You need more than one tool in your belt to lose weight—but walking makes all of them work better.
Say you were the bookshelf-building type (maybe you are!): You wouldn’t try to do it with just a bunch of wood, right? You’d need a saw, a hammer, some nails, maybe a level and sandpaper too. A literal toolbox to create the thing you want.
If the thing you want—besides a nice new bookshelf—is to lose weight, you still need a toolbox, just one of a different sort. Paying attention to what you eat and how much you sleep, doing regular physical activity, managing stress effectively, and staying well hydrated are all crucial to a healthy you. “The same things that help your body function at an optimal level are key when it comes to losing weight,” explains Darria Long, M.D., an emergency physician, a clinical assistant professor at University of Tennessee School of Medicine, and founder of Trueve. “People may think all these good-for-you habits are unrelated, but we have solid evidence that they are interconnected and play important roles in weight loss.” So you’ve just got to put them together in a way that leads to losing weight.
One insider trick to help you do that involves something we know you love: good old walking! Walking can help you lose weight, in part because it’s such a powerful activity that it can help every other healthy habit you adopt work harder. By being strategic about how your walks fit into your eating, sleeping, and other activities, you can easily and effectively shed weight. “I love walking as a wellness tool because everyone can do it and you don’t need equipment,” says Denise Austin, a fitness expert and walking superfan. “Good walking shoes and somewhere to do it are all you need.” Here are our best tips for walking for weight loss!
When it comes to weight loss, much of the magic happens in the kitchen. “Nutrition usually accounts for between 70% and 80% of the tangible changes within the body that affect your overall weight,” explains Teddy Savage, national lead trainer at Planet Fitness. And you don’t have to cut out a bunch of your favorite foods to see results. Finding the right diet for weight loss means focusing on where you can add more nutrient-dense foods that fill you up and give you nourishment is the key to healthy, sustainable weight loss—think lots of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean and plant-based proteins, and
healthy fats (though you should eat fewer added sugars and processed foods, two major saboteurs of weight loss and overall health). Eating this way has another bonus: It provides the fuel you need to lead an active lifestyle and drop some pounds—especially when you spread five to six smaller meals throughout the day, Savage adds. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water and other unsweetened fluids, as proper hydration is also crucial for weight loss.
Weight-loss tool #1: Eating balanced meals
When it comes to weight loss, much of the magic happens in the kitchen. “Nutrition usually accounts for between 70% and 80% of the tangible changes within the body that affect your overall weight,” explains Teddy Savage, national lead trainer at Planet Fitness. And you don’t have to cut out a bunch of your favorite foods to see results. Finding the right diet for weight loss means focusing on where you can add more nutrient-dense foods that fill you up and give you nourishment is the key to healthy, sustainable weight loss—think lots of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean and plant-based proteins, and healthy fats (though you should eat fewer added sugars and processed foods, two major saboteurs of weight loss and overall health). Eating this way has another bonus: It provides the fuel you need to lead an active lifestyle and drop some pounds—especially when you spread five to six smaller meals throughout the day, Savage adds. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water and other unsweetened fluids, as proper hydration is also crucial for weight loss.
Tip: How walking makes eating well even more effective
Combine your daily walks with these important nutrition tips to get the most bang for your workout buck:
* Time your snacks to your walks. “Understanding when to eat is just as important as knowing what to eat,” says Savage. Aim to have a healthy snack of protein and carbs (say, in the form of nuts and a piece of fruit) 90 to 120 minutes before you plan to go on a walk. “Your body will absorb the nutrients and convert them into usable energy to get you through your workout and help you burn calories and fat,” Savage says.
* Load up on protein. Closing out your walking workout with a protein-rich snack like a protein shake, yogurt, or cottage cheese allows your body to burn fat instead of muscle.
* Don’t overeat even when you’re being more active. You don’t need to eat more when you exercise more—it’s most important to consume regular, balanced meals. This helps you keep your metabolism chugging and avoid excess calories that could counteract your hard work.
Weight-loss tool #2: Catching enough zzz’s
Your body really needs sleep. Studies show that consistently missing out on a quality slumber does more than make you grumpy—it can negatively impact weight-loss efforts or lead to weight gain by throwing key hormones such as insulin and cortisol out of balance. The timing of your daily walk may help your sleep routine: See which time of day seems to really improve your sleep—and if you’re able, get in a walk at both the beginning and the end of the day at least once a week.
