- Improved Digestion
The movement (light not high intensity) supports digestion. This may, in part, be related to stress reduction, especially if the walks (or dance) happen outdoors or are something you look forward to.
- Blood Sugar Control
Walking 10 minutes within 30 minutes after a meal can reduce blood sugar levels. Even 2-5 minutes of movement done any time throughout the day reduces blood sugar level rise after meals by 17%. That has a significant impact on belly fat and inflammation. The post-prandial (meal) walk may be more beneficial if you have belly fat issues.
- Subliminal Caloric Control
Knowing you’ll walk after meals you may start naturally applying what other cultures call IKIGAI – or eating to 80% full. They never “get stuffed.” If you know you’re going to get up and be active, chances are you eat a little less.
- Stress Reduction
Especially if you can get out in nature, walking helps reduce stress. Most of us can use a cortisol-optimizing dose of that regularly. Twenty to thirty minutes seems to be a sweet spot but even less than this is still providing benefits that may come back in the way of…
- Improved Sleep
Ten minutes of self-selected exercise intensity(which means snail’s pace to all-out HIIT) a day improved self-reports of sleep scores by 33% in a National Sleep Foundation study.
And by the way those 30 minutes of walking (when you add it up) result in 30% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and 62% reduction in dementia.
If you are lifting and walking regularly and you are hitting your daily protein, you may naturally and easily find improved body composition.
Even if bone density is a concern for you, starting with walking after every meal will also have a positive effect on bone mineral density. Stress (cortisol is not good for bone either), sleep, and improvements in digestion are foundations of good bone mineral density. (It alone isn’t the best way to optimize bone density, but you’ve got to start somewhere). Walking is an excellent foundation.