mistakes you make when walking that are stopping you from losing weight

Walking is a great way to lose weight, especially now that the weather is nice. In this regard, research has confirmed that regular walking can reduce body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, as well as many other benefits such as:

• Reduce the incidence of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.
• Improve blood circulation.
• Reduce insomnia.
• Improve bone and muscle health.
• Reduce the rate of cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
• Longer and more active life.

Besides these benefits, walking is a very good way to exercise and lose weight because It’s low-impact, easy to incorporate into your daily routine, and free. (if we do it outdoors) and does not require special equipment. However, despite its simplicity, many people who go out to lose weight unknowingly sabotage their efforts by making common mistakes that can hinder their progress, like the ones we’ve compiled below.

I don’t walk enough

Yes, sure Walking is a fantastic way to burn calories, walking from time to time, we will not be able to see the results on the scale. The key to losing weight through walking is to make sure you’re walking enough to create a calorie deficit, or at least burn enough calories.

To give you an idea, a person weighing 70 kg can burn 240 to 300 calories for 40 minutes of walking at an average speed of 5 kilometers per hour.. If we increased our speed to 7 kilometers per hour, we could consume 350 to 400 calories in the same time interval.

However, the best thing is that you don’t get stuck. It is enough to start by walking about 10,000 steps a day; Then you can expand.

The pace is not fast enough

As we said, Going for a walk is not the same as doing it quickly and energetically.. So, according to expert trainer Ronnie Garcia, if our goal is to lose weight “We have to walk at a fast pace, which gets our heart rate up and makes us sweat. We need to be comfortable having a conversation (if you can’t, you’re going too fast).

Thus, we would have to walk at a speed of at least 5-6.5 kilometers per hour for at least 30-60 minutes. And once we feel more comfortable, Garcia suggests increasing the speed and incorporating jogging or jogging intervals. That is, we could walk for ten minutes and jog, at a faster speed, others

Not walking long enough

As we have seen, the ideal thing would be walk at a minimum speed of 5 to 6.5 km/h. If we want to lose weight, let’s start with… minimum 30 minutesto later increase the training to 45 minutes or hourif our level allows it, of course.

Walking intensity

Despite all of the above, walking at a comfortable pace is better than not doing it at all, but if our goal is to lose weight, we need to increase the intensity, and we can do this:

• With resistors: wear a weighted vest or backpackor even walking with a pair of light dumbbells.
• Change the terrain: this could be climbing hills, slopes, stairs, setting an incline on a treadmill…
• Speed ​​up the pace and Do sprints to get your heart rate up and increase calorie burning.
• Try interval walkingwhich we have already told you about in the TASK.

Don’t do strength exercises

Walking is great for losing weight, but ideally let’s add some toning exercises every few minutes or after exercise. If we want to do this in the middle of a walk, for example every few minutes, we can stop and do ten squats or ten push-ups. This way we will burn more calories, work more muscles and increase cardiovascular function.

Avoid warming up and stretching.

Skipping warm-up and stretching is a common mistake that may cause injury and interfere with the plan. Therefore, we should start our walk with a 5-10 minute warm-up at a slower pace to gradually increase our heart rate and prepare muscles for training. Likewise, a period of stretching at the end of a walk normalizes your heart rate and helps prevent muscle stiffness.

Don’t watch your diet

Making the wrong diet choices can sabotage your weight loss efforts, even if you walk regularly. Actually, If we don’t watch our diet, what we eat won’t do anything. as for our figure. This was proven by research from Brigham Young University (USA), during which 120 female students were analyzed during the first six months of study at the university. Participants were divided into three groups: Some walked 10,000 steps, others 12,500 and others 15,000 six days a week for 24 weeks..

In addition to recording your steps, experts They also measured calorie intake and weight change.. At the end of the study, it turned out that they had all gained weight, even those who walked 15,000 steps

What they gained 1.5 kilograms average. As we can see, playing sports or walking in this case alone will not make us lose weight.

Therefore, it is very important to eat well and prioritize your intake of proteins and healthy fats. Likewise, we must avoid high-calorie, sugary and processed foods.

We forget about adequate hydration

Staying hydrated is important for overall health and performance. when we train. Many people overlook the importance of drinking enough water, especially while walking, and this is a mistake as dehydration can lead to fatigue and decreased performance, which can make it difficult to stick to your plan.

Therefore, it is ideal to drink water before, during and after your walk, especially in the summer, as you can imagine.