Burning calories to help you lose fat and improve your overall health doesn't have to be complicated or particularly arduous. If you're not quite motivated to exercise at a vigorous rate but still want to lose fat, walking might be just your speed. Walking slowly isn't the fastest way to burn calories, but it is suitable if you prefer a slow, steady approach.

Calories and Fat

The key to losing fat to achieve a slimmer body is to burn more calories than you consume through food and drink. MayoClinic.com notes that a pound of fat is theoretically equal to 3,500 calories; as such, losing a pound of fat requires you to burn 3,500 calories more than you put in your body in a given period. A simple approach to exercise-related fat loss is to aim to burn 500 extra calories each day to lose a pound per week.

Slow Walking

The key to burning calories quickly is to exercise at a vigorous rate, but even if you can only walk slowly, you'll still be burning calories to slowly help you reach your fitness goal. HealthStatus reports that if you weigh 200 pounds and walk for 30 minutes at just 2 miles per hour, you'll burn 126 calories. If you're able to increase your pace to 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes, your walk will burn 198 calories. By way of comparison, a 200-pound person who spends 30 minutes doing vigorous jumping jacks will burn 366 calories.

Exercise Recommendations

Losing fat through walking slowly won't happen as quickly as if you choose to adopt a more vigorous exercise regimen, but provided you make healthy dietary choices and dedicate yourself to regular walks, results are possible. The more you can walk, the faster you'll begin to see a change in your body. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week, which breaks down to less than 25 minutes per day.

Walking Benefits

Beyond helping you burn calories, walking provides a multitude of other health benefits, according to MayoClinic.com. Benefits include lowering your blood pressure, helping to strengthen your muscles, managing your good and bad cholesterol levels and even improving your mood. Walking can be a social activity, ideal for families to spend time together while also exercising.

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