How Do We Burn Carbs?
In order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. This leads to long-term weight reduction, as your body ultimately taps into fat stores when it needs to burn calories for energy.
Typically, we burn 200 to 400 calories per hour of walking, depending on your body size and the intensity of your workout, notes Harvard Health Publishing.
Here’s how it works: The carbohydrates you eat are broken down into sugars and transported in your blood, according to Mayo Clinic. This causes a rise in blood sugar levels, which triggers your pancreas to release insulin to lower blood sugar and make carbohydrates available for energy or storage.
Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver or as body fat. After a few minutes of walking, your body taps into your muscle glycogen stores for energy. Having a diet adequate in carbohydrates allows you to store more glycogen and support walking endurance.
Aim to obtain about 45 to 65 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrates to provide sufficient energy for exercise, including walking, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, healthy sources of carbohydrates include:
- Whole grains
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Beans
It’s also wise to avoid refined carbohydrates such as white rice and baked goods to avoid empty calories and unhealthy weight gain.