I love walking. I don’t do it just for the physical health benefits, which are well documented (see infographic), keeping my weight down for instance. I love walking because I find it therapeutic, it helps to clear my thoughts. And, as I walk, I take in my surroundings and appreciate the beauty in simple, doing this keeps my walking experience fresh.
Did you know that you could lose around 20 pounds of weight over a period of one year just by walking 30 minutes every day? See below.
So, get off that couch and get walking!
Here is a infographic to inspire you.
Here are five main benefits:
1. Walking and Weight Loss: Studies show that walking daily really helps with long term weight maintenance. Weight gain in women who participated in the study, who were also prescribed a healthy, balanced diet, was less than 8 kilograms over a 15 year period. For both men and women who were subject to the study, the longer the distance of the walks they took, the more weight they kept off.
2. Walking and Cardiovascular Disease: At 2,000 steps a day, the risk for getting cardiovascular disease is lessened by 10%. This study, done on subjects who were at risk for cardiovascular disease and had an impaired tolerance to glucose, also showed a decrease in cardiovascular incidents.
3. Walking and Cancer: Walking has also been shown to reduce the risk of a whole list of cancers, gastrointestinal cancer and breast cancer being the most notable ones.
4. Walking and Blood Pressure: Walking has been shown to lower blood pressure and lowers coronary heart disease risk by 19% if you walk for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week.
5. Walking and Mental Health: Studies on walking showed that there’s a marked increase in school and work performance for people who take regular walks. People who walk regularly also showed an increase in size of the memory center of the brain, leading to better recall. Walking reduces anxiety and stress, and research has shown that it improves quality of sleep, thereby improving your mood and cognitive ability overall. Recent studies have shown walking rather than taking a car to work can benefit psychology – with increased feelings of well being.
How Much Will Walking Burn
Next you need to evaluate how many calories a 30-minute walk will burn. The amount of energy you burn depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise and also your body weight. If you walk at a slow pace, for example 2.5 mph, you will obviously burn less energy than if you walk at a moderate pace of 3.5 mph. In addition, the more you weigh the more calories you burn. For example, a 120 pound person will burn around 80 calories walking on level ground at 2.5 mph for 30 minutes. However, walking 3.5 mph, uphill, will burn 180 calories. A 150 pound person doing the same exercises will burn 100 and 200 calories, respectively. How Much Weight Can You Lose
On a weekly basis, if you eat 3,500 calories less than your energy requirement, you will lose 1 pound per week. If your calorie intake and expenditure are in balance, allowing you to maintain a steady weight, and you begin walking 30 minutes a day without increasing your calorie intake, you can calculate how much weight you can lose. If you weigh 150 pounds and walk uphill for 30 minutes at 3.5 mph every day for one week, you will burn 200 calories. Multiply 200 calories by 7 days, for a total of 1,400 calories. In four weeks you will have burned 5,600 calories. This equals a weight loss of 1.6 pounds in four weeks.
– See more at: healthinfocus.net and Livestrong
