Is walking the ultimate secret to getting and staying fit?

Oddly, my husband and I generally spend all winter dieting and shedding all the weight we’ve put on during the warmer months. Reverse of what most people do, I think.

Last time, I talked about cold exposure in winter as it actually helps to increase your brown fat stores – the kind of fat you actually want more of on your body as it enables you to burn more fat. Just like eating avocados!

Weather permitting, winter changing into spring can be a great time to take up long, brisk walks which can also help increase your ‘cold exposure’ and build more brown fat. Try walking to and from work or walking the kids to school. With our smart phones and Fitbits able to track our moves and steps, we can easily clock how far we walk, run, jump or cycle at any point in the day.

The 10,000 steps a day recommendation on most tracking devices was esoterically assigned based on the Japanese company who made the pedometer in the 1960s. Recent research has since shown that walking this much every day is a lofty goal for most, but if it gets you up and moving more (which helps get your heart pumping and lowers blood pressure), then why not give it a try? Some folks think anything around 7 to 8 thousand steps a day is sufficient.

Walking is also an easy way to increase your daily activity in small amounts regardless of your fitness level. We spend so much time sedentary in front of our computers each day now that getting in a one hour workout 5 days a week no longer qualifies as an ‘active lifestyle’. If you walk to and from your daily appointments, you can up your activity levels significantly and be considered less sedentary. And, see more of what’s going on in the world around you.

Time to get to know the neighbours a little better and maybe even just commit to getting fit!

#10000stepsadaybrownfatcoldexposure