What to do? The best way to burn calories each day is to simply walk as it is not overly strenuous on your body, ankles, knees, hips or back. You can purchase a pedometer and make a goal each day to walk 3k, 4k 5k steps, or 6k+ steps. Once you start, you will eventually build more stamina and be able to increase the amount of steps you take each day, week, month.
The key is that you need to make the walking part of your lifestyle and is part of what you do each day. Do not make it a chore, just part of your lifestyle or your portion of exercise each day. If your daily job does not require you to get to work early, walk in the morning before you go into work. At work, you can walk around your building or around the block on your break time or lunch. One of the best times to walk is after dinner as you want to burn as many calories that you consume before you go to sleep for the day. Tip: If you enjoy music
Once you build up stamina, you can move onto power walking where you speed up the pace a bit. You can purchase hand weights and burn even more calories.
Here is a chart that shows the amount of calories burned in one hour by physical activity. You can see that walking for a 160 lb person at 3.5 mph burns 277 calories in 1 hour! At 2 mph, 183 calories are burned.
| Activity (1-hour duration) | Weight of person and calories burned | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 pounds (73 kilograms) | 200 pounds (91 kilograms) | 240 pounds (109 kilograms) | |
| Aerobics, high impact | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Aerobics, low impact | 365 | 455 | 545 |
| Aerobics, water | 292 | 364 | 436 |
| Backpacking | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Basketball game | 584 | 728 | 872 |
| Bicycling, < 10 mph, leisure | 292 | 364 | 436 |
| Bowling | 219 | 273 | 327 |
| Canoeing | 256 | 319 | 382 |
| Dancing, ballroom | 219 | 273 | 327 |
| Football, touch, flag, general | 584 | 728 | 872 |
| Golfing, carrying clubs | 329 | 410 | 491 |
| Hiking | 438 | 546 | 654 |
| Ice skating | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Jogging, 5 mph | 584 | 728 | 872 |
| Racquetball, casual, general | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Rollerblading | 913 | 1,138 | 1,363 |
| Rope jumping | 730 | 910 | 1,090 |
| Rowing, stationary | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Running, 8 mph | 986 | 1,229 | 1,472 |
| Skiing, cross-country | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Skiing, downhill | 365 | 455 | 545 |
| Skiing, water | 438 | 546 | 654 |
| Softball or baseball | 365 | 455 | 545 |
| Stair treadmill | 657 | 819 | 981 |
| Swimming, laps | 511 | 637 | 763 |
| Tae kwon do | 730 | 910 | 1,090 |
| Tai chi | 292 | 364 | 436 |
| Tennis, singles | 584 | 728 | 872 |
| Volleyball | 292 | 364 | 436 |
| Walking, 2 mph | 183 | 228 | 273 |
| Walking, 3.5 mph | 277 | 346 | 414 |
| Weightlifting, free weight, Nautilus or universal type | 219 | 273 | 327 |
You can go to your local sports shop and purchase specific walking shoes that cater to walking. They usually have softer insole and cushion for the impact.
Keep track of you weight with 'Eatsmart' and 'Kintrex Precision' digital scales:
Check your body fat percentage with 'Omron' scale, Fat loss monitoring system and 'Accu-Measure' personal body fat tester.
Hiking on a trial on weekend mornings is a great way to burn calories on the weekend. It is low impact on your joints (Ankles, knees, hips) and back. You'll get fresh air, good scenery and a great workout. See you local county or city web site for local parks and reserves.
If you are up to really working out and breaking a sweat, check out the P90X program as it is a great way to workout at the convenience of your own home. Build endurance, cardiovascular fitness and loose weight quickly with this program.
Remember to make walking and/or working out a part of your lifestyle and you WILL get to your 'One-Weight' and keep it for life!