The world of weight loss has become a confusing world indeed. Simply trying to keep up with which fad diet is the current rage is more than most of us can handle. Guess what? Weight loss is really not as complicated as it sounds. To drop the pounds, you simply need to burn more calories than you consume. Isn’t that easy? Okay, you may be asking how to burn those calories most effectively. Here’s another simple solution: try walking!

What are the benefits of a walking workout? Oh, let me count the ways! First walking is something that we all know how to do. It doesn’t require any equipment, other than a good pair of walking shoes and a place to use them. Finally, walking works! If you want to boost your metabolism, burn the calories and increase your energy level, then walking is the workout for you.

How Much Should I Walk?

Before we run off to lace up those sneakers, let’s crunch a few number to get an idea of exactly how much walking we must do to begin melting those extra pounds away. One pound of fat is the equivalent of 3500 calories. This means that to lose a single pound, you need to burn 3500 calories more than you consume. While that may seem like a large number and a lot of work, consider that a healthy weight loss consists of a pound or two each week. This means that you can stretch those 3500 calories over a period of days to make them effective.

On an average, a person who weighs around 160 pounds can burn up to 100 calories for every mile she walks. Those who weigh more will tend to burn more calories. If you walk a mile every day, you can see how the calories burned will add up quite nicely. Walk two miles each day, and that number doubles. Walk two miles and cut 100 calories from your diet each day, and you are dropping pounds. See how this works? You are in control of your own destiny, by making the good choices in your diet and sticking with your walking program.

Just for Fun

While the results are indeed there for the taking, even a walk in the great outdoors can become a bit tedious and boring over the long haul. Keep your workouts fun and maintain your motivation by treating yourself to a portable CD player so your favorite tunes can accompany you on your daily walk. A pedometer is also a fun way to monitor your progress and track your work. These handy devices will track the number of steps that you take, and the more techno-savvy ones will also calculate the number of miles that you knock off, and the amount of calories that you burn. Studies have shown that folks who walk with a pedometer tend to walk longer distances and more often. Keep yourself in the game, and say goodbye to those extra pounds!

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