Walking can help you lose weight and get a flat stomach. Losing belly fat will improve your health and boost your self-esteem. Two types of fat are found in your abdominal region: visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat is the dangerous fat that surrounds your organs; subcutaneous fat is the type of fat that lies just underneath the surface of the skin.
Weight Loss
Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you consume daily. Losing fat from just one area of your body, called "spot reducing," is not possible. Exercise and a healthy diet will allow you to lose weight throughout your body. To lose 1 lb. of fat you must burn 3,500 calories. A healthy weight loss is 1 to 2 lbs. per week, which can be achieved by creating a caloric deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day.
Duration and Speed
To get a flatter stomach via walking, aim for 60 to 90 minutes of aerobic training daily, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Increasing the amount of time you spend walking allows you the opportunity to maximize your calorie burn. The speed at which you walk also effects how much belly fat you can lose.
Interval Training
Interval training during your walking sessions can help you achieve a tiny waist faster. According to the American Council on Exercise, interval training burns more fat and calories than traditional cardio training. Interval training uses both the aerobic and the anaerobic energy systems because you work at a high intensity for a short duration followed by a moderate pace for a longer duration. For example, speed walk for 30 seconds followed by walking at a moderate pace for one minute. Repeat your intervals during the duration of your walks to help trim your waist.
Hill Training
Whether you walk on an incline on a treadmill or walk up a neighborhood hill, uphill walking can help you reach your goals. Walking uphill places a greater demand on your body because of the effort you must use to propel yourself uphill. Hill training burns a higher amount of calories than walking on flat ground. It also helps increase your lean mass because of the resistance of the hill. Increasing your lean mass can boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories at rest, resulting in a smaller waist.
Considerations
The types of foods you eat are a direct reflection of the way your body looks. Fueling your body with healthy foods helps you have the energy you need for your workouts. Walking daily cannot reverse the effects of an unhealthy diet. Filling up on whole grains, lean meats, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products helps you stay full and prevent overeating on unnecessary calories. Reducing the amount of calories you consume daily can also contribute to your caloric deficit. Eliminating empty calories -- foods that provide little to no nutritional value -- can help you reach your goals because you can save on hundreds of unnecessary calories a day. Empty calories, like soda, processed foods and fast foods should be eliminated in order to get a flat stomach and tiny waist.
