Running Vs Walking For Weight Loss: Full Guide
What to Choose for Weight Loss:Running or Walking?
When you’re trying to lose weight, deciding between running and walking can be tough. The debate around “Running Vs Walking For Weight Loss” really boils down to two questions:
Does running burn more calories?
Is walking enough to actually lose weight?
The short answer is yes for both but each offer different benefits. Where running burns calories faster but is harder on body. Walking is easier and more sustainable but takes longer to see results. Let’s dive in.
Why the Debate is So Confusing?
The reason the “Running Vs Walking For Weight Loss” debate is so confusing is because both work in different ways. For example, a 160-pound person burns about:
606 calories walking at 4 mph for an hour
966 calories running at 6 mph for an hour
This would make running
seem like the obvious winner but here’s the twist: walking is low-impact,
easier on your joints and something you’re more likely to stick with long term.
In the context of weight loss, consistency matters more than intensity.
At first, running felt
really intimidating to me. I found it hard to stay motivated, particularly
after battling sore muscles and an insatiable hunger. In contrast, walking was
something I could easily incorporate into my daily routine without much thought.
But is it sufficient for weight loss? Let’s explore this further.
Comparing Running and Walking for Weight Loss:
1. Calories Burned
If you're pressed for time, running is a more effective way to burn calories. Research indicates that running can burn almost double the calories compared to walking. For instance:
A person weighing 160 pounds burns 966 calories when running at 6 mph for an hour.
In contrast, the same
individual burns 606 calories walking at 4 mph for an hour.
However, it's important to note that while walking may take longer to achieve the same calorie burn, it's generally easier for most people to maintain. Personally, I've noticed that although running provided quicker results, I was more consistent with walking over the long term.
2. Joint Impact
Running can be tough on your joints. Research from the American Journal of Sports Medicine indicates that runners are more susceptible to injuries such as shin splints and stress fractures. If you're just starting out with exercise or have a history of joint issues, walking might be a safer choice. When I began running, I quickly felt the strain on my knees. Incorporating walking during my recovery times allowed me to stay active without risking further injury. This is one reason I think both activities can be beneficial in a weight loss plan.
3. Appetite Control
An interesting aspect of the "Running Vs Walking For Weight Loss" discussion is how each impacts your appetite. High-intensity workouts like running often lead to increased hunger, which can result in overeating. In contrast, walking tends to have a more neutral effect. I've noticed this myself—after a long run, I would feel extremely hungry and often end up consuming the calories I had just burned. With walking, I didn't encounter the same issue, making it easier to adhere to my calorie targets.
4. Sustainability
When it comes to losing weight, consistency is crucial. A study published in Obesity found that individuals who successfully lost weight and maintained it were consistent with their exercise routines, whether they walked, ran, or engaged in other activities. For me, walking was the simplest habit to establish. I could fit it in at any time—after dinner, during a lunch break, or even while listening to podcasts. Running required more effort and planning, which made it tougher to maintain.
How I Combined Running and Walking
Here’s the thing: you don’t
have to pick one over the other. For me, the ideal approach was to mix running
and walking. I started with walking and gradually introduced short intervals of
running. For instance, I would walk for 2 minutes, run for 1 minute, and
repeat. This method, often referred to as interval training, not only helped me
burn more calories but also kept my routine engaging. Over time, I developed
the stamina to run for longer stretches while still reaping the benefits of
walking.
In the same way elite athletes occasionally take a concentrated breath before shooting a foul shot or nailing a homestretch on the balance ray, the rest of us can profit from fastening on our breath — indeed when doing commodity as simple as walking, said Michael Fredericson, professor of physical drug and recuperation at Stanford University and supervisor of the Stanford Center on Longevity. “ We know that breath is extremely important for helping you to relax and helping you to concentrate, ” Fredericson said. “ Athletes use that all the time to control the sympathetic response, ” pertaining to the part of the body’s nervous system that responds to stressful situations. When the sympathetic nervous system is actuated too important of the time, it can lead to collapse, prostration and the incapability to sleep, he said. Breath work can help initiate the body’s parasympathetic response, which helps us to relax by calming down mindfulness during stressful situations. While people traditionally suppose of yoga and tai ki when it comes to coordinating breath to movement, Fredericson said the practice can also be done during the simple act of walking. And the benefits are manyfold. “ Studies have shown that mind- body exercise can drop your blood pressure, ameliorate mood, ameliorate energy, allow you to sleep better and ameliorate overall vitality, ” he said. Incorporating breath work in your walk Breath work ways run the diapason and can include everything from matching your breaths to your way, gobbling and exhaling through your nose only and indeed holding your breath for a specified number of seconds. But incorporating breath work into a normal walking routine need n’t be so regimented, Fredericson said. “Keep a regular breathing pattern — breathing in, hold it a little bit, also breathe out. And ultimately you start timing that to your way, ” he said. Connecting your movements with your breath starts to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system that’s working to get down from a fight or flight response. Once you have that down, you can move to getting more apprehensive of what’s around you, Fredericson said. “ People talk about timber bathing in Japan, for case, ” he said. “ I suppose there's kind of a natural meter to nature, and when we decelerate down enough, we can tune into that. And I suppose that becomes veritably important. ” Mouth breathingvs. nose breathing newcomers can start with a simple walk at a pace that lets them sustain nasal breathing, suggests Patrick McKeown, an transnational expert on breathing and sleep and author of “ The Oxygen Advantage. ” McKeown advocates for the nasal breathing fashion( gobbling and exhaling through your nose) since it involves lesser reclamation of the diaphragm than mouth breathing and has the advantage of furnishing added stability to the chine. “ Let your nose set the pace for the degree of breathlessness during exercise that you feel comfortable with, ” he said. While the original air hunger with nasal breathing during exercise is stronger than with mouth breathing, in a many short weeks it should be easier to sustain nasal breathing, McKeown said. “ Breathing in through your nose helps clean your breath; our nose is designed as a sludge system, ” Fredericson said, adding that nasal breathing can cover airways by dampening, warming and filtering incoming air and might also be better for “ calming down the body’s sympathetic nervous system. ” Incorporating breath work with walking can also increase the function of your breathing muscles so they wo n’t get tired as snappily, said DanielH. Craighead, an assistant exploration professor with the Integrative Physiology of Aging Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder. And it’s a tactic that can be especially applicable to athletes and distance trampers. still, your diaphragm and other muscles can get tired and start to steal blood from your legs while you ’re walking, ” he said, “ If you ’re exercising really hard for a long period of time. There's some substantiation that nasal breathing can gesture blood vessels to dilate or get wider than mouth breathing can, but Craighead said studies on the content are “ mixed. ” “ Some show it’s great, some show no benefit. There’s no definitive statement of why( nasal breathing) is good, ” he said. But targeting specific breathing muscles with training can help them get stronger. still, it’s just like lifting weights for your arms, ” Craighead said, “ If you ’re doing commodity that really targets your breathing muscles and makes them work hard singly. “ You ’re targeting specific muscles, and they ’re going to get stronger with training. ” Breath work is “ veritably safe, ” he said, but if you ’re just starting out with it, you should talk to your croaker about your unique medical history. And do n’t forget that other types of breath work beyond walking have health benefits, too. “ Slow, deep pensive breathing can be good for your stress situations and blood pressure, ” Craighead said. “ There are no real side goods or downsides to breath work. still, you might as well do it, “ If it’s commodity you suppose can help. ”
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