Run, Walk, Jog? The Best "Foot Exercise" For Losing Weight

Exercise is essential for human health, especially if you are attempting to reduce weight. Physical activity causes calories to be burned; the higher the intensity of the exercise, the more calories you lose. Therefore, the perfect way to reduce weight is to keep yourself active through exercising along with cutting down on food that contains a high amount of calories. If you don’t have the time to go to a gym to do a proper workout, don’t worry, there are other physical activities such as running, jogging, or even walking that you can do for your weight loss!

Running vs. Jogging vs. Walking- Which is Better For Weight Reduction?

All the three forms of physical exercise, running, walking, jogging, are beneficial in reducing weight and overall health. However, it depends on you what you’re more comfortable with. Written below are details regarding each type that can help you decide in what’ll be better for you!

Running

This form of exercise is pretty simple, and if done regularly and correctly, it leads to high amounts of burned calories along with strengthening the muscles of your heart. A plus point of running Is that it’s also a cost-effective way of losing weight as you don’t need to spend money on gym memberships.

Running also reduces fat more effectively and quickly as compared to walking or jogging; however, if you’re a beginner, you’ll only be able to run for a short period of time until you build your stamina.

If you push yourself too hard for this high-impact exercise, it’s possible to end up with injuries such as stress fractures, shin splints, runners’ knee. In order to prevent that, don’t put too much stress on your body; shift to walking when you feel tired running.

Walking

If you’re someone who’s out of shape or new to exercising, the best choice would be to start with walking at a casual pace for a short distance and then slowly adjust the speed and increase the distance you walk. While walking, one foot is always in contact with the ground, making it a low-impact exercise when compared to running and jogging.

There are different kinds of walks you can do to increase your fat burn, such as a casual walk at your average walking pace. The other type includes speed/power walking, in which the pace is brisk at a rate of almost three mph or more. You can also wear a weighted vest or take light dumbbells In both the hands while walking. If you’re not in a hurry to lose weight quickly or are not a fan of running, adopt these different versions of walking for weight reduction.

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Jogging

Jogging is a less intense version of running and is often done as a startup exercise for a few minutes before one starts their run. It is considered a high-impact physical activity that allows more calories to be burned.

It’ll help in maintaining your speed without producing a strain on the body; hence it’s more sustainable for a longer duration.

The bottom line is that each type of exercise, whether running, walking, or jogging, is beneficial when you’re trying to lose weight. You can do them separately or mix them together to get a better result. If you’re new to exercise, then begin with walking, and once you’re more fit, you can add on more high-intensity workouts with it. On the other hand, running and jogging will help in the reduction of weight more quickly than walking. It’s important to remember that no matter which one you choose, there are multiple other factors like diet, age, gender, etc. that play a role in weight loss.

Benefits of Exercise

Apart from losing weight, exercise is also good for you in other ways such as:

Appetite: When you exercise, the calories utilized come from the ones stored in tissues in the form of fat and glucose, ensuring that the blood sugar levels remain constant; hence you will not feel hungry.
Reduced Risk of Chronic Illnesses: One of the significant advantages of exercising is that it prevents the onset of health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc. It decreases your body’s “bad” cholesterol levels known as LDL while boosting up HDL, the “good” cholesterol.
Boosts Mood and Energy Level: If someone has chronic fatigue syndrome, being active helps increase the energy levels and is the preferred treatment for it. Physical activity also causes an increase in the production of endorphins which lead to happiness and reduction in negative feelings such as stress, depression, or anxiety.
Strong Muscles and Bones: The older we get, the more prone we are to muscle mass loss; however, by maintaining an active lifestyle, our muscles and bones tend to be much stronger. This is due to the hormones that are released during physical activity, which allows the muscles to absorb amino acids leading to muscle growth.

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Josh Dudick

Josh is the owner and lead writer at Daily Wisely. His career has taken him from finance to blogging, and now shares his insights with readers of Daily Wisely.

Josh's work and authoritative advice have appeared in major publications like Nasdaq, Forbes, The Sun, Yahoo! Finance, CBS News, Fortune, The Street, MSN Money, and Go Banking Rates. Josh has over 15 years of experience on Wall Street, and currently shares his financial expertise in investing, wealth management, markets, taxes, real estate, and personal finance on his other website, Top Dollar Investor.

Josh graduated from Cornell University with a degree from the Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management at the SC Johnson College of Business.