If it’s been a while since you hit the gym and you can’t remember when your last sweat sesh was, we feel you. Lots of us lose our way with exercise and get out of the routine, which can leave us out of shape and in need of shedding a few extra pounds. But when you’re ready to make those healthy changes, it might not be as intimidating as you think. It turns out, walking as little as 30 minutes a day can help with weight loss when it’s part of a healthy lifestyle.
Experts explain that walking fits into the NEAT category, which stands for nonexercise activity thermogenesis and basically describes activities that use energy but aren’t formal exercise, like vacuuming. According to personal trainer Eric Bowling, boosting your daily activity levels with NEAT can help you lose weight and maintain weight loss. He says for anyone new to working out, “walking is a good place to start.”
So how much walking are we talking? Well, 30 minutes equals roughly 4,000 to 5,000 steps, but that’s still considered sedentary. Eric explains that walking a half hour is good, but it’s not enough if you’re sitting behind a desk the rest of the day. So instead, work to get your step count up to 10,000 or even 12,500 steps a day, which is the target he sets for his clients trying to lose weight.
Source: PopSugar
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