These days, just about everyone is recommending a different way to lose weight. Whether it’s the latest ultra-low-fat diet, high-intensity exercise regimes like CrossFit or medications injected weekly to suppress appetite, the options and advice can seem endless.
Yet sometimes the most proven strategies are also the simplest. Enter the weight-loss method that has stood the test of time: walking. After all, walking requires no gym membership, expensive equipment or specialized training and is accessible to nearly everyone and can be done almost anywhere.
And while it may not look as dramatic as more intense workouts, walking can also be surprisingly good for you and even one of the most effective and sustainable ways to burn fat and lose weight. Here's what to know.
At its core, “weight loss occurs when your body burns more calories than it consumes,” says Austin “Ozzie” Gontang, a licensed psychotherapist at Pacific Pearl of La Jolla and the director of the San Diego Marathon Clinic. He explains that walking contributes to this process by increasing daily calorie expenditure since, even at a moderate pace, it requires energy − meaning your body must tap into fuel stores to power movement.
