If you want to achieve weight loss then you must consider your calorie balance. Simply put, if you consume fewer calories by eating and drinking than you expend by physical activity, you will tend to lose weight. Physical activity includes practically everything that you do during the course of your daily routine. You are burning calories all the time throughout the day. Sitting watching the TV, typing on your computer, reading a book – all of these activities use up calories.

Your metabolic rate sounds very scientific – but it’s just the rate at which you burn calories. Of course, different people can have very different metabolic rates. We all know some lucky people who seem able to eat whatever they like without piling on the pounds. They probably have a high metabolic rate.

And that’s why you should incorporate some amount of regular exercise in your weight loss efforts. Clearly when you exercise you will burn off calories, which is a good thing of course. However, what’s even more important is that, as long as your exercise is conducted on a consistent basis, it will actually raise your metabolic rate. You will use up calories faster than before – even when you’re not exercising – and that could mean that you see improved results, and a lot quicker, than if dieting is all you do to lose weight.

The main thing is consistency. You don’t need to visit the gym or get all hot and sweaty, a low intensity workout will do the trick – as long as it is performed frequently. Walking for instance, is an extremely effective way to shed a few pounds and generally get in shape. There are no monthly membership fees, it’s easy to do, you can slot it into your daily schedule whenever you like and you don’t need any special equipment or training. It has many health benefits over and above helping you to achieve weight loss and, because it’s a low impact workout, it has a very low risk of injury.

If you want, you can increase the efficiency of your walking workout using the latest design of fitness footwear. You can now get specially engineered shoes like Skechers Shape Ups, Reebok Easy Tones, MBT’s and Fit flops sandals – all of which use specially designed soles to raise the amount of work done by your lower body muscles and to help trim your butt and tone your legs. However, if you don’t want to experiment with these, then do at least be certain that you get yourself a comfortable pair of shoes. You’ll find it hard to keep up your walking routine if you have blisters or if your shoes cause you any discomfort.

A lot of people want to know exactly how many calories walking will use. It varies according to your weight. Someone who is heavier will use more calories per mile than a lighter person – simply because they are carrying more weight over the same distance. A rough rule of thumb is that a 180 pound person will burn around about 100 calories per mile. A 130 pound individual will burn about 84 calories when walking the same distance. If you want to know more accurately how many calories you are burning then an Omron pedometer is accurate to a tolerance of 5% and can display your results in terms of distance covered, calories burned or the total number of steps taken.

Health and fitness professionals typically agree that a target of 10,000 steps daily is what’s required in order to achieve a whole host of health and fitness benefits – not just weight loss. However, there’s no need for you to do this in one fell swoop. Take your time and build up slowly. If you have any medical conditions, or if you haven’t taken any regular exercise for a while, then it would be advisable to seek the opinion of your doctor before you embark on any new exercise program. Remember, consistency is key, and taking your exercise on a regular basis. Brief periods of high intensity activity are nothing like as good as regular low level exercise. That’s why walking is such an ideal exercise solution.

 

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