How to Lose Weight Walking on a Treadmill for 15 Minutes

Walking is a low-impact exercise that can help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, raise healthy cholesterol and improve your mood. According to the Community Development Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a 150-pound person walking at a brisk pace for 10 minutes may burn about 61 calories. Walking three to five times per week, increasing the incline and adding hand weights can help you burn even more calories and get you on the fast track to weight loss. Remember, burning 3,500 calories is equal to burning one pound.

Things You'll Need

• Good walking shoes

Tips

1. Invest in a good pair of walking shoes. For about $40, you can find a quality pair of walking shoes. Considering visiting a shoe store for runners to have your feet measured. They should also be able to tell you if you overpronate, which is where your feet roll in, or underpronate, which is when you walk on the outer edges of your feet. You can also use trial-and-error at your local shoe store. Be sure to bring the same socks you will wear when walking. When purchasing your shoes, ensure that the shoe store offers a return policy in case the shoes start to hurt your feet.

2. Familiarize yourself with your treadmill. Take note of the "stop" button, which you can press to stop the treadmill immediately if you become overwhelmed or can't keep up. Many treadmills come with a number of programs such as manual, random, hill, fat-burning and cardiovascular, that you can use to vary your workout and prevent yourself from hitting a plateau, which is when your muscles become used to the exercise and stop working as hard.

3. Walk briskly, focusing on having good posture. A leisurely 15-minute walk on a treadmill won't burn many calories. To maximize your workout, you want to hit a brisk pace within the first minute of stepping onto the treadmill. Remember this is only a 15- minute walk. Ask yourself if you are really giving your all.

4. Swing your arms. Your arms should be bent at a 90-degree angle at the elbow and should swing with each step. If you are new to the treadmill, you may want to hold onto the side bars. Do so until you feel comfortable enough that you can balance without holding on.

5. Carry three-pound weights. Gradually increase to five-pound weights. As you become more comfortable on the treadmill, use your weights to do bicep curls or shoulder presses while you walk.

6. Walk at an incline. Begin with an incline of at least 2 percent. Each week increase by one percent.