Walking

[davidstacey2]

Hi everyone, I do quite a lot of walking when I can but, to lose weight do I have to walk a specific speed or is it just walking pace? Thank you for any advice x

[JacksonPollock]

Well I'm not an expert but if you get your heart going that would be a good sign, I.e you feel warm. Obviously the faster you go the more weight you will lose, however you don't want to take the enjoyment out of it. So the fastest pace you feel happiest doing would be best. All the best. Jp.

[MrNiceGuy]

The faster you walk, the more calories you’ll expend, since the increase in pace raises exercising heart-rate, in addition to increasing the demand for oxygen from working muscles. It also increases fitness levels, too, since the ability to sustain an increased pace improves the efficiency of the muscles to repeatedly process oxygen throughout.

The above remains true for all forms of cardiovascular exercise where working heart-rate remains within its aerobic zone.

However, the harder the body works within its aerobic zone, the greater the uptake of glucose and fat, hence why running will always burn more calories than walking, for example.

Although they both burn roughly the same amount of calories per mile, the fact that running allows distance to be covered much quicker means it’ll always burn more calories when performed over the same period of time.

In 30 minutes, for example, two miles may be covered by walking, while three miles might be covered by running, resulting in greater calorie expenditure and an improved level of weight loss.

I’m not suggesting that you take up running, David, I’m simply attempting to demonstrate how different intensities of aerobic exercise influence calorie expenditure, in addition to raising fitness levels.

Regardless of how intense aerobic or even anaerobic exercise may be (think HIIT), in order to repeatedly encourage the body to utilise calories stored in fat during exercise, a calorie deficit needs to be maintained.

To ascertain your minimum and maximum calorie requirements (also known as BMR and TDEE), allowing the right deficit to be maintained, check out the BMI calculator on the NHS 12 week plan. Alternatively calculate BMR through the use of calculators on the internet, ideally those that use the Miflin St. Jeor method as opposed to those using the Harris Benedict formula.

Having obtained your BMR, multiply it by one of the following to ascertain TDEE:

Sedentary = 1.2; Lightly Active = 1.375; Moderately Active = 1.55; Heavily Active = 1.75; Athlete = 2.

TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) refers to the amount of calories needed by the body each day to meet energy demands if one simply wished to maintain their current weight.

Crucially, it’s this figure from which you should seek to introduce a daily calorie deficit (not BMR), allowing weight to be lost.

In addition to maintaining a daily calorie deficit (preferably 500Kcal), the food you eat remains equally as important, irrespective of how many calories may be burned through exercise, something I’m sure you’re no doubt aware.

As such, by reducing consumption of refined carbohydrate to a minimum in favour of complex sources, you’ll begin to reduce the amount and rate at which insulin is secreted to break down the sugars, leading to an improvement in insulin sensitivity, aided further by regular exercise, since it also increases insulin sensitivity in both the immediate and longer term.

Aim to ensure that wholemeal bread, brown rice, beans, quinoa and lentils become common-place in your diet alongside non-starchy vegetables, over white varieties of the above. White potatoes can still be consumed, just be mindful of portion size.

[Tailsmo 13kg in reply to MrNiceGuy]

That's really comprehensive MrNiceGuy (although a bit too technical for me!) But you're probably the right person to ask this next Q. Can you tell me what are complex vs non-complex carbohydrates and which should I be aiming to eat? I already eat wholemeal bread, brown rice and wholemeal pasta. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

[MrNiceGuy in reply to Tailsmo]

Hello, Tailsmo.

I'm glad you found my above reply helpful, even if some of it may have escaped you.

As for your question, it's certainly an important topic of debate at present, particularly since those in charge of medical and dietary associations have admitted that for the past 30 years that the advice given has been wrong.

Consequently, you can ask ten different people for their opinion and no doubt receive conflicting answers. Nonetheless, here's my take:

While each contains 4Kcal per gram, the amount of sugar contained and the rate at which it’s released into bloodstream after digestion is wholly different.

The sugars in simple carbohydrates are broken down fairly easily, largely due to the fact they contain little nutritional content, so it takes very little time for them to enter the bloodstream.

The sudden release of sugar stimulates the secretion of an equally large amount of insulin, to begin converting the sugars into glucose, whilst assisting in the unlocking of the door to the body’s cells, where glucose is converted into glycogen (stored energy).

Over a period of months or years, if the glycogen stored in the muscles isn’t sufficiently depleted through exercise or increased activity, for example, the only place for glucose to be stored is on the exterior walls of muscles and around major organs, leading to the accumulation of fat.

Furthermore, the increasing accumulation makes it increasingly difficult for insulin to continue trying to unlock the door, in addition to struggling to convert sugars into glucose, leading to the eventual development of insulin resistance and ultimately, Type II diabetes, which may also require the need to administer injections.

Now I’m not suggesting that you’re close to developing insulin resistance or diabetes, but I hope the above demonstrates why carbohydrate (or rather the sugar contained within) has gained such a bad reputation in recent years.

However, it’s not all bad news, since the effect of complex carbohydrate isn’t nearly as severe.

Owing to the fact that complex carbohydrates contain less sugar than their refined counterparts, they’re also far more nutrient dense.

As such, it takes longer for the sugars they contain to be digested after consumption, since the body is also busy absorbing their beneficial nutrients, as well their increased fibre content (something that keeps you fuller for longer).

When the sugar from complex carbohydrate is eventually released into the bloodstream, its release is far more controlled and sustainable, meaning the secretion of insulin is far less severe, leading to improved insulin sensitivity, something that’s further assisted by the introduction of a daily calorie deficit alongside increased levels of activity.

When it comes to sources of complex carbohydrate, aim to ensure that the likes of lentils, beans, quinoa, oats, brown rice, wholemeal pasta and non-starchy vegetables feature as part of dietary intake. You can still eat potatoes (white and sweet), just be mindful of their portion size, while seeking to reduce the consumption of refined carbohydrate.

You can also continue to enjoy cakes, sweets and pastries, too; just be sure to factor their calorie content and portion size into your daily figures, which will hopefully allow you to appreciate that you can still continue to have your cake and eat it, even when maintaining a calorie deficit.

Although everyone has their opinion surrounding carbohydrate, I wouldn’t recommend that you exclude it from your diet, largely since carbohydrate remains the body’s preferred choice of fuel; it’s the excessive levels of sugar that modern day convenience foods contain that are the cause and effect of 21st Century health conditions.

[Tailsmo 13kg in reply to MrNiceGuy]

Thank you, that is really helpful, although still very techy! I do understand so thank you, I will try and follow these principles.

[MW50]

All walking is good, but for maximum health benefits you should walk fast enough that you become slightly breathless, you should still be able to talk but not sing. If you walk by yourself like me this can get you a few odd looks!

[nteapea]

I find my fitbit HR helpful as it measures my heart beat and then on the phone app I can see if if got into cardio/fatburn/peak. However I do also know without it ie if I am struggling to speak I am in fat burn.