07 March 2024 , 05:00
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Exercise is an important part of any weight loss journey, but it also helps to reduce your risk of major illness such as coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. However, scheduling in time for the gym isn't always easy.
Most of us know how good exercise is for our physical and mental health. But between going to work, making dinner and raising children, it can be hard to schedule in an hour to go to the gym.
In order to lose weight, you have to burn off more calories than you consume, also known as being in a calorie deficit. Getting regular exercise can help speed up our metabolism - which can help you lose weight faster.
And it turns out you don't need to fork out a fortune for a monthly gym membership in order to get adequate exercise. In fact, a professor has explained that walking can actually speed up up your metabolism more than going to the gym.
Shane O'Mara, professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin, explained in the Don't Tell Me the Score podcast why people should walk more, back in 2020. Professor O'Mara explained how regularly engaging in low-level activity across the course of the day is better for your metabolism than small bursts of intense, but infrequent activity.
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Metabolism is the chemical process that goes on in your body to keep you alive, and your organs functioning normally. This process requires energy, and the higher your metabolism, the more calories are burnt to keep you alive.
He explained how people tend to "overestimate" the benefits of going to the gym for an hour, when they have been inactive the rest of the day. This sort of behaviour could lead to "exercise induced inactivity," according to the professor.
He added: "Basically, your body is saying you've gone and hunted, you've got the wildebeest, you've killed it, you're sitting down, you can eat. And your metabolic rate actually drops." However, the professor believes we are built for "regular rhythmic movement," rather than infrequent bursts of activity. So sitting down all day, then going for an intense gym session, then sitting back down, is "not speaking to how we evolved as humans".
The NHS hails walking as a "simple, free" way to "get more active, lose weight and become healthier". It states that it's "sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise," but that "walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories and make your heart healthier".
You don't have to walk for hours each day, as the NHS says a brisk 10-minute daily walk will have lots of health benefits, and counts towards the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.