To blast fat, we all must do some form of exercise, be it running, swimming, yoga, playing a sport or just walking. Exercise not only burns our fats, it keeps heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, poor energy levels and even cancers off.

This equation is simple to understand:

Energy expended > Energy consumed
= Weight loss

Energy expended = Energy consumed
= Weight maintenance

Energy expended < Energy consumed
= Weight Gain


You see, weigh gains and losses are not that difficult. If you gain ½ kg every month, imagine your weight gain will be 6 kg at the end of the year. And if you lose ½ kg every month, you will be 6 kg lighter than before. Although the weight gains and losses each month are not significant, it will come up quite a bit when they are all added up. So all you need to do is to eat wisely and put in a little exercise. And if you find it very difficult, after all it is not your lifestyle yet, start a little at a time, but do keep up with it.

I find that when I exercise and go on my low fat, low carb, high fibre, high protein, it is natural for me to drop the unhealthy foods and wanting to exercise some. Sometimes, I slack, which is OK, because I come back almost immediately the next day. And I try not to slack too often, because the 1st equation will then not work for me. The 2nd is most likely and my efforts will be wasted if the 3rd equation happens to me.

What walking can do to our fats in our body.

You don't have to engage in vigorous exercises to lose weight. I lost a substantial amount just by walking most mornings for about an hour on a moderately brisk walk.

Why is walking such a simple exercise that gives the maximum benefits?

First, do you agree that anyone from a toddler to an old mobile man/woman can walk? Yes, you are right. And it is the intensity that is different! The distance varies!

Walking is a form of low intensity exercise with a low risk of injury, that will burn 80% of energy from fat. Which means if you walk for 20 minutes and burn 100 calories, 80 of these calories will be from fat in your body. Compared with running, only 50% of these calories burned are from fat. So if you run and burn 100 calories, 50 of these calories will be from fat in your body. But if you run for 20 mins, it is a different story: you will burn roughly 300 calories. The percentage of fat burned is still 50%, but you can see it is now 150 calories burned from fat.

If you are into running, that is fine. But if you cannot sustain running as your lifelong exercise, walking is still your safest bet.

Walking is easy on the knees. It does not build excessive calf or thigh muscles (unless you are into Power Walking).

When you start walking, the initial thing you will notice is the reduction of fats from your tummy and hips. That is because ....

To make walking your main form of fat -burning exercise, you need to cover at least 6.4 km (4 miles) in a hour. At 6.4 km per hour pace, a 60kg woman burns about 250 calories in hour. And to burn 1,000 calories, you only need to put in four hours of walking per week!


What to Wear
When to Walk
Where to Walk

All you need is cool walking gear and walking/running shoes. Cotton t-shirts are best as it soaks up the sweat in hot humid Singapore and South East Asia. If you are afraid of getting dark, go for cool long sleeved cotton shirt and long cotton pants. Best of all, you still can walk when it rains, an umbrella works for me, though you may prefer a raincoat.

Walking is best when it is cool, like before 8am in the morning or after 6pm in the evening. If you walk during your lunch break, put on cool long sleeves and pants to protect those limbs from the hot hot sun. Or walk in the shade of the tall skyscrapers! Wear your sunglasses with ultraviolet protection to protect your eyes and reduce sun squint. Put on sunblock with at least SPF 15 on the exposed part of your body if you are walking when it is sunny.

Most important, keep hydrated. Taking frequent sips of water as you walk – you will find every kilometre easier when you are well watered.

You may find a pedometer useful if you want to know for sure how long you have walked. Or if you are interested in knowing how your heart perform when walking, get a heart-rate monitor.