How to Lose Weight by Walking: 10 Tips
Regular walking is an effective and simple exercise that can help you lose weight. 5-Minute Crafts will give you some pieces of advice on how to make walking more effective for you.
❗ Before increasing the intensity of your walking or adding weight, talk to your doctor.
1. Start slowly.
✅ Start by walking 10-15 minutes a day at a comfortable pace.
✅ Gradually increase your walking time by 10-15 minutes each week until you reach 1 hour a day.
✅ Be consistent in walking, try not to skip more than one day in a row.
2. Choose your pace.
There are 3 types of walking paces:
- stroll (about 3-4 points of difficulty on a scale of 1-10, similar to window shopping)
- brisk walk (about 4-5 points of difficulty, you should be making an effort when walking)
- power walk (about 5-6 points of difficulty)
✅ Warm up with a stroll for 5 minutes, then turn it into a brisk pace.
✅ Every 5 minutes, push yourself to a power walk pace for 30 seconds.
✅ Increase your power walk by a few seconds every time you go out for a walk.
⛔ If you’re new to walking, don’t overdo it — this can increase your risk of soreness, injury, and burnout.
Tip: While walking, breathe harder than usual. You should be able to speak in full sentences, but you shouldn’t be able to sing.
3. Maintain the proper posture.
✅ Keep your chin up and focus your gaze on the horizon.
✅ Keep your back straight and relaxed and your shoulders neutral.
✅ While walking, tighten your abdominal muscles and glutes.
✅ Strike the ground first with your heel, then roll smoothly forward and push off of your toes.
4. Modify your route.
✅ To keep your walking routine engaging and challenging, modify your route. You can walk on bike trails, in different neighborhoods, at your local mall, or even walk your usual route in reverse.
✅ To increase the intensity of the exercise, try walking uphill and up stairs, on uneven ground, or on soft surfaces like sand or grass, 2-3 times a week.
Tip: When walking uphill, slightly change your technique — lean forward, bend your knees, and take shorter steps.
5. Split your walking time.
✅ If you can’t walk continuously for a long period of time, break your walking time into 2 or 3 shorter periods with at least 10 minutes of walking at a brisk pace.
6. Add some weight.
✅ To burn more calories, try waving your arms as you walk — bend your arms at a 90° angle and wave them. They should go behind your body as far as you comfortably can and reach the level of your chest in front of your body.
✅ You can also wear a weighted vest. It will make your body work harder during a walk.
⛔ Don’t wear hand weights and don’t carry weights in your hands, as they can put too much stress on your joints.
7. Combine walking with diet.
✅ For the best results, follow a calorie-restricted diet — cutting out about 100 calories a day.
8. Hydrate yourself.
✅ Drink 2 cups of water at least 30-60 minutes before your walk to make sure that your body is hydrated.
✅ After you’ve finished your walk, drink one more glass of water to rehydrate your body.
9. Walk with a friend.
✅ To keep yourself motivated, find a friend, co-worker, or family member who will go for a walk with you.
10. Make a playlist.
