There is a myth out there saying that you can walk 30 minutes a day to lose weight. In this article, not just that I am going to talk about whether this is true based on my first hand experience, I will also go over all the benefits of walking (I will mainly talk about normal speed walking and touch on brisk / fast walking). I will also give you some tips on how to squeeze your walking exercises into your schedule.
Is Walking 30 Minutes a Day Going to Make You Slim?
I am sorry to disappoint you. Walking 30 minutes a day won’t make you slim. At least it didn’t work for me. Don’t get discouraged and left just yet, because it definitely helped kept me in shape. In a blog post I wrote about how to get rid of love handles, I had mentioned how jogging, swimming, eating less processed food, and at-home workout were the most effective ways for me to lose my love handles and lose weight. I also did mention that fast walking was helpful but work relatively slower than all other methods. But you know what, if you ask me today, am I still doing jogging or at-home workout regularly. The answer is no. They are very hard to stick to for years. But walking does, as long as you are willing to force yourself to do it for a few months, it can easily become your habit. So, after all my hard work to make myself relatively slimmer than I used to be, I used regular walking (at least 30 minutes a day, quite often 45 minutes a day, usually normal speed walking, occasionally fast walking) to keep myself in shape. In short, if you want to lose weight (healthily but quite slowly), you need to fast walk for more than 30 minutes a day. Walking 30 minutes a day at normal speed keeps you in shape and makes you look sharper, but it won’t help you in terms of losing weight. You either need more speed or need to walk more. This is my very honest opinion that comes from my own experience.
Do I recommend walking everyday? Yes, 100%. It helps you control your weight. Combining that with other exercises and eating healthier. You will lose weight and look slimmer.
Why I Think Walking is the Best Exercise?
One day, I turned on my TV and somehow saw a speech of Pastor Joseph Prince. He said something like: Walking is created by god, running is created by men. I agreed with him in some degree because I think that walking is a more natural thing to do. It is part of life. The most important thing is that you can easily make it part of your daily life. On the other hand, jogging takes more motivation. Not saying jogging is not good, I think you should do it. I am just saying that from a more practical standpoint, if you can’t motivate yourself to go jogging regularly, make walking play a bigger role of your daily life. Everyone can do it.
Other Benefits of Walking (Other than Keeping You in Shape)
Here I want to mention other benefits I have noticed from myself. First thing I notice is that a morning walk makes me more productive and motivated at work. Another one I found is that a after-work walk really helps me relieve my stress. That makes be a happier person when I get home, and that definitely make my family life richer and happier. The most magically thing that walking at least 30 minutes a day did to me is that it makes me so much stronger mentally. Let me explain. I noticed that once I have walked it daily for around 3 months, it has become something I don’t have to think about doing, it’s something that I just do. And then when I look around when I walk every time, I feel like I am doing something that not everyone is willing to do. I feel like that I am mentally stronger than most people. It gives me the confidence to handle different problems in life.
Ways to Squeeze Walking into Your Day
Once you can make walking a natural part of your day, it will become easy and automatic. It’s so much easier comparing to making swimming or jogging part of your daily routine. So, here are some of the tips to do it:
Morning Walk to Work (15 – 20 minutes)
No, I am not asking you to walk to your office from your home if you live 2 hours of walking distance from your office. I am just asking you to get off the bus, the train, or your car a 1 to 2 miles away from your office. For bus or train, that usually means getting off 1-3 stations earlier. For drivers, that may mean parking your car at the parking lot from some mall that is 15 minutes of walking distance away from your workplace. You get the idea, just make it part of your commute, and you will very soon notice that’s the best part of your commute when you can walk and look around in the morning with a fresh mind.
Lunch Time Walk (15 minutes)
If you like to go some some restaurants or cafes with your coworkers, how about going to a place that takes you a 15 minute walk. Think about this, that actually gives you more choice of restaurants you can choose from. And a 15 minute walk to get yourself back to your workplace will make your more refreshed for your afternoon work.
Walk Home after Work (15 – 20 minutes)
Finally, after a day of hard work, you need some fresh air to breath to relieve your stress. What’s better than having a 20-minute walk? Same as your morning walk, you just get off your car or the bus 1 to 2 miles away from your home. Walk with a smile. Feel the fresh air. Be a happy person when you get home.
You don’t really have to do all three of the above. It really depends on your own situation. I currently only do the morning and after-walk walk.
The 30 Day Walking Challenge
Okay, if you are still not motivated, there are lots of people that enjoy the benefits of walking, who has gamified walking to motivate others. They have created “The 30 Day Walking Challenge” and there are tons of versions of it with one single goal: to motivate people to start doing it. I will show two versions here for your reference. Just do it and enjoy it a like a game. Oh, and don’t stop after 30 days if that you feel like you have become a healthier or overall better person in the 30 days.
As a summary of why walking is good for you, it keeps you in shape and makes you a more positive, focused, and happier person. Start with walking 30 minutes a day. Force yourself to stick to it for 3 months. Then it will be part of you. You will just do it naturally. Try to gradually make it 45 minutes a day. That’s what I do these days and that gives me the result I want. I can’t imagine myself walking less than 30 minutes a day now (I only skip it when the weather is really bad outside). If you find this blog post useful, please check out our other articles on fashion, beauty and fitness. My mission is to share my own experience and gather useful information to help you look the best you can possibly look, inside and outside. Okay, enough reading, let’s go take a walk!
