Walking 10,000 Steps A Day For Weight Loss:

You don’t have to have any special equipment to do it – in fact, all you need is a pedometer and a pair of comfy trainers. You don’t need to be especially fit or strong to do it – in fact, anyone of any age can go for a walk. And best of all – it is completely free! So how you utilise this fabulous exercise to lose weight?

Well, one of the best ways to lose a sustainable amount of weight is to get your walking shoes on and pound the pavements. You need to walk around 10,000 steps per day – but the benefits you’ll feel will be unrivalled. Walking 10,000 steps per day adds up to a total of 70,000 steps per week – which burns off a whopping 3,500 calories. And when you burn off 3,500 calories, you also burn off 500g of fat – so keep up your regime, and you could easily burn off 2kg of fat in 2-3 months.

To get your step count up, buy a pedometer steps or you can a free pedometer with Lose Baby Weight products during September. Clip the pedometer on and see how many steps you’re taking now. On average, you’ll be walking between 900 and 3,000 steps – (do you think you’re taking more steps than you actually are?), so you will have to add quite a few steps into your routine to get your total up to 10,000.

Don’t worry about trying to go from 3,000 steps to 10,000 in one day – that isn’t really feasible. However, you can get your steps up if you approach it gradually. You could try adding 100 steps into your routine every day, until you reach 10,000, or you could add 500 steps per week into your routine. Do whatever you feel comfortable with – but trust us, you will get there!

To make your 10,000 steps even more effective, try to walk them at a brisk/moderate pace in about an hour. Walking in this way will make the exercise more effective – as any exercise that gets you slightly sweaty and slightly out of breath is good for you! You’ll burn off more calories in a shorter space of time, and you’ll also kick-start the cardio-vascular system – which means you reduce your risk of diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure in the future.

However, if you find it difficult to walk your steps at a brisk pace, they will still be effective even if you take them at a leisurely pace – let’s face it, any exercise at all is better than no exercise!

You can get your baby involved in the exercises too! An easy way to get your steps in is to put your baby into their pram and get walking! Come rain or shine, you can walk – just make sure the pram is properly protected from the elements. When you’re walking, add some steep hills or slightly rough surfaces into your route – this will increase the number of calories you’ll burn whilst walking.

Just make sure you don’t walk over surfaces that are too rough whilst your baby is very young, as they could become injured. You could also play walking or dancing games with your baby. If your baby has gone down for a nap, take the opportunity to get walking! Walk around your house or around your garden, or walk up and down the stairs. Take any opportunity to get more steps in – whenever you have spare time, such as when the television commercials are on or when the kettle is boiling, get moving!

For even more sustainable, long term weight loss, you should combine your exercise with a calorie restricted diet. It’s generally recommended that you need to create a calorie deficit of 700-800 calories per day for the best results in terms of weight loss – so lower your calorie intake by a couple of hundred calories per day by increasing your intake of fruit and veggies and make a few food swaps, such as white bread for brown and full fat milk for skim milk.

If you are completely new to exercise, it’s advised that you speak to your doctor before starting a new regime.

This article was written by Rhian Allen, Founder of Lose Baby Weight.

Plus take part in the Lose Baby Weight 10,000 step daily challenge over September and get your free pedometer worth $30