Slower Walks Boost Weight Loss In Women Over 50

Florida resident Stacy Dodson said she has always struggled with her weight. And, as she entered her 50s, Dodson told Woman’s World, “I was morbidly obese, prediabetic, needed a CPAP machine, got winded just tying my shoes. I felt horrible. I wanted to lose weight, to be healthy, to smile again.”

Dodson spoke with her friend, Suzanne, about her situation, and the two women decided to start walking together.

“I was so heavy when I started, it was like I was carrying two 50-pound bags of dog food everywhere I went,” Dodson said. “I had to start slow.”

After only a few months of walking slowly and changing her diet, Dodson, 53, said she lost 93 pounds. Dodson’s experience confirmed what Katarina Borer, a professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan, focused on in her study: Walking slowly helps women over 50 boost weight loss and burn fat.

It’s a common belief that strenuous, sweat-producing exercises are the only way to burn fat and lose weight. However, Borer was the lead scientist in a study that found women over 50 burned more fat while walking slowly compared to walking quickly.

“The first goal for many older women is to get rid of that extra fat we put on as our hormones change,” Borer told Women’s World. “For that, walking more moderately has advantages. Especially if you’re someone who hasn’t exercised much lately.”

The connection between slow walking and burning fat has to do with the amount of oxygen required to burn fat, Borer said. For example, when we become breathless due to a strenuous activity, our bodies are not getting enough oxygen to use our stored fat as fuel. If we exert ourselves hard enough, Borer said, “we no longer have the ability to use fat,” but are almost exclusively burning blood sugar, also known as glucose. But slower walking can also help burn blood sugar.

Slow Walking Study Results

In the study led by Borer, 25 postmenopausal women were asked to follow a walking routine for 15 weeks. All of the study participants walked about three miles four days a week. The faster walkers walked about 4.1 miles an hour and exercised for about 45 minutes a day. The slower walkers walked about 3.2 miles an hour and worked out for about 54 minutes a day.

Nine women completed the 15-week study, while 16 women continued the walking routine for an additional 15 weeks. Out of the 16 women who followed the routine for 30 weeks, those who walked at a slower pace lost 2.73 times more body fat than the faster walkers.

Surprisingly, the slower walkers consistently lost a significant percentage of fat over the study period, while fast walkers didn’t lose fat until they finished the 30 weeks of exercise.

“Our bodies use different fuels at different speeds,” Borer told Women’s World. “Go gently, and the difference in fat burning is dramatic.”

The study suggested that walking at a slower pace might allow the body to use more fat, while walking faster may increase the likelihood of using blood sugar for energy. The investigators suggest that more research is needed to understand this connection. The study was published in the journal Nutrients in January 2022.

Some studies show that walking slowly but for a longer distance increases endurance, while walking faster conditions your heart because it increases your heart rate.

This study found that people had the most success in losing fat when they walked at a speed of 3.2 miles per hour. However, since it was a small study, it is not clear whether the results will apply to everyone.

How to Add More Walking To Your Routine

To incorporate more walking into your life, Albert Matheny, a registered dietitian and certified strength and conditioning specialist, recommends establishing a regular routine. This might involve going for a walk before work or taking a lap or two during breaks throughout your day.

Matheny points out that your steps accumulate throughout your day. “Just do what you can, when you can,” Matheny told Women’s Health Magazine.

To get the best results of slow walking, Borer recommends:

• When it comes to knowing how long to walk, “The ‘magic formula’ in some of my studies, one that seems to work well but still be manageable, is going three miles or about 6,000 steps in 50–55 minutes,” Borer told Women’s World.

• Walking faster when you’re ready. Once your fitness has improved, you should have enough oxygen to burn fat when walking at a quicker pace, such as walking three miles or 6,000 steps in 40-45 minutes. “And going faster is proven to help block bone mineral loss in postmenopausal women,” Borer said. “So that’s a very good thing.”

Focusing on Diet

According to Borer, getting an adequate amount of protein is essential for building and maintaining lean, metabolism-boosting muscle during weight loss.

A Duke University study found that a daily protein intake of 100 grams, combined with moderate calorie consumption, doubled the weight loss in walkers over the age of 50.

Borer also suggests staying away from processed foods, as they often lead to weight gain and energy loss due to blood sugar spikes.

After walking became part of her routine, Dodson wanted to do something about her weight. So, four months after she started walking, Dodson said she joined WeightWatchers as a way to manage her weight more effectively. Her results tripled when she began basing most meals on unprocessed, protein-and-fiber-rich ‘zero point’ foods. “I lost 15.2 pounds that month,” Dodson said.

Thanks to walking slowly and changing her diet, Dodson said she lost a total of 93.3 pounds in 13 months. Her friend, Suzanne, also achieved her goal. While Dodson walks faster now, she’s said that “walking slow took me a long way. Try it for yourself and see!”

Source Links:

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a64466524/slow-walking-weight-loss-study-women/
https://www.womansworld.com/weight-loss/diets/slow-walking