Walking for Weight Loss and Wellbeing

I have always loved walking, but this year it has become a lifeline for me. Most mornings I reach automatically for my leggings, hoodie and walking shoes to ensure that I am set and ready to head out and walk.

Why walking? 

Walking is the most natural and universal form of exercise. In fact, one could claim that it is not an exercise but a way of being human. Professor Daniel Lieberman who studied the Hadza hunter-gatherer men and women, makes the point that we didn’t evolve to exercise but rather to be physically active when necessary. Indeed up until very recently human beings did not view walking as exercise, they simply walked to survive. We are meant to walk many miles a day. Walking is easy, costs us nothing, demands little in the way of skills or special equipment, and rewards us with calorie burning, improved cardiac health and circulation, muscle strengthening, overall wellbeing and mood lifting, a sense of freedom, improved endurance, and posture. In addition, it can be meditative, and it enables us to set time and distance goals.

Why 10,000 steps?

Americans take an average of 4,774 steps a day, the English a little over 5000 and the Japanese about 6,000. These are averages, which means that considerable numbers of people take far fewer steps. Professor Leiberman found that 10,000 steps conflate with the minimum distance our hunter-gatherer ancestors would walk in a day. This includes not only the faster more purposeful walking we do as exercise, but it also considers the steps we take as we go about our daily tasks.

Will a daily walk help me lose weight?

It is important to remember that our weight is controlled primarily by what, how much, how often and when we eat, and far less by exercise. Because natural selection favours those who can allocate as much energy as possible to reproduction, over the millennia our physiology has adapted to storing energy as fat. Until recently nobody was able to become overweight or obese; unfortunately, now that food is so readily available our bodies are still tuned to read calorie deficit and calorie expenditure as potential dangers triggering the starvation response and lowering our metabolic rate. As unfair as it seems, losing ten pounds causes food cravings and a desire to be inactive, whether we are thin or obese.

Even though walking 60 minutes a day will not lead to rapid or exceptional weight loss, trials show that walking 300 minutes a week for 12 weeks helped participants lose six pounds, which compounds to 26 pounds in a year. Walking is a pleasant and inexpensive way to get moderate and useful physical activity. Moreover, walking can be of the utmost importance in maintaining weight loss achieved by dieting. The more intense the walk the more beneficial it will be for weight loss. Power walking means that your pace is such that it is hard to hold a full conversation, it helps to swing your arms and be aware of your posture, holding your head up, your hips level, your arms at a 90-degree angle to your body, hands loosely clasped, looking straight ahead. In order to get the best cardio workout, vary the gradient, walk up some hills, also walk in sand if possible.

When should I walk?

A walk at any time of the day is great; however, walking in the morning offers the extra benefit of exposure to sunlight with the benefits of vitamin D and setting our natural circadian rhythm, which in turn improves our sleep cycle. Walking in the morning gives us a natural boost of energy, reduces fatigue, and helps us feel energised throughout the day. Walking in the morning helps us think, reflect, and clear our minds, it also releases endorphins and serotonin, which are natural mood enhancers.

Should I walk with a friend or partner?

Walking with a friend or partner adds that important social element to the walk and can also motivate us through commitment and accountability to someone else. It can become a time to catch up, or just walk quietly together. The only caveat here is differing pace. Make sure you find a partner or friend who has a similar pace to your own. If your partner is faster, you will be frustrated by constantly trying to catch up and you may even injure yourself, if your partner is slower, you will be equally frustrated at having to slow down and reduce your walking speed and effectiveness. My husband and I have different walking paces and styles, so we generally agree amicably to walk our separate ways.

If you enjoy walking, please drop me a comment, I’d love to hear about your experiences.