Walk Your Way To Weight Loss

"The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best." Thomas Jefferson

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in America and dieting alone doesn't appear to be the solution. The statistics tell the story--Americans spend $30 billion a year on diets, weight loss programs and products and some do lose weight. However, in most cases, five years later these people gain back whatever weight they lost.

Recently a national panel did a research to find out if any of the commercial weight loss diets or programs could provide lasting weight loss success. Unfortunately, not a single one was found to be able to do so. Although these diets may initially induce weight loss, what the dieter actually loses is mostly water and muscle. Then when the weight is regained, it is all fat.

This does not mean that lowering one's caloric intake does not help in weight loss. What it does mean is that dieting alone is not enough to achieve sustained weight loss.

Research reveals that people who diet without exercising often become heavier with time. This clearly shows the crucial role exercise plays in weight loss maintenance.

In a recent national study, it was found that there is a significant relationship between lack of physical activity and fat. The implication is that if you want to reduce your body fat, you need to increase the amount of physical ctivities you engage in instead of decreasing your food intake.

There is no need to get a gym membership or buy any special equipment to do this. You can actually incorporate your workout into your daily lifestyle both at home and at work. You can do this alone or recruit others to do it with you. The advantage of having other people involved is that it becomes more motivating and fun.

You can start by pushing yourself up and away from the dinner table the moment you have eaten the healthy amount you need for a particular meal. Basically what you should do is to simply increase your overall activity level through the day. For instance, you can climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator, do minute-to-minute movement in the office or at home, mow the lawn, shovel snow in the driveway. These activities actually burn calories and reduce calories more effectively than a doing 30 minutes of aerobic exercise!

Walking is another great but simple way to lose weight. Aside from that, it strengthens the bones, tones the leg muscles, encourages good posture and helps one to have a positive self-concept.

Time rather than speed is the basis of an effective weight loss walking routine. If you walk at a moderate speed, you are less likely to experience soreness which allows you to cover longer distances which in turn translates to more fat burned on a regular basis.

High intensity walks on the other hand, is an excellent way to condition one's system. This kind of workout can be done on alternate days. At this level of intensity, you do not need to walk as long as when you do at a moderate pace.

As you age, your metabolism slows down but exercise can counteract this natural process. However, it is also important to keep in mind that exercising without eating right is just as useless as dieting and leading a sedentary lifestyle. In achieving good health and weight loss, it's always diet and exercise, never just one or the other.

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