Weight Loss Top Tips

Following on from my first introductory post “Weight Loss Top Tips”, where I outlined what this blog will be focusing on and how we’ll be going about things, I’d like to get the ball rolling with one of the first things anyone can do to start to lose weight.

Oh, it helps if you have a dog!

That’s because walking the dog (or dogs) is not only a fun way to spend some time with your best friend in the world, but it also gets you out of the house and moving that body! If you don’t have a dog, don’t fret! You can still walk, but it’ll be just you, unless you can convince a suitably motivated friend to come along with you.

In that case, its important that you are both aware that this is not meant to be a lazy stroll around the block then back to the sofa, TV and box of chocolates! Oh no! This is supposed to be enjoyable but also to burn off some weight at the same time, which means you’ll have to pick up your pace.

That’s why walking the dog is so perfect for this and one of my healthy ideas, as a dog naturally walks at a faster pace than you which means either you are fighting with him all the way to get him to slow down a bit, or you can submit to his own way of keeping fit and walk faster! It will benefit you in so many ways and is one of the truly great weight loss methods that are out there that no one really thinks about!

Not only do you burn more energy when you walk fast, but you are also toning up a whole series of muscles not least of all your legs and backside. If you’re a woman, that little benefit cannot be understated enough!

Now you also need to be doing this fro a minimum of half an hour – longer is better. That’s because once you start exercising even if it is only light, you will raise your heart rate and start to sweat, both of which are good things. That means your body is burning energy. If that was all there was to it, it’d be a cinch! Unfortunately there’s a little more to it than that.

Here’s the science bit (toned down for me and you!):

When the body starts to burn energy through work (exercise is best), for the first 20 minutes of that exercise no matter how strenuous, you will only burn sugars already present in the blood. After the first 20 minutes, the liver will call for more when that is used up and the body will then begin to take its sugars from reserves, ie the fat cells. So any exercise you continue doing after the first 20 minutes is using up the excess blubber and you will start to lose weight.

Do this on a daily basis and watch the pound start to fall off.

Why? Because this is also cumulative. What starts to happen is that as the muscles tone, they also gain density the more you exercise (regularly) and so subsequently as you continue to exercise, your developing muscles will call for more energy in order to work. That means as you start to lose weight through exercise, you will actually lose more of the excess fat stored in your body over time.

Now, at first you won’t notice any weight loss. That’s because while you are using up stored fat, your muscles are gaining density. Muscle tissue weighs more than fat so the weight loss you experience through using up the stored fat is offset by the extra weight you gain through the development of your muscles.

Its a good trade off as your muscles will not gain all that much weight and a point will be reached where you are losing more fat pound for pound than you are gaining in muscle density.

That’s when you start really losing weight.

This process happens over a period of several weeks of daily exercise exceeding 20 minutes where your heart rate is raised and you sweat and maybe get a little out of breath.

So walking the dogs every day (or two or three times a day is better) for half an hour or so is very beneficial to you and just this (if you don’t go silly on what you eat) will help you to begin the process of not only losing weight but also getting healthy.

Because a healthy body will not gain weight through excess fat storage because you find an equilibrium between exercise, fitness and calorie burning and the food you eat. Once you have that equilibrium you’ll find you’ll never want to go back to the way you were!

So get out and walk! Its enjoyable, a lot of fun (with a dog) and really quite healthy and for getting the weight loss process going, its one of the best you can do!

Terry Didcott
Weight Loss Top Tips