Looking to slim down, tone up, gain muscle and get healthier and fitter? Guess what – all you have to do is walk for 45 minutes per day. And that’s it. Don’t believe us? Give it a go!

Lose Baby Weight believe that walking is one of the best all-round exercises that you can ever do – it’s highly advocated by doctors and will not only burn off the calories, but it will also improve your health. Research studies have shown that walking can improve your cardiovascular health, reducing your risk of health problems such as high blood pressure and associated problems such as kidney disease and heart disease. Walking supports your bones, meaning that it can slow down or even prevent the onset of osteoporosis, and it also releases “happy hormones” within the brain, meaning that walking every day is a sure-fire way to make you feel happier and healthier.

Gentle On Your Body

We recommend walking for everyone that can do it – it’s as simple as that. If you’re able to walk, you can take it up as a daily exercise. Walking is actually a very gentle exercise – a little like swimming – in that it bears your weight. If you’re heavy or if you have problems with your joints, walking will not only make you feel slimmer, but it will also make you feel stronger – walking supports your weight, meaning that it doesn’t cause excessive strain on your joints. We also recommend it for everyone because literally everyone can get involved. If you’ve got a new baby, you can still walk – just push your baby in their push-chair. If you’ve got a dog, use them as an excuse to get in two or three walks a day! You can get your partner involved too. Another benefit of walking? It’s free – and all you need is a pair of walking shoes.

Fight Against Weight Loss

Because walking is such an easy exercise to do, it’s been the focus of many, many research studies. One of the most recent studies has shown that walking can be an excellent tool in the fight against weight loss. The University of Pittsburgh studied a number of overweight individuals. Some of them walked for between 30-60 minutes per day at a moderate pace, while others did not change their diet or exercise regime in any way. The group that added the walking into their routine lost a substantial amount of weight, while the control group’s weight remained exactly the same. This shows that walking – and walking alone – can help you to shed the pounds. This is simple due to the calorie deficit that walking creates.

Burn Off The Calories

Walking for 45 minutes per day at a moderate pace means you’ll be walking for 4 kilometres. And 4 kilometres every day can burn off a substantial amount of calories – up to 250 per day. Keep that up for a week and you can burn off 1750 calories. To lose a quarter of a kilo of fat, you need to burn off 3500 calories – so if you walk for 45 minutes a day, and create a calorie deficit through your diet, you can easily lose 0.5 to 1 kilo per week without it being too difficult – we promise!

Challenge Yourself

Walking is a great exercise, but it is also fairly easy to make your walks even more of a workout – thus losing more weight, gaining more muscle and becoming fitter. Make your walks more challenging by adding inclines – they can help you to burn off loads more calories. Rough terrain such as sand and gravel will also help you to burn off more calories, while adding ankle or wrist weights to your walk and swinging your arms while you go will burn off even more. Walking is super customisable, so you can make your workouts as challenging as you like.

When you’re out pounding the pavements, make sure that you always keep a moderate pace for optimum calorie burn and cardiovascular benefit. Walking at any pace is better than sitting on the sofa, but the more intense your walk, the more calories you’ll burn off.