Walking is a great and motivating form of exercise, and can lead to weight loss.
It’s a great way to burn fat – especially internal belly fat which can raise risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Walking is an easy, free form of exercise which can be done at any time of the day.
The NHS says a brisk 10 minute walk a day has a lot of health benefits, and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
But if your aim is to lose weight you have to put in a bit more effort.
Walking for weight loss: How to burn belly fat by walking in the ‘fat-burning zone’ (Pic: GETTY)
The key to walking for weight loss is to walk fast enough to raise your heart rate into the “fat burning zone”.
The second key for burning belly fat is that you have to walk long enough to burn stored fat, not just the sugars the body has stored as energy.
To reach this zone you have to reach an intensity which is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.
If you do this 85% of the calories you burn will be fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.
Walking for weight loss: It’s a free and easy form of exercise (Pic: GETTY)
To do this you have to work out your heart rate range, which varies by age.
The most common way to find your maximum heart rate is to take your age away from 220.
For example, if you are 30 years old your maximum heart rate is 190.
To find out when you are in the fat burning one you can use heart rate apps on your phone or pulse monitors.
If you don’t have any methods to measure it you could just keep an eye on your body.
Usually you will reach the fat burning zone by walking at a brisk pace.
If you do this you will be breathing heavier, feeling increased exertion and be sweating a little.
Walking for weight loss: To burn belly fat you have to reach the ‘fat-burning zone’ (Pic: GETTY)
But you should still be able to hold a conversation.
If you feel you need to raise your heart rate more you can walk faster by using good posture, arm motion and a powerful stride.
Or you can try walking up hills, stairs or using Nordic walking poles.
Research has found walking briskly at 3.5 mph uphill burns 60% more calories than on a flat surface.
According to verywellfit.com you need to walk at least 45 minutes to burn your stored fats.
If you walk for longer you will continue to burn the stored fats.
