Walking can be done anywhere at any time. The average person walks about 3,000 to 4,000 steps (just under two miles) a day, usually without losing weight or cutting down on fat and cholesterol.
There are
prescription medicines that can help you to get on top of high cholesterol, like
statins that block the production of cholesterol, helping to process it in the liver.
But for the best results it's likely that you will have to think about increasing your exercise rate too.
So what's so great about using walking to lose weight and reduce cholesterol, you may ask.
Consider this small quiz. Two men take a five mile walk. One does a power walk and finishes quickly while the other takes his time. They each burn about 400 calories. So who sheds more belly fat?
The obvious answer is a tie, since they are both the same weight and have travelled the same distance. But recently studies have shown that walking faster actually burns more calories. If you walk at 4.5 mph for example, which is quite a fast walk compared to 3.0 mph average speed, you burn almost the same calories as jogging since you are using the same amount of energy to keep your body in motion.
Good cholesterol and bad cholesterol
The body builds up cholesterol - the waxy substance that contributes to hardening of the arteries - essentially as a result of three risk factors: diet, exercise and body weight. There is some evidence that stress is also a factor in obesity and high cholesterol, although the exact process is not fully understood.
To put it more scientifically, the parcels of cholesterol in the blood are carried by two types of lipoprotein: Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL - cholesterol carried by this type is known as 'bad' cholesterol) and High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL - cholesterol carried by this type is known as 'good' cholesterol).
Cholesterol does have some positive functions in the body such as allowing the body to produce vitamin D, contributing to the structure of cell walls and the formation of certain hormones.
High levels of LDL lead to a build-up of cholesterol in the arteries, whereas HDL carries cholesterol to the liver for removal from the body. A build-up of cholesterol forms part of the process that narrows arteries, called atherosclerosis, in which plaques form and cause restriction of blood flow.
Most of the causes of high cholesterol - or too much bad LDL cholesterol - are modifiable risk factors that we can control ourselves, by our lifestyle.
How to work on your own walking routine
If you are aiming to lose weight you should aim to burn 600 more calories than you take in every day through food and drink. For example, that's just about the equivalent in calories to a McDonalds wrap meal with small fries and drink.
Consider that if you are a person aged 45 and weighing 70kg (about 11 stone) can burn around 400 calories by walking 10,000 steps or five miles briskly (3-5mph). You will make it a lot easier for yourself if you use a combination of exercise like this, as well as diet.
So just by cutting out those fries, plus say a Kit Kat chocolate bar (another 500 calories) and adding some walking to your daily routine, you would be well on your way to achieving that target. If you are creative - for example by including some fast walking in your journey to work or to the shops - it's not difficult to burn your way through the 600-calorie barrier.
Choose to Change: Roy, Anthony and Teresa's story
Choose to Change is a weight loss programme that helps adults to make lifestyle changes that will enable them to lose weight and improve their health. They help obese patients with an initial consultation and 12 fortnightly sessions spread over six months.
Anthony is one of their successful members and now a peer supporter, helping to motivate new members of the group in Lancashire.
"I dread to think where I would be now if I had not started the Choose to Change programme when I did. I was deteriorating fast as a person," says Anthony.
Anthony's weight loss difficulties started when he suffered a heart attack and was put on medication which caused him to gain weight rapidly, taking him from 13 and a half stone to 21 and a half stone (86 kg to 136kg).
Anthony was initially referred to a calorie counting weight loss programme by his GP and whilst he did manage to lose 2 stone (12.5 kg) the weight soon came back on when he stopped the programme. Nothing seemed to work for Anthony until he joined the Choose to Change programme and he is now delighted that he has lost six and a half stone and maintained his weight loss.
"I nearly gave up at first because I wasn't losing weight but then at session four everything just clicked-controlling my portion size, using a food diary and taking up walking set me on the right road. I now walk 3 miles three times a week. This approach has worked well for me and is still working."
One of the hardest things for Anthony was going through a weight maintenance stage as he just wanted to keep on losing weight. However, he found that this was a really valuable skill to learn.
"I maintained my weight for six months, which was the hardest bit, but then I continued to lose weight and I have now lost the same amount again."
Roy lost 12.6kg over six weeks. After a visit to the doctor on an unrelated medical matter, he was advised of the Choose to Change programme. He was initially very sceptical about this type of programme but thought he would give it a go. He was encouraged by the lack of pressure to lose weight and motivated by the sound and encouraging advice given.
Roy says he now understands that sensible changes to diet, exercise and health are not just for gym obsessed people as he first thought. He knows there is no magic wand to losing weight, but has seen that with help and support it is achievable.
"My advice would be if you genuinely want to help yourself then do not hide behind a mask or think that you cannot lose any weight…..Miracles don't happen overnight, but one day your goals and dreams will be realised."
Teresa had tried numerous diets but none of them had worked previously. Usually diets teach you how to diet, she says. But the best way to get healthy isn't to diet but rather to eat normal, healthy food, and retrain yourself you on how you should eat. "I now feel I am eating correctly like normal people," she says.
Teresa also found that small amounts of exercise really helped and realised that this was just as important as what you eat. In nine weeks Teresa lost 8.7kg and she now feels she is able to do much more around the house and garden and has even taken up swimming, something she would never have done previously.
Fast-paced walking, when combined with healthy eating, is hugely effective for weight loss.
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