Walking and Weight Loss.

Walk off the Weight.

Bad back? Tired all the time? No motivation to exercise but still trying to lose weight?  Start walking.  If you haven’t got a dog or a child, walking can still be fun.  Walking is one of the easiest ways to not only jump start your weight loss, but it will help you tone up and increase your stamina to boot.  A brisk walk, (a walk where you walk fast enough to be unable to carry on a conversation comfortably), will help you lose weight and stay fit and healthy.  Your heart will certainly thank you for it.
 
If you are one of those people who has never exercised, or have not exercised for a long period, remember to start slowly, work on adding increments of ten minutes at a time. For some great beginning walking tips try “What is walking”. At this website you will find information on “…Beyond the basics of how to walk and how much to walk, there are variations in walking faster, training for long distance walking events, nordic walking with fitness walking poles, and using a treadmill or a pedometer…” If you find it difficult to get started, start with a small, achievable goal. Aim for just three days a week and then gradually build that up to five or six days. If intentionally going out for a walk every day is just too much to commit to or you just don’t have time to walk every day, try to sneak the walking in any way you can. Parking further out from the grocery store so you have to walk further is a great tip, better yet try this trick at a strip mall shopping area, park far out in the parking lot, away from the stores, then go ahead walk around the shops rather than driving from one end of the parking lot to the other as you visit each merchant. There are often walker clubs formed to walk at the mall, or just around your neighborhood, check your local newspaper under local clubs and groups.  It might help to find like minded people to give you accountability for your walking health.  If you enjoy the alone time walking might offer, use your MP3 player to help you keep the pace up. You can find walking compilations or training pod casts on ITUNES, often you can download some for free. 

So how do we know how much walking we need to be doing? When is walking going to help us achieve weight loss? How much should I walk to achieve a healthy heart? It seems the optimum number of steps per day is 10,000 – this is taken from the book “You on a Diet” by Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz, (the champions for dieting smarter not harder).  They suggest buying a pedometer and aiming to add steps each day until you reach the 10,000 steps. The Walking Website  is another great place for information, but it also has a message forum so people can connect with other like minded people, this can help  to keep you motivated.  You can discuss your goals and get some great tips on how to get the most from your walking program.

Walking can provide gentle exercise, help you lose weight, build stamina and get healthy, and best of all you do not need a costly gym membership to get started.  Lace up your sneakers, put on your comfy pants, grab the dog, the kids or the IPOD and get moving.

Colorado has some of the best walking trails available. For more information on how to start a heart healthy walking and weight loss program talk to Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan about how best to reach your goals.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at (303) 674 1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com

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