Walking For Weight Loss
One of the best and cheapest ways to get in shape is by walking for weight loss. You don’t need a gym membership or fancy equipment. You probably won’t even have to spend money on gas, since most of us can step outside our front door and begin. In climates where it’s warm all year round, walking is convenient during any month. In cold-winter climes, walking might have to be taken indoors for a short while, but there are ways to get your miles in even when the outside is covered in ice. You should keep in mind that walking for weight loss isn’t going to show a drastic change on the scale if you’re overeating.
If you don’t change how you eat at all and you being a walking plan, you will probably start to lose weight, or at least not gain weight. But what you put into your body is the first and foremost indicator of whether or not you will lose weight. The only way to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than you use; and not just in one day, but over a period of time. If anyone’s telling you that you can drop pounds any other way, it’s simply not true.
But a great way to burn more calories and use more than you consume is by walking for weight loss. So combined with a healthy eating plan, walking is a great way to slim down. Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, you just want to be healthier, walking is great exercise that works your whole body. It’s easy, inexpensive and one of the exercises that makes you less likely to become injured than something like running, skiing or lifting weights.
If you’re ready to start walking for weight loss, the only real expense required is a good pair of walking shoes. These don’t have to cost you hundreds of dollars, but you should get the best pair you can afford. If you’ve never done much walking or you’re very overweight it’s a good idea to go to a shoe store that specializes in sports shoes and athletics, have your foot measured, and get some recommendations from the experts. Do your research online, too, to find a good pair for a decent price. If you take off walking with a pair that doesn’t support your foot, you’ll probably want to quit after a few days of hurting feet and sore calf muscles.
Do you have health problems or are currently under a doctor’s treatment for anything, be sure and give them a call before you start walking for weight loss. And use common sense. Don’t plan to start by walking 4 miles in 100 degree heat.
Start slowly, expect to be a little sore, and work your way up. Find an indoor place like a mall where you can walk during very hot or cold weather so you can stay comfortable. Then you’ll be able to enjoy walking for weight loss all year long.
5 Great Tips On Losing Weight
Everyone you talk to seems to have dozens of tips on losing weight. Some are good common sense tips, but some seem to come out of left field. Even people who can’t seem to successfully lose weight and keep it off, seem happy to offer up tips and advice to other people. That’s a pretty good indication that many of us know the best advice and tips on losing weight, but we just don’t follow them very well. Here are some tips which, if you use them in your daily journey toward losing weight, can help you.
Use smaller plates. This is one of those tips on losing weight that often makes people roll their eyes. It has nothing to do with eating or exercise, but it really does trick your mind into thinking you’re eating more food. A smaller plate will look fuller than a large plate if they have the same amount of food on them. You might even naturally put less food on the smaller plate, to keep it from looking so loaded down. It’s a mental trick, but you should try it because it works for many people.
Eat slowly. This is one of the oldest and most popular tips on losing weight. Have you ever watched a speed-eating contest? Imagine someone eating the same amount of food as the winner, but imagine them eating it slowly. The champion may have scarfed down 20 pies in very little time. Could you actually sit down with a fork and slowly eat 20 pies? It’s not likely.
The speed eater ate so fast, his body didn’t even have time to scream, “STOP, I’M FULL!” And if it had, he was only focused on putting more and more food in, just as we are when we’re “starving” and we gulp down our food. Eat slowly and you’ll reach a pleasant feeling of fullness rather than the one that means you’ve eaten too much too fast.
Watch your portion sizes. If fried chicken is your favorite, you might start out with 2 or 3 pieces on your plate. Try grabbing one small piece instead, and filling up on salad or green veggies to replace those missing pieces of chicken. Try to keep a portion of food about the size of your fist. Those mashed potatoes that you don’t want to give up? Still eat them, but stop after one small portion, instead of piling a mountain on your plate.
Don’t clear your plate. Of all the tips on losing weight, this one is often the hardest. As children we were taught not to turn down food because other people were starving. We might have even gotten punished for “wasting food” and forced to eat it.
You’re not starving, and you can’t send that food to those who are, so do yourself a favor and don’t eat it. To avoid the guilt of wasting food, use another one of the good tips on losing weight and simply start out with less food on your plate next time.