You’re trying to lose weight by walking but you can’t and you don’t understand why. But don’t be discouraged: walking to lose weight is possibleand indeed it is one of the most popular ways to quickly lose extra pounds.
And if you don’t see appreciable results, it’s because you are making a mistake at least 1 if not two or all 3 of these things:
1. You do it too little
2. You do it too rarely
3. You do it too slowly
You want to lose weight by walking but you can’t: here’s why
Walking can be a real aerobic sporting activity and, as such, that uses fatty acids for energy purposes. That is, to have the energy necessary to walk, the fat reserves are affected, hence the slimming effect. This is generally because every person is different, e.g different is the calorie consumption and the use of fats as an energy sourceand with the same amount of effort two people can experience very different results.
1. Lose weight by walking: you do it too little
One of the most common mistakes made by those who try to lose weight by walking but don’t get results is that they do it too little. Too little in the sense of duration. There are people for whom even 20 minutes of intense walking can be enough to start seeing weight loss and toning after a few weeks and I’m there people who walk 1 hour every day with no results.
This depends on the metabolic efficiency of each person, because the use of fat reserves as energy is not the same for everyone: there are people for whom the metabolisation of fatty acids begins after a few minutes of activity, and there are people (generally those less trained) for which it starts after tens of minutes of activity.
AND the typical situation of the cat chasing its tail: you are poorly trained and not very fit, you should do activity for several tens of minutes but you stop after half an hour because you are tired, when the fat burning mechanism has not even been activated. That is, you worked hard but you didn’t burn fat.
2. Lose weight by walking: you do it too rarely
Then there is the other mistake, of those who walk 3 hours but only on Sunday, once a week. He comes home exhausted, with stiff legs and aching joints, he weighs himself and thinks he has already lost half a kilo (when in fact it is reasonably only liquid) and the next day he is back to his usual weight. Actually you need to think of aerobic and metabolic activity as a yo-yo which needs continuous relaunches. That is, you can lose weight by walking if and only if you do it regularly.
What does regularity mean? For some it may even mean every day, but it is not absolutely necessary. The reason is in the so-called “afterburn effect”, that mechanism by which our body continues to burn energy even after we finish our training. Even at rest, and for a variable time window ranging from 24 to 72 hours following physical activity, cellular respiration continues at high speed. It is the phase in which our body works to bring all its systems back to their original condition, regenerating the cells damaged during activity (they are the cause of post-workout muscle pain which many confuse with lactic acid) and replenishing the reserves. of glycogen and oxygen. For all this to happen our body continues to burn a lot of energy, raising the basic metabolism. This motivation explains the example of the yoyo: it is better to make frequent and not too violent relaunches than to give too strong a jerk every now and then. That is, 45 minutes or 1 hour 3 times a week, with a day of rest in between, is better than 2 and a half or 3 hours only on the weekend.
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3. Lose weight by walking: you do it too slowly
Let’s immediately clear up a basic principle: walking is not walking. Walking is good for you, it is very beneficial in terms of mood and mental well-being, but it does not ensure benefits in terms of weight loss. For this reason, walking must be understood as a real motor activity. Which means doing it one at a time speed ranging from at least 5 km/h (which for some is little more than walking) at a maximum of 10 km/h (which for some now already means running). A good average that is feasible for almost everyone is around 6 or 7 km/h, but rather than the speed itself we need to look at the heart rate.
We explained it here: a good range goes 70% to 85% of Maximum Heart Rate (which is easily calculated by subtracting your age from 220). If you don’t want to use a watch with a heart rate monitor, empirically it is a pace that generates a bit of anxiety but it still allows you to have a conversation. In short, you have to be a little out of breath.
The reason is that when you go slowly the body tends to burn carbohydrates while when you accelerate and there is a greater exchange of oxygen (i.e. you are out of breath and breathe more intensely) you tend to burn fat instead.
And this is what allows you to see appreciable results in terms of stable and lasting weight loss.
Credits photo: it.depositphotos.com, Freepik, Pexels
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2024-02-07 08:34:16
#lose #weight #walking #heres
