How to Walk More

Appetizer
A little more legwork can add up to a lot more weight loss.

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While those super sweaty, high intensity workout sessions you can get in the gym should be an integral part of your overall weight loss strategy, that doesn’t have the be the only way to increase your physical activity. If you can find ways to take extra steps while going about your daily life, you can burn extra calories without exerting much additional effort.

Wear a Pedometer
A report published in 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a Stanford University doctor showed that several studies suggested that just wearing a pedometer, a small device that counts your steps, makes people want to walk more. In fact, the journal reported that the average person got twenty seven percent more physical activity while walking an extra mile every day. Walking for a mile at four miles an hour can burn around three hundred calories, depending on your weight.

Park Far Away At the Grocery Store
Instead of fighting for the closest space you can find, go ahead and park way in the back. The parking spots will be more plentiful, plus you will be able to walk an extra distance to the store.

Window Shop
Window shopping at the local mall with your friends can make walking a social experience. Plus, walking indoors means that you don’t have to let bad weather prevent you from getting more exercise.

Dessert
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: fitness is a lifestyle. Getting more fit shouldn’t necessarily rule your life, but it’s a mistake to think that a certain time of the week is “fit time.” If you think of health and fitness as something that you weave into your life, you will find getting fit to be a much easier and more natural task.

Why Exercise?

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Exercise can be a powerful way to improve your life.

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Sometimes I’m asked, “Why work out?” To these people, a healthy lifestyle seems like all work and no benefit, a constant struggle for nothing. But of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

So what do you have to gain by working up a sweat?

You Will Be Happier – Exercise will decrease you body’s supply of cortisol, also known as the “stress hormone,” and increase your amount of dopamine, which helps increase your sense of well-being. In fact, some studies have shown that working out just three times a week for half an hour can be just as effective as anti-depressants for relieving the symptoms of depression.

You Will Be Smarter – Scientists used to think that we lose brain cells as we get older, and nothing can be done about it. New research, however, shows that regular exercise can actually grow new brain cells, helping improve memory, concentration, and even intelligence. That sort of puts a new spin on the idea of a “scholar athlete.”

You Will Sleep Better – People who work out spend more time in deep sleep, which allows them to concentrate better throughout the day. Sleeping well can also have a positive effect on stress, making your everyday problems feel that much more manageable.

You Will Have More Energy - You will be able to approach every task at your job with zest, getting more done in less time, and still having plenty of energy to have fun and take care of your responsibilities at home. If you have never experienced it, trust me, it’s a great feeling.

Dessert
You might be wondering why I didn’t include “You Will Be Happier With Your Body.” Well, pretty much everyone knows this reason, and let’s be honest, this is the reason most people decide to start working out at all. But it’s important to remember that hopping on the treadmill doesn’t have to be all about slimming your waistline. Fitness can be a major part of improving your life in every way - physically, mentally, and emotionally.

A Walk a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

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Walking is the easiest, most universal, inexpensive and readily available form of exercise. Do it more often for increased health benefits and weight loss.

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Lack of sidewalks, long distances between locations and crazy traffic make American cities less walker-friendly than our European counterparts. Don't let that discourage you though. Take the time to look for high school tracks, park trails, large parking lots and shopping malls...use them to your advantage.

Dessert

If you're anything like me, you're going to need something to keep you busy while walking. You can invite a friend to chat with or download some new music that you'll enjoy singing along with. Just be sure not to sing too loud or passersby will start to think you've lost your Cheerios!

Walk It Off

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Spend LESS time looking for a “good” parking space. In the amount of time you spend driving up and down the aisles in the parking lot at work, in front of Target, or at the mall, you could have just parked and walked up to the front door. By parking in the last row, not only will you burn extra calories, you will also avoid the traffic, shopping carts, and unattended children.

Main Course

In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. The good news is that you don’t have to exercise all those calories away because our body uses most of the calories just to stay alive (whew!). However, if you don’t burn off the calories that your body is not using for its regular daily activities, they will be stored as excess fat (a big “No-No”).

What’s the quickest and easiest way to get moving? Just walk. Walk around the block, to the store, in the mall, up the stairs, in the park, on the treadmill…any where. Walking is my favorite form of exercise because it requires minimal equipment (just a good pair of shoes), it’s completely free (don’t have to pay a gym membership), and you can do it anywhere at any time. What more can you ask for?

Steps For Starting a Walking Program

(1) Invest in a good pair of walking shoes. There are several different types of shoes (for over-pronators, flat feet, trail walking, etc.), so ask for help at your local shoe retailer if you’re not sure what will work best for you. My personal fave is the Asics Gel-Walk Tech. These shoes are usually only about 60 bucks, and they’re good for most walkers.

Asics Gel-Walk Tech

(2) Find a good sports bra. We don’t want the “ladies” to be uncomfortable now do we? Enough said. Try the Champion® Seamless T-Back Sports Bra. It’s made from a great fabric called Double Dry that wicks sweat away from your skin, so it keeps you cool and dry while walking. I apologize if I sound like a bit of an advertiser here, but I worked at Champion for several years, and this is by far my absolute favorite product.
My Favorite Sports Bra

(3) Start nice and slow. If you haven’t been exercising regularly, you don’t want to try and break Olympic records on your first day of walking. Spend about 10-15 minutes walking at a comfortable pace 4-5x for a week.

(4) Begin to add 5-10 minutes to your walks each week until you work yourself up to 30-45 minutes as often as you can fit into your schedule. Once you feel comfortable with this program and it even starts to feel a little easy (Yea!), start to speed up your pace. Ultimately, you should aim to walk at a speed of at least 4.0 miles per hour (easy to program on treadmill) which equates to walking 1 mile every 15 minutes.

(5) Drink plenty of water before, during, and after your walk. This will keep you from dehydrating, and it just helps you feel refreshed.

Dessert

I had every intention of waking up at 5am today to go the gym like I regularly do. However, when the alarm went off, it seemed like someone was playing a cruel trick on me. Hadn’t I just fallen asleep? I wanted to get up, but I just couldn’t make it happen. When I finally did get up 2 hours later to get ready for work, I felt like crap. I should’ve just gotten up and made it happen. Then, my trainer called me (Yes, even trainers need trainers) to find out why I missed his 5:30am class. “Umm…well…I was kinda sore from our workout yesterday…and well…ummm…I was kinda tired…and…well…so…I… ummm…”

Yeah, right, OK.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.