Walking for weight loss is one of the most popular forms of exercise because it is simple, free and accessible to anyone who has the ability to walk. You definitely can lose weight and start to feel better about yourself by incorporating regular walks into your daily life, but you will get much better results if you know this one simple secret: variety.

You have probably heard the advice to shake things up in your workout plan, but when it comes to walking for weight loss variety is crucial. If you do the same thing day after day your body will not respond effectively over time. Your system will get accustomed to the workout and it will become easier to perform. Easier to perform can act against your goals because your body won't work as hard which means you don't burn as many calories or get maximum benefits.

If you are wondering how you vary a walking workout, there are quite a few ways to do it:

Walk at different speeds, or do interval training which varies speed within the same workout.

Walk through different trails or paths that have different types of terrain. Vary workouts with hills and flat terrain so your body never knows what is coming next.

Use at least a few different walking workouts and rotate them so no workout is repeated within a three day period. Make sure you change your speed, distance, or terrain from the previous day, keeping at least two days in between workout repeats.

Walking for weight loss doesn't mean you have to walk for hours. Walk at a faster pace some days so you can get your workout done in less time.

If you walk on a treadmill rather than outdoors, mimic terrain changes by walking at different inclines.

Include other forms of exercise beyond walking for weight loss. For instance, you may go out for a bike ride once a week or hit the skating rink with your kids over the weekend.

It's true that you may need to do more long, slower paced walking workouts if you are training to perform in a half marathon or marathon, but if your goal is just to lose weight, burn off stress, or get in shape, you should include as much variety in your workouts as possible. You can still incorporate some long walks if you enjoy them, but make sure to throw in some days with faster paced, shorter workouts.

You should include enough variety in your walking workouts to keep your body guessing. This means your workouts should always feel at least a little bit challenging. When the challenge goes away it is past time to switch things up with that given workout. Without the challenge, you won't maximize your body’s ability to burn fat, get in shape, lose weight, and accomplish your goals.

Challenge comes by changing the variables of speed, distance and terrain. If a flat terrain walk becomes less challenging throw in some hills or bump up the incline on your treadmill. If you can do a two mile walk without breaking a sweat, bump that up to three miles. Keep that variety and walking for weight loss will be much easier and a lot more rewarding!