#14: Walking Is Your Greatest Weight Loss Tool

While working out is important in all its forms, you’d be surprised to know that one type of exercise stood out for its ability to increase lifespans. And that exercise is walking.

Walking falls under a type of activity known as Aerobic Threshold Training (ATR); a training form that makes use of the body’s fat-burning engine.

It comes with a welcoming sentiment: that it doesn’t take a huge effort. It is simply ‘light activity’ sustained for a prolonged period of time.

Walking is perfect. But there are other activities that can be considered ATR too, like gardening, cycling, or dancing.

Why Walking?

Walking takes the metaphorical cake as the best exercise you can engage in regularly. You see, you absolutely do not have to kill yourself in the gym to get great results. And we’re about to lay down the science as to why.

The body can store anywhere from 400g to 600g of sugar (100g in the liver and the rest in your muscles). But after a 30 – 40 minute brisk walk, your body can potentially deplete a significant proportion of those sugar stores and turn to fat for fuel.

This in mind, a healthy person can theoretically go for a fasted walk in the morning, because it would increase the likelihood of more fat being thrown to the furnace (since the body will be in a fasted state).

Walking just half an hour before breakfast would have you cover just over 2km in distance with just over 3,000 steps. All that before your morning porridge.

What’s So Special About Those Steps?

For every 1, 000 steps/day taken; one’s lifespan seemed to increase. In fact, more daily steps per day have been linked to having better cardiovascular health, better sleep and a better mindset in general.

Researchers identified a 32% decrease in death among those who took at least 2,000 steps/day. Moreover, for every 1,000 steps/day increased, one decreased the likelihood of premature death by as much as 28%.

It became evident when viewed in the context of long-living populations too, who as opposed to hitting the gym every day, simply tally around 10,000 steps every single day. And not in one go, either. Rather, they spread their step-count throughout the day.

In Malta, only 36% of young adults and 28% of our elderly are regarded as having sufficient levels of activity. Reeling in those steps is a sure way for one to be classified as an ‘active person’

Never underestimate the power of a thirty-minute daily walk. By engaging in such a simple activity, you’d have targeted stress management, your daily step count, your aerobic training time, and your mindset – simply by promoting discipline.

As a bonus, doing so with a partner (or even a dog) would give you all the benefits of social interaction. Though alternatively, you could listen to a podcast, or audiobook, and make the journey an educational one.