I’ve been told that if I walk three times a week for 30 minutes each time, I would lose weight.  I started walking, and I’m not seeing a big difference, is walking really enough?

- Tricia, Dallas

Brett Blumenthal - Spa Expert and Fitness Coach

Tricia, I hear your pain…unfortnately, walking really isn’t enough.  That said, it is a great start.  If you haven’t exercised regularly for a long time, walking is a great way to start getting back into a regimen.  The problem with walking is that you have to be very mindful of how you are walking. 

Are you strolling?  Are you getting your heart-rate up?  These are important factors to making walking a real exercise.  Exercise intensity is just as important as the activity itself. Further, you want to make sure your heart rate is in the right zone to be getting something out of your activity. Whether you are running, walking, swimming, biking, or even doing pilates, in order to get a real cardiovascular workout, you need to raise your heart rate within your target heart rate zone. To calculate your personal zone, check out our Heart Rate Calculator.

This is my suggestion: Keep walking. Try to walk on a treadmill to pace yourself. You should try to walk between 3.5 to 4.5 miles per hour. This will ensure you are getting some sort of cardiovascular workout. (If you don’t have a treadmill, get a pedometer and try to steadily increase the number of steps you take within the 30 minutes, every time you walk). Once you are able to walk in this range for 30 minutes comfortably, challenge yourself. Try jogging. If not, try to walk faster and longer. As you become more fit, you will need to work harder to get the same benefit. Further, try to incorporate some strength training into your workout, as this will help build muscle and raise your metabolism…which will burn more calories…which will help you lose weight. Lastly, make sure you are eating properly. Even if you were to walk an hour a day, every day of the week, but you continued to eat poorly, you would not see results. Remember, balance and healthy living needs to incorporate all pieces: nutrition, fitness, mind, and soul!

References and more information:

• Healthy Eating
• Target Heart Rate Zones
• Heart Rate Calculators
• Strength Training
• Exercise Intensity