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| Walking for weight loss. |
It’s time to lace up your walking shoes and hit the road. Walking is a simple and effective way to lose weight because it can be done virtually anywhere, and costs nothing. And, since all you have to do is put on your walking shoes, it is pretty easy to fit into your busy schedule.
One question you might ask: “How much do I need to walk every day?” The answer is pretty simple: try to accumulate 10,000 steps every day. That might sound like a lot of steps to keep track of but using a pedometer will help you reach this goal.
Did you know this about walking for weight loss?
- One mile is about 2,000 steps; so, 10,000 steps equal about 5 miles.
- Many people will get about half of their 10,000 steps just doing the things they normally do – like cleaning the house, yard work, and walking around the office.
- To reach 10,000 steps, you will probably have to take a walk, go for a jog, or participate in a structured exercise class. This helps you meet the Center for Disease Control’s guideline to accumulate 30-60 minutes of physical activity every day!
Need more motivation to keep your step count high? Well, for every 2,000 steps (about 1 mile), the average person burns about 100 calories! And, accumulating 8,000-10,000 steps every day promotes weight loss. Besides taking a walk outside, there are some other ways to increase the number of steps you take and you can include your entire family in the fun:
- Explore new trails, greenways, and other areas around your neighborhood.
- Plan a scavenger hunt – see how many steps you can accumulate along the way.
- Have a race to see who can get from one place to another and instead of the winner being the “fastest”, the winner is the person who takes the most steps to get there.
