The Word on Weightloss

When I was little I remember watching my mom get up early and head out the door to meet her girlfriends for a morning walk. She followed her walking routine three mornings each week and it went on for several months. At that time, my mother was by no means a fan of working out, but walking fit her lifestyle. She was able to increase her heart rate and connect with her friends at the same time. After several months she lost weight too!

It’s true that better health and weight loss doesn't take several hours sweating at the gym to achieve. Exercise and fitness can be as simple as something that you work into your daily routine and walking is certainly one to consider.

For those of you who are new to an active lifestyle, walking is a good introduction to exercise.

• Walking is a simple, low impact activity that does not require any advanced training or gear.
• Walking outside is as easy as putting on some comfortable clothes and a pair of sneakers.
• Walking is very beneficial for promoting weight loss at first because it is an increased in the activity for any non-active individual.

If you’re new to walking start out slow, plan your routine and increase your activity as you go along. Here are some pointers for new walkers:

1. Start slow. If you’re new to physical activity, start by stretching and warming up your body and all of your muscle groups. This helps to prevent potential injury to muscles that are cold or not used to activity. Your first walk should be about ten minutes long on flat ground. For a novice walker, hills will require too much exertion.

2. Have a plan. If you’re new to walking you should start with a sensible plan. Start walking for ten minutes for the first week for at least three days. After the first week assess yourself. Do you feel tired or sore? If not by week two increase your distance. Try a 20-minute walk one day and a 15-minute walk the next day. If you’re energy is high you can always try a different route with some light to moderate hills. Increase your activity for better results.

3. Walk with a friend. It’s always more fun to work out with a partner, someone who pushes you to keep going and is there to motivate you when you don’t feel like exercising. Find someone at the same fitness level and track your results together.

4. Keep going! If you’re new to walking you’ll start to see results quickly, but they won’t continue forever. Like anything else, you have to modify your routine and your lifestyle to see continuous results.  What about your diet? Instead of a cookie at lunch time try an apple with raisins. Small steps towards better health will enable you to stick to your plan and reach your goal.

5. Low impact.  Walking is considered a low impact activity because it’s easier on your muscles, bones and joints. Walking is a great activity for an individual recovering from an injury or an older adult who wants to incorporate fitness into their lifestyle.

6. Track your progress. Keep a Walking or Fitness journal. You don't have to write pages and pages, but jot down the length of time you walked, the distance and how you felt that day. You can also note what you ate, how much rest you had or stress you were under as a way to gauge the physical and mental benefits of your walk. By writing down these notes, you'll be able to see your progress and improvement in your fitness and weight loss program!