Startling information: walking is beneficial to your health. I realize this may not be startling, but it is the honest truth. The Mayo Clinic states that regular walking has several health benefits, including improved heart health, energy, mood, and cognitive function. As if those benefits weren’t enough, walking has also been shown to reduce abdominal obesity. Therefore, include these simple suggestions into your walking regimen immediately if you want to burn more belly fat.
1. Change speeds.
This is the easiest and simplest way to crank up your walking intensity: Walk faster. I know, I know—it seems obvious, but there’s a specific way to do this for great results. Don’t just “walk as fast as you can for as long as you can”; it’s better to use intervals to challenge your body while giving yourself a chance to recover and improve your endurance over time. For example, every minute, alternate between walking at a fast pace and a regular pace.
2. Walk uphill.
Walking at an incline is a great way to gently and safely crank up the intensity of your workout. It’s also good for your posture because it encourages good walking mechanics and foot striking and even targets the muscles in your hips and hamstrings. Try looking for a route that goes uphill or walking on a treadmill at an incline. (Avoid grabbing the rails, if you can!)
3. Throw on a weighted vest.
Weighted vests are great for any walking workout. By adding some light resistance, you’ll strengthen your muscles, bones, and joints without much impact, Healthline explains. Also, a proper weight vest helps you activate your core, as it forces you to carry the vest or rucksack with good posture.
4. Add resistance exercises.
Another way to burn more fat is to add some bodyweight exercises every few minutes. That way, your walk becomes more like a “total-body” workout rather than just a ho-hum stroll around the block.
5. Warm up and cool down.
Walking seems easy, but before any exercise session, it’s important to warm up your muscles and joints—especially if it’s cold or wet outside. Do some dynamic stretches, activation drills, and foam rolling so you can prep your body for physical activity and avoid pain, cramps, overuse injuries, etc. Then, when you’re finished, it’s the perfect time for stretching and extra foam rolling so you can avoid feeling stiff and sore the next day.
Eggs are a breakfast staple on the Mediterranean diet.Â
- The Mediterranean diet is an eating plan that emphasizes eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
- If you’re following the Mediterranean diet, you may want to try eating avocados and eggs for breakfast.
- You might also want to try eating Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and flax seed.
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- When you’re following an eating plan, it can be easy to get into a breakfast rut.
- Fortunately, the Mediterranean diet emphasizes eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and foods like nuts, seeds, and fish — and these ingredients can create a variety of tasty and filling breakfasts.
- Insider consulted with nutritionists and dietitians to identify some of the best things to eat for breakfast when you’re following the Mediterranean diet, the best diet of 2021.
Whip up toast with peanut butter and banana slices for a simple and fun breakfast.
Opt for whole-grain bread.
This quick and easy supper requires no cooking and can be enjoyed on the fly.
Because whole-grain bread has more fiber and vitamins than white bread, it can be used to fight off hunger pangs around midday. “The peanut butter provides protein and healthy fats, and the banana will sweeten things up while also contributing to your daily fiber and potassium needs,” Laura Yautz, RD, owner of Being Nutritious, told Insider.
A whole-grain English muffin with greens and bean spread is another option.
Pile your English muffin high with nutritious toppings.
Another easy breakfast on the Mediterranean diet is opting for an English muffin piled high with hearty toppings.
Yautz recommended smearing a whole-grain English muffin with bean spread before adding a handful of potassium-packed spinach and a poached egg.
“Any bean dip will do here: hummus, black-bean dip, white-bean dip. It will pull the sandwich together into a cohesive meal. With a little salty and tangy flavor along with its nutritional punch, it’s a great stand-in for cheese, which should be used only sparingly,” she said.