Why Eat Breakfast?

Breakfast: Is It the Most Important Meal?

Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, helping you burn calories throughout the day. It also gives you the energy you need to get things done and helps you focus at work or at school. Those are just a few reasons why it’s the most important meal of the day.

Many studies have linked eating breakfast to good health, including better memory and concentration, lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, and lower chances of getting diabetes, heart disease, and being overweight.

It’s hard to know, though, if breakfast causes these healthy habits or if people who eat it have healthier lifestyles. 

But this much is clear: Skipping the morning meal can throw off your body’s rhythm of fasting and eating. When you wake up, the blood sugar your body needs to make your muscles and brain work their best is usually low. Breakfast helps replenish it.

If your body doesn’t get that fuel from food, you may feel zapped of energy -- and you'll be more likely to overeat later in the day. 

Breakfast also gives you a chance to get in some vitamins and nutrients from healthy foods like dairy, grains, and fruits. If you don’t eat it, you aren’t likely to get all of the nutrients your body needs.

Many people skip the a.m. meal because they’re rushing to get out the door. That’s a mistake. You need food in your system long before lunchtime.  If you don’t eat first thing, you may get so hungry later on that you snack on high-fat, high sugar foods

Breakfast and Your Weight

Can a morning meal be good for your waistline?
Some studies say yes. 

Researchers have found that, on average, people who eat breakfast are thinner than those who don’t. That could be because eating foods with protein and fiber in the morning keeps your appetite in check the rest of the day.

But it doesn’t guarantee you’ll fit into those skinny jeans. A recent study compared weight loss among people who ate breakfast with those with didn’t. The meal didn’t make any difference.

If you’re dieting, don’t think cutting calories by skipping the meal will help. Studies show that most people who lose weight and keep the weight off eat breakfast every day. 

On the other hand, you need to pay attention to what, when, and how much you eat.  One study showed that people who had large breakfasts ate more during the day.

Why Kids Need Breakfast

Sometimes children don’t feel like eating in the morning, but it’s important that they do. Their growing bodies need the nutrients and fuel.

Kids who don’t eat in the a.m. have a harder time focusing, and they become more tired in school. They may also be cranky or restless. And it isn’t just their moods that can suffer. Their school work can, too. One study showed that kids who ate breakfast had higher test scores than those who didn’t. Most children don’t get all the vitamins and minerals they need from just lunch and dinner.

Kids who skip breakfast are more likely to eat junk food during the day and be overweight. One study showed that teenagers who ate breakfast every day had a lower body mass index (BMI) -- a measure of body fat based on height and weight -- than teens who never ate the meal or who sometimes did.

If your youngster doesn’t want to eat in the morning at home, pack something he can have on the way to school or between classes. Opt for fruit, nuts, or half a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebook at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, orGardner Books in the U.K

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If I Cut 3500 Calories, Will I Lose One Pound?

Let’s start with some history. Max Wishnofsky M.D., conducted the original fat burn research in 1958. He published the 3500 calorie deficit formula which continues to be cited in thousands of educational websites, studies, and scientific articles.

Dr. Kevin Hall challenged the formula and released a manuscript in 2007. He has redefined the 3500 calories to burn a pound idea. His paper is impressive with enough scientific data and formulas to stump even the brainiest nerd. We will not be jumping into math class right now but sticking with the discovery.

Losing fat is a challenge. We have been under the impression simply subtracting 3500 calories per week, we would be able to lose one pound of flab. This is based on the old simplistic theory where 3500 calories represent only fat and not taking into consideration lean mass (muscle).

New research takes all tissue into account understanding muscle is also lost during the calorie burning process. The amount of muscle lost depends on initial body fat level and caloric deficit. That means weight and fat loss calculation will differ from person to person. For example, a lean person will tend to lose more muscle and retain fat while an overweight person will lose more body fat and retain lean mass.

This is why an overweight person can better tolerate lower calorie diets and the opposite applies to a lean person. However, restrictive diets are not recommended for either since they're linked to eroding muscle tissue.

The original 3500 calories to burn a pound theory needed to take into consideration fat and muscle metabolize (use) energy at different rates. A pound of muscle is not 3500 calories but approximately 600 calories. If you applied a 3500 weekly caloric deficit and lost 100% muscle hypothetically that would equate to 6lbs. This would be ludicrous and the takeaway to remember is lean mass loss equals greater weight loss. Losing lean mass is what we're trying to avoid.

