speed. Aim
to cover one mile in less than thirteen minutes.
Once you are done with the fast-paced body-shaping
walk, slow down and continue walking at a more comfortable rate
for the next five minutes. You are now giving your muscles the
signals that you are about to be done. After the slow-paced
walk, do gentle stretching exercises again. Then, you are set
and ready to tackle the next activities of the day.