Tip: How walking makes good sleep habits even better
Combine a good sleep schedule with a walking routine and you’re on your way to weight loss. Here’s how:
* Schedule a.m. walks. Your sleep cycle is largely controlled by your circadian rhythm—the internal body clock that’s ruled by lightness and darkness—and sleep experts say that spending about 15 minutes soaking up morning light can help regulate it for a more regular sleep routine. A few days a week, aim for an early-morning walk.
* Wind down with a walk. On the flip side, walking in the p.m. can also benefit your zzz’s. Dimmer lighting as you approach bedtime signals to your brain that it’s time to wind down. And “an evening stroll an hour or two before bed aids in digestion, another key to better sleep,” Savage adds.
Weight-loss tool #3: Dialing down stress
Taming tension can help prevent chronic diseases that may cause weight gain, and being stressed out in general can prompt us to engage in unhealthier eating practices or neglect other healthy habits, leading to weight gain. “When people have higher circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol, it affects where they hold on to fat—such as around the abdominal area, which is especially harmful to heart health,” Dr. Long says. Walking can be a boon for mental health: “It helps subdue anxiety, stress, or depression through the release of endorphins, feel-good brain chemicals,” Savage says.
Tips to combine walking with stress relief
Walking is not just about the cardio: Here’s how to work its stress-reducing power to boost your weight-loss success.
* Go on “me time” walks. “Walking is a wonderful way to take your mind off worries and filter out grouchiness,” Austin says. “I think it uplifts your spirit and helps you feel more optimistic, especially when you walk outside in nature.” Viewing your daily walk through this lens can help you be sure that you carve out much-needed self-care time on a consistent basis.
* Pat yourself on the back. Completing a walking workout is a win, especially if it took some willpower to get out there and do it. “Allow yourself to enjoy that feeling of accomplishment. It’s good for your mental health, which goes hand in hand with stress relief,” says Austin.
* Add mindfulness. “This is a time to make all about you. It’s not about the speed of the walk but rather how you feel while doing it,” says Lindsey Benoit O’Connell, C.S.C.S., a meditation and wellness expert and founder of The LAB Wellness. “Both walking and being more mindful can improve overall well-being.” Tap into these moments of mindfulness while you walk: The way your feet feel in your sneakers and how your body moves as you walk (do your muscles feel loose or tight?).
What’s happening in the world around you. Notice whether it’s sunny or you detect a cool breeze or droplets of rain (pro tip: walking when it is raining or snowing gives you the chance for even more mindful moments). Do you smell flowers or mulch, or hear a car honking or leaves crunching? The scenes you pass. Maybe a new neighbor is moving in, or you’re lucky enough to see a bird bathing in a puddle or a squirrel scampering up a tree.
Weight-loss tool #4: Walking (of course!)
Now that you’ve hacked all the other must-do’s for healthy weight loss, let’s talk about movement. You have to move your body in a way that gets your heart rate up to see your waist shrink or the scale move—and walking is an ideal low-intensity exercise to help you do just that. And since walking engages multiple muscles and joints at the same time, it also improves mobility, Savage adds. Science tells us that regular physical activity like walking can be an effective way to reduce body fat, including visceral fat that settles around the midsection, wraps around internal organs, and affects hormones, blood sugar, the heart, and more.
Tips to help your walk work harder
The best tricks for getting more calorie burn from your walks.
* Use your playlist. Speedier walking hikes calorie burn, so finding ways to push yourself harder is important for reaching your goals. Let music guide you between easy and more intense paces. “Create a heart-pumping playlist and walk as fast as you can during the chorus,” Savage says.
* Take different paths. “I switch up my routes to find different terrain,” says Austin. Going up and down hills, navigating curbs, and moving across various surfaces such as pavement, sand, and grass boosts the intensity of your walk and works your muscles in different ways to improve strength, grow endurance, and help you burn more calories.
* Add a bonus workout. “A favorite trick is incorporating air punches and jabs—sometimes I’ll carry light dumbbells—to burn more calories and work my upper body,” Austin says. For a blast of extra lower-body effort, head to a quiet street or a local track and do a few sets of lunges, squats, skips, or jumping jacks; recover in between by walking more slowly for one block.
* Spike your heart rate. When your heart pumps harder, more calories disappear, says Savage. To find your target heart rate for fat burn and weight loss during exercise, subtract your age from 220; use a fitness tracker to be sure you spend time during each walk at that heart rate (feeling out of breath is another clue that you’re there!).