If you created a 3500 caloric deficit and lost 100% body fat then you would lose one pound of fat. Again, this is impossible because both lean and fat tissue are lost during the weight loss process.

Other factors implemented in the new formula applications are caloric deficit adjustments as body weight decreases and energy levels decline. In addition, studies recommend stimulating more fat loss to lean mass through progressive resistance training and higher protein intake.

Does this mean throwing the old 3500 calories to burn a pound formula out the window? No. Lots of great research went into creating a basic way to figure out daily caloric requirements. Using the 500 to 1000 calorie per day deficit does provide a generic guideline for losing 1 to 2 pounds per week.

This post appeared in verywell.com and tries to clarify a few points about an old theory. Cutting calories will cause you to lose a few pounds, but this theory is from 1958 and back in those days we didn't have the amount of processed foods on the market like we have today. Because 60 years has changed our diets completely and the fact that obesity today is the number cause of most of our health problems whereas 60 years ago obesity was only about 1% of our population, the idea that simply reducing calorie intake by 500 calories a day will cause you to lose fat, is ridiculous.

Today, the average American consumes 3500 calories a day. In 1958 the average American consumed about 2000 calories a day. Today, if you want to lose fat, you have to quit eating processed foods and start eating whole foods, fresh foods and quit drinking bottled and canned drinks that add calories to your diet.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebook at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

Do Low-Carb Diets Really Work?

Anyone embarking on a new way of eating wants the answer to this question. And although we can usually find "success stories" associated with almost any diet, that doesn't really tell us what we want to know, which is the facts. (We've all seen those ads for a weight-loss miracle cure, with the tiny words at the bottom which say "results not typical".)

First, be clear on what you mean by a diet "working".

What are your goals? We tend to think of weight loss first, but reduced-carb diets are now being used to treat a number of conditions, as well as for prevention of diseases like diabetes. Weight loss will be the focus of this article, but there are lots of other health benefits that are associated with low-carb diets. What's the short answer? They can work if your eating too many carbs and most of us do. Processed foods are loaded with carbs. Anything made with wheat flour. Carbs may be the real problem we have with body fat. 

Low-Carb Diets Work for Weight Loss and More

 Forms of low-carb diets are some of the most popular weight-loss diets, and science bears out that in general, they are at least as effective, and usually more effective when compared to other weight-loss diets (which mainly focus on controlling calories). For example, a 2012 journal article reviewed the science and found 17 high-quality well-controlled randomized diet studies which included a low-carb group. In analyzing these studies, they found that the people on the low-carb diets lost weight (and usually more than the other diet groups), had lowered blood pressure, lower blood glucose, lower insulin, lower triglycerides, higher HDL ("good cholesterol"), and lower C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation.

If the people in a study are more carefully chosen (NOT entirely random), so that people who are likely to benefit the most from low-carb eating are assigned to that diet, people tend to lose more weight. For example, here I describe a randomized study where the researchers went back and analyzed the data to see who did best on which diet.

The results were dramatic: even though the average weight loss was modest for the groups as a whole, people who had signs of insulin resistance (one sign of "sugar sensitivity") lost the most weight on the low-carb diet and did very poorly on the high-carb diet. The people who were insulin sensitive (the opposite of insulin resistant) did well on either diet. 

How Are Low-Carb Diets Different?

Low-carb diets function differently from other weight loss diets, in a way that seems to make it easier to lose weight once your body adjusts to the diet.

Most weight-loss diets are based on the idea that we cannot trust our bodies' signals about hunger and satiety. Instead, we must ignore those signals and carefully and consciously regulate the amount of food we eat.

(This works for awhile, but often not for long, which is a whole other topic.) Carbohydrate reduction works differently (especially for people who are sensitive to carbohydrate), in that it helps regulate our appetite system so we naturally want to eat less. How it does this is not yet fully understood, but we do know that food which raises blood sugar more make people hungrier. In addition, a low-carb diet lowers insulin levels in people who have high insulin. Since insulin regulates fat storage, many experts think that it makes it easier for the body to access stored body fat for energy.

When I ask people what they like best about following a low-carb diet, they will often mention not feeling hungry, not having food cravings, and having more stable energy levels compared to other types of diets. This seems to be true even after the weight loss phase of a diet.

