Why the BodySlims Programme Swears by Walking

In a world teeming with unreliable fitness trends and diet plans, it's easy to get lost in the maze of choices. But what if we told you that there's a simple, effective, and accessible way to improve your health and achieve your weight loss goals? Imagine this: a transformative journey that requires no costly gym memberships, no intricate workout routines, just one hour a day of something we all know how to do – walking. 

So, why does BodySlims love walking so much?

1. Walking is what we are designed to do genetically

Many weight loss programmes on the market guarantee these amazing results from quick dieting fixes, but in reality, they either just don't work at all, or they are unsustainable in the long run. Basically, when Gerard Moran, founder and Weight Whisperer, put BodySlims together, he wanted to combine both ease and effectiveness and turn it into an approach to weight loss that actually worked. 

What he discovered was that it was, in fact, walking that could significantly aid in both weight loss and weight maintenance. This is because it is a low-impact exercise and when we walk, we work at about 60-70% of our max heart rate. And not only that, most people can quickly get up to doing about an hour walk a day, every day, unlike other workouts where you need to recover, like short, high-intensity exercises.  

2. Walking is proven to not only lose weight but also keep weight off 

Now, Gerard had long known that weight maintenance was more of an issue than weight loss. He wanted to build the principles of successful weight maintenance into the programme so that in the end, rather than having to make a huge transition (i.e. from juicing to real food again), people would have the basis of what they needed already ingrained in them, which can be successfully sustained in the long term. 

Additonally, in the initial stages of BodySlims, Gerard sourced the largest study available on over 10,000 people who had lost more than two stone of weight and had maintained it, and their behavioural patterns, for over five and a half years. The study originated from Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, and asked this group a series of specific questions. What was found was that 90% of these people had exercised every day, and while some ran, the most popular exercise was, in fact, walking. And even more interesting, the time spent doing it was one hour a day. 

So with these principles in mind, the programme duration (70 days) and emphasis on walking came about. Because to build a habit, like walking an hour everyday for weight maintenance, it takes 66 days.

But, How Much Should You Walk a Day to Lose Weight?