Why walking helps with weight loss

You don't have to kill yourself to get on the weight loss path. You just have to be consistent.

Key point: "...the average person needs about four hours in total of moderately intense aerobic exercise per week, to lose weight."

Points to ponder:

  • "...ensure that when you are walking, you are slightly out of breath."
  • "...you will probably see fast results in the beginning, but after about six weeks or so, you will experience a plateau."
  • "...If you are not addressing your nutrition habits, then no amount of any type of exercise will produce sustainable weight-loss results."

Pretty much tracks with Nordic Walking Guy's 3 principles:

  1. Walk with purpose
  2. Be consistent
  3. Don't eat like a teenager
How long should you walk?

Fascinating article about how long to walk to maximize the activity's benefits.

Key point: "...walking for just 40 minutes several times per week reduces the risk of heart failure in post-menopausal women by 25 percent."

Other points:

  • "...the benefits of walking were consistent regardless of a woman’s weight or other forms of exercise."
  • "It’s also not necessary to power walk; moving at an average to fast pace is enough to reap all the necessary benefits."
  • "...longer, less strenuous workouts are more effective in prolonging longevity than high-intensity cardio."

That sounds about right. I've found when I get past 30 minutes, I feel like my conditioning is improving.

Walk off heart failure


Key point: "...every additional 30 to 45 minutes of daily activity was linked to the following risk reductions — 9 percent for overall heart failure, 8 percent for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [the lower left heart chamber does not fill properly with blood and, therefore, pumps out less blood to the body] and 10 percent for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [the heart muscle does not pump the necessary amount of blood to the body]."

Heart failure is increasing because of the growing number of older adults, but physical activity protects the heart from that kind of decline. 

The majority of active agers report walking as their primary physical activity, so Nordic walking can be an important part in your arsenal against heart failure.
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