How Much Carbohydrate is "Low"?

When we hear about low-carb diets, it can be challenging to know what people are actually talking about! Diet studies have labeled everything from 5% to 45% of calories from carbohydrate as "low-carb". And, indeed, different amounts of carbohydrate are best for different people, due to something variously called "carbohydrate sensitivity", "carbohydrate tolerance", "metabolic resistance" and other terms. Basically, it has to do with how our bodies respond to sugar - the more problems we have with it the more likely that we will respond positively to eating less of it. (All carbohydrate breaks down into sugar in our bodies.) So how effective the diet partly depends on how close it is to the amount of carbohydrate your body does best with. This is why popular diets such as Atkins and South Beach try to help people find the best amount of carbohydrate for the individual.

Low-carb diets aren't for everyone, but they have a place in the dozens of diets that we have to pick from. Many overweight people have the insulin-resistance problem and low-fat diets won't work very well, but low-carb may be for you.

If you're going on a low-carb diet it doesn't mean you will starve, it means you will need to change the things you eat. You have to eat fresh foods made in your kitchen from whole foods that haven't been frozen. Follow the food pyramid below and stick with these foods and don't cheat and you will feel better and look better and lose weight over time.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Ways to Keep Your RealAge Down

 If you’re in your 50s, your dreams of Olympic gold are probably over, but that doesn’t mean you need to feel old. A study published in June 2016 showed a drop in physical performance between ages 50 and 59, coupled with a low level of physical activity--that’s a recipe for having an older RealAge.

“No one should be surprised that people start to decline in physical abilities in their 50s. We reach our peak physical abilities in our 20s and early 30s,” says Keith Roach, MD, Sharecare’s chief medical officer and co-creator of the RealAge Test. “That being said, staying active can maintain that level of physical ability much longer than if you stop exercising.”

Daily Steps and Physical Challenges
The study carried out by researchers at Duke University and published in Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences studied 775 people from 30 years old to over 100. Researchers monitored the participants’ average daily steps and minutes of physical activity per day, as well as their performance in four physical tests: standing on one leg, standing up from a seated position repeatedly for 30 seconds, a walking speed test of four meters and a six-minute walk.

All metrics showed a significant decline with increasing age, with three of the four starting in the 50 to 59 age group. The balance test declined by 19%, from 55.1 seconds for 40 to 49-year-olds to 44.8 seconds for 50 to 59-year-olds; chair stands decreased from 19.4 times in 30 seconds to 17.2; and the six-minute walk decreased from 680.7 yards to 654.7 yards.

Even the baseline totals for steps and activity— about 7,000 steps per day and 40 minutes of activity per day for people between ages 50 and 59—were low, according to Dr. Roach. “It’s sad how little people are doing,” he says. “Seven thousand steps per day is not good. Four thousand is sedentary. We want people taking at least 10,000.”

Stopping the Clock
You may never be as fit as a professional athlete, but it’s never too late to be the fittest version of yourself, says Roach.

Here are three ways to slow the march of time—and keep your RealAge young.

1. Move more. Roach says everyone should take at least 10,000 steps per day (he averages about 20,000). “It only takes about 10 minutes to get 1,000 steps,” he says. “It’s not hard to do.” Roach recommends for people who take public transportation to get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way to your destination. Another trick is pacing while on the phone.

2. Lift weights. You don’t have to be setting world records, but a little resistance training can have surprising benefits. Getting stronger will also improve your balance. “Strength training not only helps with balance and coordination, but it helps keep your bones strong,” says Roach.

3. Do yoga. Doing yoga now can set yourself up for a safer, more active lifestyle when you’re older. One out of three people over age 65 fall every year, leading to injuries, hospitalization, and even death. Plus, fear of falling can lead to anxiety and reduce confidence. A 2014 systematic review of 15 studies found that yoga may increase balance, in addition to keeping your muscles flexible.

If you think the Fountain of Youth can be found inside a jar, you may want to think again. Longevity wellness isn't about appearing younger; it's about protecting your health. Consider increasing your life expectancy from the inside out with things like adding more nuts to your diet, getting better quality sleep and nurturing your healthy relationships. Everything you do can be a step towards a longer life – just make sure they're the right ones.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebook at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

How Will Energy Balance Help Me Lose Weight?

