Is Running Or Walking The Best Way To Lose Weight?

Long-term weight loss results from controlling the total calories you consume as well as the number of calories you burn through exercise. Running burns calories faster than walking, but when you begin an exercise program you must start gradually to minimize injury risk. A less stressful exercise such as walking gives your body a chance to strengthen and adapt to physical stress. Your fitness level, your physical abilities, and what you enjoy doing determine whether walking, running or a combination of both suits your weight loss program best.

Calories Burned

Running 6 mph burns calories over three times faster than walking 2 mph, according to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. However, the higher energy use also raises risk for injury to your knees and ankles and for pulled muscles. Heavier runners hit the ground harder than lightweight runners so have a raised risk for impact injuries. Running requires a higher physical fitness level than walking and may not be practical for everyone on a weight loss program.

Walking

Although you need to walk more than triple the distance to equal the calorie burn of a 6 mph, 10-minute mile, you may ultimately burn more calories by staying with a walking program. That's because exercise you'll actually do regularly contributes more to weight loss and fitness than exercise you dislike and tend to skip. Any aerobic physical activity, including brisk walking, increases your body's metabolic rate. This causes you to burn calories faster, even when resting, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Duration

Work out three to five times weekly for 20 to 30 minutes each session to gain weight loss benefits. Lengthen your workout sessions to 30 to 45 minutes, with five sessions weekly, for even better results, recommend the experts at UMMC. Dieting combined with exercise works better than either approach alone. However, don't cut calories too much. When you eat fewer than 1,200 calories daily if you are female or 1,400 calories daily if you're male you set yourself up for nutritional problems and binging, says UMMC nutritionist Andrea Wenger Hess.

Smart Running

Adding interval training to an aerobic program relieves boredom. Even simple higher-intensity intervals -- like walking faster for short distances and then falling back to regular pace -- increases total calories burned. Adding short runs increases this benefit. Since you will complete your route faster when you add intervals, also start adding distance once you adjust to this type of training.

Before starting an interval or running program invest in proper running shoes. Running shoes should provide good traction and arch support as well as some cushioning. Also take the time to learn good running technique because it reduces the risk of overuse injuries.