House Walk Your Way to Weight Loss

It’s common knowledge that if you want to lose weight, you’ve gotta burn more calories than you take in. The tricky part is actually putting the theory into practice. It can be hard to find the time and energy to exercise every day. That’s where house walking comes in! 

The concept of house walking came to me soon after I starting wearing a Fitbit. My goal was to hit 10,000 steps every day, and some days I would find myself lagging behind in the afternoon. So I started walking around my house or my office — wherever I happened to be — to get the number up. It was fun! And it worked better than I could have imagined. Immediately, I was reaching my goal every day and pretty soon, I was averaging 20,000 steps. 

Why is house walking so great? Because it’s so easy it’s practically effortless! And you don’t need nice weather or a gym membership. This leads me to another huge pro — it’s free!

But, the best part of house walking is that it's fun. It’s a great feeling to look at your pedometer after strolling around the house and see how many steps you’ve racked up. Just think about all the extra calories you’re burning, without even really trying. It's also a great tool for weight loss and maintenance.

1. Set a step goal. If 10,000 steps is too intimidating, start with 7,500 or even 5,000. Once you've hit that goal several days in a row, step it up!
2. Get a pedometer. Motivation is key. Whether you go with a fancy Fitbit or an inexpensive pedometer, seeing how many steps you can rack up will motivate you to house walk whenever possible. Got an hour until dinner? Try to hit your daily step goal. Have 20 minutes left of your lunch break? Office walk and see if you can get to your halfway point.
3. Start walking. It really is as simple as it sounds. The next time you find yourself sitting around, get on up, and start walking around the room. Either walk for the sake of walking or multitask. Waiting for the oven timer to go off? Folding laundry? On the phone? Watching TV? Add house walking!

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