Most people don’t think of their weight loss journey as a math problem. But in many ways, it is. To lose weight, you need to calculate your energy balance equation, then change the numbers to create weight loss. If you can get your numbers to tilt in the right direction, you’ll slim down and keep the pounds off for good.

What is the Energy Balance Equation?

Energy balance is simply the relationship between your energy input and your energy output.

   The complete energy equation looks like this:

Energy balance  =  energy input – energy output

It doesn't look very complicated, does it?  But you may not have the numbers to do the math. So to figure out your energy balance you need to gather some important information.

How to Calculate Energy Input

We input energy when we eat. The food we consume provides calories. Calories are simply a unit of energy or heat. The food we eat and the drinks we consume provide different amounts of energy. Protein and carbohydrate each provide 4 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram.

So how do you know your energy input number? Count the number of calories you eat each day. You can do it with a simple downloadable food diary or you can use a popular calorie counting app like CalorieCount. A typical woman may consume anywhere from 1200 to 2500 calories per day. That's a pretty big range. To get the most accurate number for you, track your calories for at least a week.
If you've tried a food journal and can't seem to keep up with all the inputs, There is a new device to count the calories for you. Go to HealBe.com and look for the GoBe. It's a new strap on device that costs about the same as an iWatch or a FitBit, but this one counts your glucose level for a 24 hour period and send you a report on your cell phone. Just download the free app, this device can really help anyone that's pre-diabetic or diabetic or just overweight and trying to lose weight.

How to Calculate Energy Output

Energy output happens when your body uses energy.  We often refer to this as "burning” calories. Even when you’re sleeping, your body uses energy to perform basic functions like breathing and circulating blood. The rate at which your body burns calories at rest is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

BMR makes up roughly 60-75% of the total number of calories you burn each day.

You also expend energy during activities of daily living, like washing dishes or shopping, and of course, through physical exercise. These activities make up about 15-30% of your total calorie burn each day. The last 5-10% of calories are burned through the thermic effect of food when you eat and digest meals and snacks. 

There are different ways to calculate the number of calories you burn each day.  Many people combine one or two methods to determine the most accurate number.  This is the part we all get wrong and then you sabotage your own diet.
I use a website call "my-calorie-counter.com". You answer a couple simple questions and it tells you your BMR number and how many calories to eat to lose weight. You can find other websites to do the same thing so do it twice to check for accuracy. 

Calculate Your Energy Balance Equation 

If your energy input and your energy output are perfectly balanced, you won’t lose weight.  A perfect energy balance creates a stable weight. To change your weight you need to tip the scales so that they are no longer balanced.

A positive energy balance occurs when your energy input is greater than your energy output. That is, you eat more calories than your body needs. Your body stores excess energy or calories as fat.

  This results in weight gain.

Weight gain = energy input > energy output

Weight loss occurs when you create a negative energy balance.  That is, you burn more calories than you consume.  When this imbalance occurs, your body burns stored energy (fat) in order to function and you lose weight. A negative energy balance is sometimes called a calorie deficit.

Weight loss = energy input < energy output

When you evaluate your own energy balance, it's best to get the numbers as accurate as possible.  Small differences in energy input and energy output can make a big difference in your weight.

So if weight loss is just a simple equation, then why is it so difficult to lose weight? Because there are many factors that affect both your energy input and your energy output. Things like your medical status, age, and mood affects your energy balance equation every day.  Weight loss is a simple equation, but finding the right balance requires a little bit more work.

If you are at the beginning of your weight loss journey, or if you are questioning your current diet and exercise plan, the energy balance equation is a perfect place to start. You don't need to buy fancy tools or invest in an expensive weight loss program. Try to make some changes on your own. Evaluate the factors that affect your caloric intake and caloric output. You have control over some factors (like activity level) and no control over others (age, gender).  Simply change what you can to tilt the scales of your energy balance equation and reach your weight loss goals.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebook at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

Why Diets Fail

Most people don’t think of their weight loss journey as a math problem. But in many ways, it is. To lose weight, you need to calculate your energy balance equation, then change the numbers to create weight loss. If you can get your numbers to tilt in the right direction, you’ll slim down and keep the pounds off for good. The reason diets fail is pretty simple. I had to start by knowing what my energy output was. Most people that want to lose weight don't know how many calories their body burns and that's why they fail. The "Energy Balance Equation" is a way you can determine your calorie burn and thus determine how many calories to eat and lose weight.

