Walking Burns Belly Fat And Adds Years To Your Life

Most people underestimate the power and benefits of walking.

Our society tends to have an extremist mindset and believes if you aren't  drenched in sweat doing high-intensity exercise, surely you aren’t getting much benefit. 

This false notion is far from the truth!

Resistance training and High intensity interval training are excellent options for burning calories and building muscle, but these intense forms of exercise are only part of the big picture.

The most important aspect to any exercise program that is often not talked about is movement.

The simple act of walking burns belly fat, balances hormones, and can significantly improve your overall health.

While exercise is very important, the true key to fat loss, longevity, and overall good health is constant movement throughout the day. It's far more impactful than a 30-60 minute workout!

Walking is one of the more simple and easy forms of exercise you can incorporate that is accessible to virtually everyone!(1)

Most people underestimate the importance of walking!

Hippocrates once said, "walking is man's best medicine".

Walking makes essentially everything in your body work better! It burns belly fat, helps reduce insulin resistance, improves your immune system, reduces stress related hormones, extends life, positively influences your genetic expression, and much more!

1. Reduces Your Risk of Chronic Diseases

Heart disease, cancer, and complications from diabetes are the a few of the leading causes of death in the world today.

Sadly, thousands of people are dying from these chronic diseases everyday.(2)

These chronic diseases have been proven to be preventable by proper lifestyle and dietary choices.

One of the main reasons for these chronic illnesses is lack of physical activity, which is why walking can help to reduce your chances of various chronic diseases.(3)

2. Helps With Weight Loss

Walking can be even more effective than intense exercise for weight loss in many ways.

Constantly moving throughout the day is a far better strategy for losing those extra pounds than a 1 hour workout combined with being seated all day.

A research study in London showed that walking was actually the best form of exercise for preventing weight gain.(4)

Choosing a form of exercise that is sustainable is an important aspect to any weight loss journey, and since walking will give you more energy without all the strain of more intense forms of exercise, it is an excellent option.

3. Improves Your Mood

Studies have shown walking and other forms of exercise to improve symptoms in individuals dealing with depression and anxiety, even in severe cases.(5)

To greatly amplify the mood boosting benefits of walking, then combine it with earthing and sensible sun exposure to maximize the benefits.

Kick your shoes off and walk barefoot in the sand or grass while exposing as much of your skin as possible to the sun.

4. Great for Heart Health

All forms of physical activity can benefit your cardiovascular health, but walking is an ideal form for many.

Intensity exercise can be too taxing on the heart for anyone who currently has heart problems or is obese, so movement like walking is the perfect place to start.

Walking can benefit resting heart rate, blood pressure, and quality of life in folks with various diseases according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (6)

The study showed that after a follow up, regular walking significantly helped in protecting against stoke, coronary heart disease, and heart attacks.

Walking is unique in its ability to target body fat in the mid section. One study demonstrated a strong connection between walking and abdominal fat. The less walking, the more body fat in your mid section.(7)

Make sure you get out walking on a daily basis to help burn off that unwanted belly fat.

6. Reduces Insulin Resistance

Insulin is an important hormone secreted by our pancreas which helps to normalize blood sugar, among many other things.

One of the foundational problems with many peoples' diets is the over consumption of high-glycemic carbs (starches & sugars) which cause a big spike in blood sugar.

Your body normalizes your blood sugar by releases the hormone insulin.

The problem with repeated blood sugar spikes and insulin secretion is that excess insulin levels can cause many health problems.

Insulin is our bodies #1 fat storage hormone. Having too much insulin too frequently causes massive weight gain.

It also leads to insulin resistance which is when your cells become desensitized to insulin so your body must produce more and more to accomplish the same effect.

This can lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Luckily, the simple act of walking daily has been shown to reduce insulin resistance!(8)

That’s not to say you can continue eating harmful foods as long as you go for a walk. But, it does mean that walking can significantly aid in weight loss and improved health in conjunction with a healthy diet.

Phit Tip: Going for a 20-30 minute walk right when you finish dinner is one of the best things you can do to lose weight and improve your health!

7. Improves Your Immune System

Simply taking a walk in nature has been shown to improve your immune system function.(9)

Even just a daily 30 minute walk can improve your bodies ability to fight off infection.

8. Balance Stress Related Hormones

Walking can really help to balance one of our main stress hormones cortisol, which can cause fat storage, low energy, and mood imbalances when out of balance.(10)

Balancing cortisol can really help to improve your sleep and your diet, both of which are essential for weight loss and better health.

Physical exercise such as walking has also been shown to positively impact hormones that regulate appetite, thereby reducing food cravings and making you less likely to overeat. (11)

9. Adds Years to Your Life

Avoiding prolonged sitting and constantly moving is one of the most important exercise related factors when it comes to longevity.

One study demonstrated that one hour of walking per day achieved the greatest benefit to longevity markers in test subjects.(12)

To live a long healthy life, get off your butt and start walking!

10. Positively Influences Your Genetic Expression

The field of epigenetics has proven that your genes are not set in stone.

Based on your lifestyle choices (movement, diet, stress, sleep, etc.) certain gene expressions are turned on or off.

This means that your genetic predisposition to certain things is not fixed. By incorporating healthy lifestyle practices you can alter your genetic expression to avoid disease, live longer and perform better.

Studies have demonstrated that movement such as walking can positively influence your genetic expression for better health.(13)

Sedentary lifestyle habits will do the opposite and alter your gene expression for the worst so avoid sitting for long periods of time.

Here are a few of my favorite tips to incorporate more walking into your lifestyle.

• Park far from your destination and walk  
• Take the stairs
• Get a walking buddy and plan out daily walks to keep each other accountable.
• Take a long walk at lunch
• Walk your pets every day
• Adopt a treadmill walking workstation  
• Make walking your post dinner routine with your friend or partner
• Set alarms on your phone or get an Apple iWatch to help remind you to move your butt!

Overall, make small changes in your daily habits. These will add up to massive physical transformation.

Walking right when you finish eating can significantly lower postprandial glucose levels, leading to a big decrease in the amount of insulin secreted by your pancreas. Meaning, it will greatly reduce weight gain, brain fog, fatigue, and countless other issues.

Movement after eating aids digestion, improves energy, and reduces insulin response which will enhance fat loss and improve health and quality of life.

This doesn’t have to be a walk per say, any type of movement is great such as: 

• Bike riding
• House Chores
• Swimming
• Yard work
• Playing with your kids (or friends)
• Etc. 

Just avoid sitting and being sedentary!

As you can see walking improves countless aspects to your health.

It doesn’t require an equipment or expertise. It’s one of the more fundamental forms of exercise humans can do.

If you take away one thing from this article to incorporate into your life let it be this:

Make it a priority it go on a 30+ minute walk after dinner everyday. It's easy, enjoyable, and incredibly important for your overall health and happiness!

Read Next: Sensible Sun Exposure Benefits Your Mental & Physical Health