So you know you need to work out at least a little if you expect to reach your weight loss goals, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. Lucky for you, there’s a solution that can solve your problem fast. Walking in place!
Yes, literally it’s as easy as it sounds and it’s so effective!
Read on to discover exactly how it works (and then give it a try today!)
How to walk in place for weight loss
In this section, I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to do to get started walking in place to lose weight.
1- Get a fitness tracker
First, while it’s not 100% required, I highly recommend getting a pedometer so you can keep track of your goals and progress.
I use and love my Fitbit (I’ve worn one since 2013), and think they are such great little devices to keep track and stay motivated to increase daily physical activity.
Over the years, I’ve tried many different models. My favorite is the Versa3!
I like it because it tracks so much more than just steps (though for this all you really do need is steps).
It helps to be able to look down at your wrist and see at a glance your progress for the day!
2- Wear it for a few days to see where you stand
Now that you have a tracker, it’s a good idea to wear it for a few days just to see your normal activity level.
Don’t be sad if it’s super low (mine was at first!)
On a regular lazy Sunday, I’d be lucky to get even 2,000 or 3,000 steps. Yet, somehow I’d find a way to stuff my face full of high-calorie fast food thinking I’ll “start Monday”! (insert eye-roll here)…
Anyway, just see your beginning fitness level, and make your starting goal to beat that by 1,000 steps to start out.
So, if you average, let’s say, 5,000 steps per day to start out, make your initial goal be to hit maybe 6,000 or 6,500… even 7,000 if you’re feeling ambitious.
3- Start with 5 minutes at a time
Many people think working out has to be a long, hard, intense process to be effective.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. It can be, and sometimes is good, but it’s not always needed. Especially at the beginning if you don’t already have some level of physical fitness built up.
Once you know the step level you want to achieve, commit to walking in place for just five minutes at a time.
Do more if you feel like it, but you might be surprised at how quickly steps add up and how easy it is to burn calories when you put just a little bit of intention into it!
My favorite thing to do when I first began and even nowadays is to stand in my living room and walk in place (now I jog) while watching TV with my husband.
We use Hulu and Netflix, but it would even be a good idea to watch it during commercials if you watch live TV.
Just try it out and see how many steps you can get in five minutes!
Or, conversely, if you feel you can go longer than five minutes, see how long it takes you to get to 1,000 extra steps.
I find once I had that number in my head it became easy to calculate how long I’d have to walk in place to reach my goal and get that extra calorie burn.
4- Speed up over time
Once you find your groove and it becomes a habit, the real fun and magic begin!
You’ll start to find beating your personal best stepping records, dare I say — fun. And look forward to blowing them out of the water.
Then, as your body gets used to moving more, you can go a little faster each week than before.
The weight starts melting off (especially if you’re combining this with intermittent fasting).
And it becomes something you look forward to!
My favorite part about it is it doesn’t feel like working out, yet it’s nearly just as effective as regular walking.
You don’t have to leave your house, go to the gym, spend money on a membership — nada.
All you need is one spot safely tucked inside your home and a little motivation and drive.
Before you know it, your walking in place turns into skipping and jogging, and you’re breaking a sweat and loving it!
Walking in place is my secret weapon for easy weight loss, and I wish I’d thought of it sooner.
Best tips to walk in place for weight loss
Now, here are a few of my favorite tips to make walking in place to hit your weight loss goals much easier, more effective, and more fun!
1- Couple it with something else you love
Like I’ve said before, I do it while watching TV with my husband. But if I’m home alone I’ll totally crank up my favorite music and bop along, too! It really is more fun that way, and the time goes by so much faster.
2- Couple it with something you do anyway
Another tip I have is to pair walking or jogging in place with brushing my teeth. It takes a few minutes to brush your teeth anyway, right? Why just stand there when you could clock major steps at the same time? This is good for an extra 500 steps or so without any additional effort.
3- Walk early if you’re fasting
Another thing I’ve noticed is when I feel a little hungry during my fasting window before it’s time to eat, sometimes walking or jogging in place for a few minutes provides a nice little distraction.
By the time I’m finished with that, I’m no longer hungry and can make it until mealtime.
Double win!
4- Get steps early in the day
Finally, if you can, start early in the day.
Something about seeing nice step counts early in the day is so motivating and sets you up to see those extra pounds melt away.
I know, for me, when I get to the end of the day, if I haven’t clocked many steps I feel kind of blah about it and don’t want to.
But if I find a way to blast through them early in the day, I find I’m naturally more active during the remainder of the day.
So let’s say I get 3,000 steps through a walk-in-place session before noon.
Somehow, by 6 or 7 pm I wind up having 7 or 8,000. Then it’s nothing to walk in place in front of the TV to get to 10,000 steps for the day.
So much win!
Whereas if I don’t start the day out with steps, by that same 6 or 7 pm I have only 3 or 4,000, and that 10,000 goal seems miserably impossible.
Do yourself a favor and start early. It’ll set you up for success!
5- Add another low-impact exercise eventually
Finally, maybe not on day one, but once your physical fitness level increases, spice things up by adding other low-impact exercises.
This is bordering on full workout territory, but as you’ll see if you stick with it long enough, it’s totally fine (and speeds up the fat-burning process, too!)
Some ideas for you to try when you’re ready are maybe walk/jog in place for three minutes, then do 20 squats or lunges. Do this three times and you have a 10-minute workout that raises your heart rate, burns even more calories, and gives you a little strength training and muscle toning too!
Other ideas for exercises to include are pushups, planks, situps, and crunches. You can’t really go wrong. Every little bit counts.
I’ve seen outstanding results with this approach, and it also breaks up the monotony of walking in place exclusively.
You’ve got nothing to lose but belly fat by trying, so… why not?
Will you try walking in place?
So what do you think?
Will you try a few minutes of walking in place per day as part of your weight loss strategy?
I can’t sing its praises loudly enough. I think it’s one of those things that seems too good to be true, or like it won’t work.
But it really does!
It’s a sustainable approach to your fitness journey and you won’t regret giving it a try.
Add this as a regular habit to your everyday life, and watch your life — and waistline — transform.
Oh and by the way…
So of course walking in place works just fine on its own, but I lost WAY more weight when I paired it with The Smoothie Diet!
I mean like, 5.2 pounds in just 3 days.
The Smoothie Diet is a weight loss program that includes all the tools you need to lose weight, from a simple meal plan, tons of quick, easy, delicious smoothie recipes, and step-by-step instructions to walk you through the entire process.
It’s a three-week program but honestly, most people start to lose weight in just two or three days.
And your success automatically COMPOUNDS when paired with fasting.
After one week you’ll be super happy. And if you make it to two weeks your mind will be completely blown!
If you do even half of the Smoothie Diet and add walking in place to your daily routine even 3 or 4 times a week, you could potentially reach your ultimate body goal in such a quick time that you’ll think it’s magic.
But it’s not. It’s real weight loss and fat loss that will give you the confidence boost you need.
Check out the smoothie diet right now!
Good luck!
P.S. If you’re wanting to try it and see it at a discount, buy it now! When I first saw it for cheaper I hesitated, then the price went up and I had to wait a LONG time for the next discount (and it wasn’t that much off.) Don’t lose out and have to pay more than you need to!