Most of us make the mistake of just cutting back on food and thinking we can lose weight. Not so, you have to eat about 500 calories a day less than you burn. So you have to start with the number of calories you burn or your "energy output" then you'll know how many calories you can eat.

What is the Energy Balance Equation?

Energy balance is simply the relationship between your energy input and your energy output.

The complete energy equation looks like this:

Energy balance = energy input – energy output

It doesn't look very complicated, does it? But you may not have the numbers to do the math. So to figure out your energy balance you need to gather some important information.

How to Calculate Energy Input

We input energy when we eat. The food we consume provides calories. Calories are simply a unit of energy or heat. The food we eat and the drinks we consume provide different amounts of energy. Protein and carbohydrate each provide 4 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram.

So how do you know your energy input number? Count the number of calories you eat each day. You can do it with a simple downloadable food diary or you can use a popular calorie counting app like CalorieCount. A typical woman may consume anywhere from 1200 to 2500 calories per day. That's a pretty big range. To get the most accurate number for you, track your calories for at least a week.

There is a new device that counts calories for you, you wear it on your wrist like a watch and it monitors your glucose and gives you a very accurate account of the total calories you eat in a 24 hour period and breaks it down to the amount of protein, carbs and fats you consumed. Look for the device on the internet, it only has one purpose, it doesn't tell time or do anything else. It has no face, it sends all the info to your smartphone. The Website is "HealBe.com", the device is a "GoBe". If you want a device that counts the calories for you and there's no input on your part this unit might be for you.

How to Calculate Energy Output

Energy output happens when your body uses energy. We often refer to this as "burning” calories. Even when you’re sleeping, your body uses energy to perform basic functions like breathing and circulating blood. The rate at which your body burns calories at rest is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

BMR makes up roughly 60-75% of the total number of calories you burn each day.

You also expend energy during activities of daily living, like washing dishes or shopping, and of course, through physical exercise. These activities make up about 15-30% of your total calorie burn each day. The last 5-10% of calories are burned through the thermic effect of food when you eat and digest meals and snacks.

There are different ways to calculate the number of calories you burn each day. Many people combine one or two methods to determine the most accurate number. I used a quick easy website "my-calorie-counter.com". It tells you what your BMR is and how many calorie you can eat to lose weight. It's not the only site, so use more than one site to check the number they give you.

Calculate Your Energy Balance Equation

If your energy input and your energy output are perfectly balanced, you won’t lose weight. A perfect energy balance creates a stable weight. To change your weight you need to tip the scales so that they are no longer balanced.

A positive energy balance occurs when your energy input is greater than your energy output. That is, you eat more calories than your body needs. Your body stores excess energy or calories as fat.

This results in weight gain.

Weight gain = energy input > energy output

Weight loss occurs when you create a negative energy balance. That is, you burn more calories than you consume. When this imbalance occurs, your body burns stored energy (fat) in order to function and you lose weight. A negative energy balance is sometimes called a calorie deficit.

Weight loss = energy input < energy output

When you evaluate your own energy balance, it's best to get the numbers as accurate as possible. Small differences in energy input and energy output can make a big difference in your weight.

The Energy Balance Equation for Weight Loss

So if weight loss is just a simple equation, then why is it so difficult to lose weight? Because there are many factors that affect both your energy input and your energy output. Things like your medical status, age, and mood affect your energy balance equation every day. Weight loss is a simple equation, but finding the right balance requires a little bit more work.

If you are at the beginning of your weight loss journey, or if you are questioning your current diet and exercise plan, the energy balance equation is a perfect place to start. You don't need to buy fancy tools or invest in an expensive weight loss program. Try to make some changes on your own. Evaluate the factors that affect your caloric intake and caloric output. You have control over some factors (like activity level) and no control over others (age, gender). Simply change what you can to tilt the scales of your energy balance equation and reach your weight loss goals.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebook at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

Is Walking Real Exercise?

Great post from VeryWell.com. Walking is the easiest form of exercise a person can do. We all know how to walk, it's the perfect exercise, your body is built for walking, and we are already doing it, we just don't do enough. Also remember that exercising for weight loss isn't the same as the high-intensity exercise you might see at the gym.

Is logging 10,000 steps per day, walking your dog, or going for a 30-minute power walk really exercise? Do you get grief from friends who think their jogging is superior to your walking, or that exercise necessarily involves sweating, grunting, and gasping for breath? Let's take a look at how walking is a real exercise.

