Doctors and health experts agree that walking is an excellent choice for weight loss: it allows your muscles to burn calories by tapping into your fat stores. However, do you know how long to walk to lose weight sustainably? We’ll explain it to you.
Losing weight by walking, is it possible?
Overall, adding physical activity to your daily routine, combined with a healthy and balanced diet, is the best way to achieve your healthy weight. There is no question here of depriving yourself, but rather of rethinking your diet so as to integrate all the food groups necessary for the proper functioning of your body and for regular physical activity.
As for the format, it’s up to you! Fast or Nordic walking, for 30 minutes, one hour per day, 2 hours, every day, every other day, at a slow or more active pace… all options are possible, the main thing being once again to find a routine sustainable in your schedule.
How to lose weight with fitness walking?
To start losing weight, you need to reach what’s called the “endurance zone,” the point where you build up your core endurance . It is between 60 and 70% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MFR). If these figures and the term “Maximum Heart Rate” don’t speak to you, let us describe what you must feel when you are at this pace:
– You can talk without being out of breath (practical if you walk in pairs !),
– You do not feel any difficulty in getting air.
– You are sweating slightly.
– You feel the work of your body.
If you are very out of breath, you are going too fast! Slow down to find the pace that suits you.
How long does it take to lose weight by walking?
Once you have found your cruising speed, keep it between 30 and 50 minutes , your muscles will start to draw on your fats to get the energy they need. This moderate effort lasting more than 30 minutes allows you to refine yourself, develop your endurance and your lung capacity.
To reach this zone and burn calories, it is necessary to walk at a sporty pace, between 5 and 8 km/h depending on your physical condition. We invite you to activate your arms, take a committed walk to promote cardiac work.
Once again, to ensure healthy and lasting weight loss, you will need to stick to your sports routine for as long as possible. Once your ideal weight is reached, stopping all physical activity will then signal the return of the lost weight. This is because your calorie balance will be unbalanced. The slight caloric deficit caused by regular physical activity associated with a balanced diet disappears as soon as you lower your energy expenditure, or increase your caloric intake. When you consume more calories than you expend, your overall mass increases. When you spend more calories than you consume, it goes down.
Be careful, however, not to cause too large a calorie deficit, as this risks disrupting your body. Put in a state of starvation, it will have a greater tendency to store the calories ingested when you again adopt a healthy and sufficient diet.
How far to lose weight sustainably?
So, let’s face it, it’s more a story of rhythm, intensity and duration than of distance. To lose weight sustainably, do not hesitate to follow the advice given previously: walk at a moderate pace for between 30 and 50 minutes. The key to your weight loss is the regularity of your walking sessions. Therefore, choose regular outngs of 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week rather than 3 hours once a month.
During your first weeks out, you can check for information how much you cover in 30 minutes of walking. But keep in mind that if you want to lose weight, the objective is not to do the most kilometers in a given time but to walk as long as possible at the same pace to consume your fat. Now, if you need an idea to prepare your walking route, in 30 minutes , count approximately 2 km covered. Good news, because there is no need to leave the house or office to do physical activity that will help you lose weight
Does walking 30 minutes a day make you lose weight? How long should you walk to lose weight?
To burn calories from fat, it is necessary to maintain the speed between 5 km/h and 8 km/h for at least 30 to 50 minutes. Always plan for 10 minutes of warm-up with walking at your natural speed to prevent the body, heart and mind!