Have you ever actually thought why we have legs and feet? Yes, sure we need them in order to stand upright and to help us reach things located in high places. More importantly however, our legs and feet make it possible for us to walk, and of course by being able to walk we can be more efficient in all the things we do. Additionally, walking is a great to way to get you where you want to go, and it has the added benefit of allowing you to lose weight. That's right, walking can make weight loss incredibly easy, and the more effort you put into your walking, the more calories you'll end up burning, and the quicker you'll lose weight.

Things to Avoid

When you first begin you should avoid trying to push yourself too hard. Remember, if you walk enough you'll begin sweating, and of course you will definitely begin losing weight. However, if you're just starting out then you need to bear in mind that if you force yourself to walk for two or three hours without taking a break, you won't be doing yourself much good.

The second thing to avoid is strolling. If you start walking for weight loss then of course it's not going to help much if you simply stroll along as if you were window shopping. Admittedly, any walking is good for you, and even strolling will result in weight loss but it's going to take you a considerable amount of time.

What You Need To Do

Essentially, when you want to lose weight by walking then you need to realize that brisk walking is necessary. This is because a brisk walk will help to make you start sweating, but of course, you also need to adopt the correct pace n order to keep your heart rate up, and also to help develop muscle at the same time. Ideally, if you have a flight of stairs in your home, you can try walking up and down the stairs for about fifteen minutes at a time.

Bear in mind that in order to shed one pound of fat, you need to burn 3500 calories. In other words, if your weight loss goal is to lose a pound a week, you'll need to walk even more in order to build muscle because muscles are extremely efficient at burning calories.

You can be guaranteed that if you go for a brisk walk daily, for about 30 minutes to an hour, you will definitely be able to lose a pound per week.

Of course, if you really want to achieve your goal, you'll definitely need to have quite a bit of self discipline. Also, if you find that you often lack motivation, you may want to consider inviting someone to join you, particularly if you intend walking on a regular basis. If you can't find anyone who is willing to share your enthusiasm then perhaps you'll need to invest in an iPod so that you can at least listen to some music while you're walking.

Walking not only makes it possible for you to achieve your ideal weight, but it's also been proven to be extremely beneficial with regards to preventing a number of illnesses such as arthritis, depression, stroke, heart attack, impotence, and diabetes.

Walking is also known to relieve the symptoms of back pain and arthritis due to the fact that it helps to strengthen the muscles, joints, and even your bones. Furthermore, walking can help to reduce your levels of stress and improve the quality of your sleep.

In fact, there are so many benefits to be gained by walking that it would be impractical to try and list all of them in this article. Even though walking is so beneficial, if you intend walking for weight loss then you should of course first discuss your intentions with a doctor, particularly if you've just recently recovered from an illness.

Admittedly, the risks are not very high at all, but it is still better to get professional advice from a doctor before you actually begin. This of course will also enable you to determine the level of exertion best suited to your physical condition.