1. Brisk Walking Is Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Exercise

Walking at a brisk pace that raises your heart rate into the moderate-intensity zone is recommended for the benefits of "real exercise" for the cardiovascular system and to reduce health risks.

A brisk pace is one where you are breathing harder than normal—you can talk, but you can't sing. If you take your pulse, it should be between 50 percent and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Walk at least 10 minutes in this zone for it to count as a moderate-intensity exercise session. You should aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day, five days per week, which can be broken up into sessions of at least 10 minutes at a time. Try this 20-minute brisk walking workout for starters.

2. Building Aerobic Fitness With Brisk Walking

Walking is a real exercise that can build your aerobic fitness. Moderate-intensity brisk walking sessions of 30 minutes, five to seven times per week were found in one study to build aerobic fitness similar to higher-intensity exercise. If you'd rather reap the benefits with fewer workouts, aim for a fast walk that brings your heart rate into the zone of 65-75 percent of your maximum heart rate.

If you do that for 30 minutes, three to four days per week, you will build aerobic fitness. Try this aerobic walking workout for starters.

3. Walking as Exercise for Weight Control

The truth about any exercise for weight control is that it can help keep off extra pounds, but controlling what you eat will have the biggest effect.

The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for weight management. But they wisely state that you need to reduce your calories.

Read this next paragraph slowly, it's very important.

You can't outrun or outwalk what goes into your mouth. Aerobic activity of sufficient duration (45 minutes of brisk walking) will encourage your body to burn stored fat. But if you are eating enough that it's replacing that stored fat, you won't see a change. Brisk walking, fast running, cycling—exercise won't lead to weight loss if you don't control your eating. That said, one large study in Britain found that women who reported brisk walking for exercise were slimmer than women who did gym exercise or sports instead.

Try this fat-burning walking workout for starters.

4. Benefits of Easy-Intensity Walking

Walking the dog or going for a stroll at an easy pace works your muscles and joints. This is especially beneficial if you are overweight or at risk for arthritis. Strolling at an easy pace reduces the loads on the knee joints by 25 percent while actually burning a few more calories per mile than walking faster.

While it doesn't have the cardiovascular benefits of brisk walking, it is a good starting point for adding activity throughout the day. The CDC also notes that there is evidence that easy-intensity exercise has benefits for improving your mental health and mood, which are also improved by moderate-intensity exercise.

Try this 30-minute walk for arthritis to get started.

5. Low-Intensity Activity Breaks Up Sitting Time to Reduce Health Risks

Many studies are finding that sitting or simply standing for more than 30 minutes at a time can raise your health risks, even if you do a full bout of exercise at some point in the day. Walking around for one to three minutes every half hour or hour has been shown to be needed to reduce these health risks. Getting up and circling the office or house may save your life. One study found that these short, easy walking breaks improved glucose control and insulin response. An increasing number of fitness bands have inactivity alerts to remind you when it's time to get up and move.

And while walking is great, you can also try these 8 hacks to sit less and save your life.

6. Are 10,000 Steps Per Day Really Exercise?

If you are addicted to your fitness tracker and make the effort to reach 10,000 steps per day, does that mean you are exercising? For most people, that number is an indicator you have engaged in exercise during the day, as it is difficult for most people to log more than 6,000 steps just in daily activity. You could log 10,000 steps at an easy pace, and it wouldn't qualify as moderate-intensity exercise.

Many fitness trackers, such as Fitbit, analyze your steps and record those that are aerobic or exercise steps done at a pace they consider fast enough to quality. If you want to ensure you are getting "real exercise," look at that number as well as the step total.

Bottom Line on Walking as Real Exercise

Walking is physical activity at any speed, from a slow stroll through a fast race walk pace. The answer to your smug fitness friends is that a brisk walk is a true exercise, with all of the aerobic cardiovascular fitness effects of other moderate-intensity exercise. If they are cycling, jogging on the treadmill, or using the elliptical trainer, your brisk walk is giving you the same benefits.

That said, you should balance walking with other physical activities. You need strength training to build and maintain muscle. Cycling is very beneficial for walkers as it works the opposite leg muscles. It is good to engage in a variety of activities, so all of your muscle groups are challenged and strengthened. Keep walking, but have a balanced exercise program.

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