Enjoy some fruit while walking up the stairs

Losing weight is a matter of consuming fewer calories than you burn. Once a healthy diet is planned it’s time to get down to exercise. This should include seven days a week, 30 minutes a day of aerobic exercise. Walking is a tolerable, low impact way to accomplish this goal and more importantly to stick with it for a long time. With a few tips in mind it can be even better.

Forget the idea of only three or five days a week, aerobic exercise is something you need to do every day forever.

But then more can be added. Additional activity, outside that 30 minutes a day seven days a week, is easy. Park the car further from the store or office, then walk. Instead of gobbling a bagel while riding the elevator up to your floor, enjoy a banana while walking up the stairs. When it’s time to remove leaves use the old fashioned hand rake rather than the leaf blower. Muscle power is exercise. If you have kids get involved in their games of tag, or chase. They’ll love it and so will your body.

After getting accustomed to walking that 30 minutes every day, make some adjustments by adding intervals. Intervals are short bursts of increased activity sprinkled into a normal routine. Start out by running for 30 seconds every 10 minutes of the walk. Gradually up this to a one minute run every five minutes, which goes like this. You walk for the first four minutes, then run for the fifth, then walk the next four minutes, run the next minute, and so on for the whole 30 minutes. Keep in mind that a run is not a jog, it’s faster, it’s a sprint. So if you have to work up to run with jog at first.

Walking to lose weight is healthy, no doubt. But it’s also a terrific way to get around the neighborhood, meet neighbors, and see things you probably never see while driving around everywhere you go. If it gets boring you can ask a spouse or family member to exercise with you. Make it a family affair, or get the whole neighborhood involved.

You On a Walk

As millions of dieters have already discovered, the key to the weight-loss plan outlined YOU: On a Diet is the daily thirty-minute walk. Now the bestselling authors of the YOU series, Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, have created an original audio program specifically designed to help you meet your daily walking goal – and have fun doing it.

YOU: On a Walk presents two thirty-minute walks, one faster and one slower, set to music that is timed to keep you moving at the pace that is right for you. Along the way, Drs. Roizen and Oz keep you company as you walk – telling you about the benefits of walking, sharing pointers and health tips for you to think about, and motivating you to keep going for the entire half hour, all in their signature comfortable, encouraging and entertaining style. You’ll also hear some important insights on setting and attaining your weight loss goals, and learn some simple stretches to help you get started.

Thirty Minutes a Day – No Excuses

Walking for thirty minutes a day is doable and maintainable – and with YOU: On a Walk, it’s easier and more inviting than ever before. In only a half hour a day you can:

* Burn fat
* Build Strength
* Feel great about what you’ve accomplished

Take America’s most trusted doctor team along for the walk – and get the exercise you need for the results you want.

More walking audio ressources

A Guide To Walking Fitness
Eat Smart, Walk Strong
Walk Away The Pounds