Walking to lose weight: why it works and how to get started

Walking is a great way to start losing weight. You can lose weight comparatively quickly and with ease. Here, I explain why walking to lose weight makes good sense, and how to start walking regularly.

Walking to lose weight works because it:

• Burns calories efficiently.
• Increases metabolism.
• Lowers appetite.

All food contains calories and if you don't expend these calories they will get stored as fat. Fortunately you use them in all types of activity: sitting around, walking or going to the gym.

There are three basic types of walking:

• Lifestyle walking: walking at a leisurely pace.
  
• High-energy walking: fast walking (5+ miles per hour).
  
• Incline walking: walking up hills.

The number of calories burned walking depends on not only the type of walking but your current weight and the distance walked. Assuming you are 150 pounds and have walked 1 mile the number of calories burned is,

Walking builds muscle tissue and muscle tissue burns more calories than regular tissue or fat. In fact, adding one pound of muscle uses an extra 50 calories an hour.

These extra calories come at no extra cost. They are burned regardless. You could be shopping or watching TV or looking after the children. So walking increases your body's natural rate of burning calories. Nutritionists, fitness gurus and health experts call this base-rate of burning calories the metabolism.

In fact, dieting without exercise decreases metabolism. Your body sees a reduction in eating and goes into starvation mode. Starvation mode is your body's way of preparing for a shortage of food. In this starvation mode your body decreases the calories burned and starts storing fat.

If you eat less, you lose weight. Damn, I feel like Mr. Obvious!

Research has shown that walking suppresses your appetite. The exercise releases hormones that suppress the feeling of hunger. "Increased physical activity is an essential part of any weight management programme, not just to expend more calories but also, as we see here, to help control our appetite too." says Dr. Ian Campbell, a UK weight researcher.

Walking to lose weight is usually an easy habit to develop. You'll want to complete these steps (awful pun!):

1. Buy the right equipment.
2. Find a good route.
3. Make the time.
4. Make it enjoyable.

Buy the right equipment

Walking requires no essential equipment other than shoes or clothes. But you may benefit from:

• Well made waterproof shoes/boots.
• Appropriate clothes.
• Pedometer.
• Water flask.
• Walking poles. (optional)
  
• Phone. (optional)
  

Walking 2-4 times a week wears out shoes quickly especially if you have chosen a muddy route (see route planning below). I made the mistake of beginning walking in my business shoes. Within a month they were in disrepair. The shine had come off, the soles were starting to peel and my laces were frayed.

Many companies make waterproof boots for continuous use, so they won't wear out quickly. Buying a pair of sturdy boots will save you money in the long run.

Choice of clothes depend on where you live. If you're walking in sunny California, USA, you'll need shorts, an airy top and a visor to shield you from the sun. If you walking in the Highlands of Scotland you'll need a thick, waterproof jacket, gloves and a hat.

Regardless you'll want comfortable, flexible clothes. When trying on new clothes stretch up and down, and forwards and backwards to check your range of movement. If you find resistance don't buy them because they'll be irritating. Wear clothes that meet the demands of the weather but allow for movement.

Walking to lose weight is much easier if you have a pedometer. A pedometer is a small electronic device that usually clips onto your waist and tracks not only the amount of steps you've take but the distance you've travelled and the amount of calories you've burned.

If you're tracking the number of calories you're eating, you can use the pedometer to make sure you burn off those excess calories, i.e., you may need to burn off that chocolate bar.

Also, using a pedometer you can make a walking diary that includes both the amount you've walked and the calories you've burned. The diary might also include things you've seen and bits you've collected like leaves and flowers. So a pedometer helps track your progress in walking to lose weight fast.

Keeping hydrated is important. Don't believe dehydration only affects walkers in hot places. Dehydration is when your body has lost too much water through sweating. This can be especially severe if you're overweight because you might sweat more than you would otherwise. So take a flask of cold water. You should be able to fill up at locations on your route like pubs or park water fountains.

Walking poles are not just for hikers. If you are overweight your legs are carrying more load than they would otherwise. This means that your legs wear out quickly and may not be able to carry your weight. Walking poles remove some of the load from your legs and redistribute it to your arms. Your arms would be doing nothing otherwise.

If you're using walking poles don't drag them along or touch them down lightly. Instead push them down hard in time with your step.

Being able to contact someone if you get in trouble is important for your safety. Trouble could mean being robbed, falling over and not being able to move or simply getting lost. I suggest you take a phone as a precautionary measure.

Find a good route

Good routes depend on both your current shape and where you enjoy walking. You should ask yourself whether you want:

• Easy or hard walks?
• Short or long walks?
• Urban or rural walks?

Easy walks is are on level ground without obstacles and short walks are less than 3 miles. If you are a beginner I suggest you start with short and easy walks and increase length and difficult. You can measure the length of the walk using your pedometer.

Urban walks are in the city or residential areas and rural walks are natural areas like parks or forests. This may be determined by where you live because if you live in a city there may not be many green areas close. If you have the choice between urban and rural consider not only whether you prefer walking in nature but also whether you can cope with unsteady, muddy paths and inclines.

There are two good methods to find routes:

• Walking websites.
  
• Mapping software.

There are lots of websites where users submit good walks they've discovered. These walks are usually categorised by length and difficulty. For example a search for 'good walks in Fife, Scotland' yields Visit Scotland's list of some 100+ walks in Perth, Fife, Glasgow, Dundee and Angus. Search 'good walks in [your location], [your country]'.

You might change the search to find more suitable walks. For example 'easy walks in [your location], [your country]' or 'long walks in [your location], [your country]'.

Sometimes you won't be able to find suitable walks. Online mapping software lets you easily plan a suitable walk. You can find walks that are both a certain length and go through certain points.

1. Go to Google Maps.
2. Select 'Get Directions' on the left.
3. Input the starting location in field A. This will usually be your house.
4. Input a location you might want to walk to. At this stage don't think about distance.
5. Select 'Get Directions'.
6. Select the figure of the walking man above field A.

You now should be given be a series of suggested routes. Google will tell you not only the directions but the walking time and the distance.

If the distance is too long or too short you can drag 'B' to a better location. If you want to go via a point of interest (maybe you have a nice river close) you can drag the blue path and it'll suggest a new route.