Weight Management, Healthy Eating, and Walking
For those who want to manage their weight, walking can be a good way to burn off food calories. Using more calories than you take in from foods will result in weight loss. Registered Dietitians recommend losing a gradual 1-2 pounds a week for healthy, sustainable weight loss. For example, by decreasing caloric intake by 500 calories a day, a one pound weight loss per week can generally be expected.
However, keep in mind that there can be many mitigating factors. Some medications create weight gain in some people. Your metabolism may be higher or lower than another person's due to genetics, your response to stressful situations, and/or your lifestyle choices. Insomnia (and more importantly non-refreshing sleep) has also been shown to influence how your body determines whether the food you are eating gets turned into fuel for energy or gets stored, increasing your body fat, especially that around your stomach.
The Center for Disease Control (2008) suggests that a moderate amount of physical activity on most days uses approximately 150 calories of energy a day, or 1000 calories per week. Here are their examples of moderate physical activity, which also show how you can get exercise in very creative ways:
| Common Chores | Sporting Activities |
|---|---|
| Washing / waxing a car for 45-60 minutes | Playing volleyball for 45-60 minutes |
| Washing windows/floors for 45-60 minutes | Playing touch football for 45 minutes |
| Gardening for 30-45 minutes | Walking 1 3/4 miles in 35 minutes (20 minutes per mile) |
| Wheeling self in wheelchair for 30-40 minutes | Basketball (shooting baskets) for 30 minutes |
| Pushing a stroller 1 ½ miles for 30 minutes | Bicycling 5 miles in 30 minutes |
| Raking leaves for 30 minutes | Dancing fast for 30 minutes |
| Walking 2 miles in 30 minutes (15 minutes per mile) | Water aerobics for 30 minutes |
| Shoveling snow for 15 minutes (in Tucson??) | Swimming laps for 20 minutes |
| Stairwalking for 15 minutes | Basketball (playing a game) for 15-20 minutes |
| Jumping rope for 15 minutes | |
| Running 1 ½ miles in 15 minutes (15 minutes per mile) |
Use the following chart and/or equation to find out the number of calories you have expended during your walk.
Caloric Expenditure
Taken from http://hdcs.fullerton.edu/ewp/hpp/wff/caloric/
| Amount of Energy Expended in Walking and Jogging Activities | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kcal/hr at Different Body Weights | ||||||
| Description | kcal/hr/lb | 110 lbs | 125 lbs | 150 lbs | 175 lbs | 200 lbs |
| Walking | ||||||
| Strolling less than 2 mph, level | .91 | 100 | 114 | 136 | 159 | 182 |
| Moderate Pace about 3 mph | 1.59 | 175 | 199 | 239 | 278 | 318 |
| Brisk pace about 3.5 mph | 1.82 | 200 | 227 | 273 | 318 | 364 |
| Very brisk pace about 4.5 mph | 2.05 | 225 | 256 | 307 | 358 | 409 |
| Moderate pace about 3 mph, uphill | 2.73 | 300 | 341 | 409 | 477 | 545 |
| Running | ||||||
| Jogging | 3.18 | 350 | 398 | 477 | 557 | 636 |
EQUATION:
For Moderate walking:
Calories burned = 0.029 x weight (lbs) x time (minutes)
For Vigorous walking:
Calories burned = 0.048 x weight (lbs) x time (minutes)
5 Tips to Help you Stick With a Physical Activity Program
(U.S. DHHS, National High Blood Pressure Education Program, 2005)
- Set a schedule and keep to it.
- Get a friend or family member to join you. Motivate each other to keep it up.
- Cross-train. Alternate between different activities so as not to strain one part of the body day after day.
- Set goals.
- Reward yourself. At the end of each month that you stay on your exercise program, reward yourself with something new - new clothes, a compact disc, a new book - something that will help keep you committed. But don't use food as a reward.
Healthy Eating
The new recommendations for American's dietary intake can be found at http://mypyramid.gov. This website gives the new food guide pyramid and provides you with individualized nutrition information. There is a definite link between good nutrition, physical activity and health. You owe it to yourself to take a few minutes to investigate this website and find out what you can do to improve your health through scientifically sound nutrition information.