Alternatives for Walking to Lose Weight can come from your book shelves or DVD collection, the Wii or just wet weather gear!

Recently I was putting on the Leslie Sansone walking DVD for the third time in a few days and felt, let’s say,…hesitant. How many times can I do it in a row without getting bored? Especially since I’d misplaced the 3 mile walk and was doing the 2 mile. (I’m packing up the house ready for selling.)

As usually happens when I’m reluctant to do something when I get started it feels much better than I expected. However knowing that I really wanted an extended walk made me put extra effort into the 30 minute walking to lose weight program. The 3 mile walk is high intensity and I really know that the guided DVD walk is more calorie burning than my regular one hour, because you follow  four different types of steps in this home version some of which you’d be unlikely to do exposed in the outside world. Knee lifts, kicks, sideways moves and, of course, weights.

This time with the 2 mile walk I threw myself into the “walk”once the warm up was over. I did it all at a high energy pace and ended up with some floor exercises including push ups. I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the exercise even though it was only another walking to lose weight DVD.

Then today I went for a walk in the sunshine and perfect sky when all of a sudden black clouds appeared and a little while later a drenching shower made me very, very wet! Unable to do much about it and without an umbrella or rain gear, I simply walked quickly along my walking route. I reasoned that as it was not cold, and I had on my Goretex trainers (I highly recommend these for wet ground) it was better that I simply accept the conditions and get the most out of my walking circumstances.

This is it folks! By accepting the challenges of walking for weight loss it really works. The answer to how to make it work is to make it joyful work.

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Walking DVDs

Walking in the outside world is easy and can be an effective weight loss tool. Oftentimes though an older, frail or very overweight person is reluctant to go outside even when walking. The Walking to Lose Weight program suggests options to suit you which are easy to make.
An advantage in using in-home training if you are wary of going into the outside world for exercise, is the learning part. On the assumption that the purpose behind doing walking for weight loss is to lead a more active life, and part of the strategy is to increase the calories burned and variety by adding extra intensity, it means that at some point you may want to or need to, go public. Earlier expert coaching in the insularity of a home can allow you a graceful learning curve to ensure you perform with confidence.

Using a walking DVD at home makes counting steps or distance/time easy, safe and more fun than doing it at home on your own. It is calibrated so you don’t have to keep track. It is not likely to overexert you or your muscles. Following is easy and if you do miss a step or process, you can go back on the DVD to repeat that section.

A walking DVD has these advantages:

you only need yourself, generally nothing else though you may use hand weights as, for instance, with the Leslie Sansone’ Walk Away the Pounds DVD" href="http://locatereviews.com/1714590805" target="_blank">Walk Away the Pounds DVDs:

little space is required so you may find nothing needs to be moved in your living room;

if you are observed, say from the couch! the other person is unlikely to be distracted from their reading etc. It is an unobtrusive process;

if someone watches, you are only doing normal actions, far less unflattering than boxing;

you have a clear view of the instructor- never obscured;

it can be done in normal clothes most often- don’t have to change or have special clothing, which means any spontaneous urge to exercise can be indulged instantly;

most DVDs have a couple of levels for starting and heart conditioning or calorie burning. Once you’ve done a few sessions the cost of the DVD is repaid compared to paying for exercise classes.

Having a few walking DVDs in your collection ensures a varied routine if you walk at home, or have at least one for the odd occasion you need to easily find a way to walk if you normally walk outside or go to the gym. They show you the proper way to walk and do simple add on steps and use of weights. If you move on to gym classes you will have an understanding of many of the steps already from the at home classes.

Walking is an exercise which is not threatening. It can be approached with relative ease. Doing in-house versions of walking can equip your body with added muscle strength and stamina before increasing the intensity with high burn workouts. It also gives you an added layer of protection from public exposure if this is important for you.

Try to add walking to lose weight outside to your routine as the sunshine, fresh air and beauty add an extra dimension of feel good.

Start from the beginning of 31 Ways to Lose Weight Walking.

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The Pedometer has Power.

I went down to Sydney for a few days and loved seeing the bustle of the Christmas crowds. I forgot the pedometer and felt less connected to the ‘steps’ process. I found it difficult to judge the number of steps I might have walked. It seems that little counter is really an effective tool to keep walking – if the steps aren’t up where I’d like them to be, it pushes me on, or the high step counts lead to self congratulations and more activity. An alternative is to use a dvd such as Walk Away the Pounds which will keep track of the steps for you.

Priorities Count.

Last week, because I had at the time something very important to do and I thought I needed to forget everything else and make it my only priority, I found that I forgot my pedometer, forgot to order my drink on lite milk, had cream just this once, couldn’t walk because it was too hot, had wine with dinner, etc. As soon as I returned to my senses, I realised that I hadn’t improved my experience at all. Or somehow invested in a more successful event, but I had shaken my confidence in my ability to effectively lose weight over the long term. I could have continued my dual priority of walking to lose weight and the other important things in my life and I would have been happy that I had done well on both fronts. I wallowed for a while in distress at the backsliding I had achieved or at least suspected. A combination of social and other tasks had me busy driving and sitting for many hours without the choice of getting up and moving. So it was a successful week…except for the walking and weight loss process! On top of that the Christmas crowds and the Christmas attitude make it practically difficult to apply some of the regular walking to lose weight strategies. Oh and the summer heat pushes me indoors for exercise. Shopping malls normally a good standby under these circumstances, are no longer so, as the crowded malls make walking for weight loss impossible.

What to do now.

The key is to mentally substitute the shops and the beach in your mind. Shop early and late, which are also my favourite time for the beach. I really only like those long leisurely strolls in the cool of the evening or early morning, in summer. During the day walking was the obvious choice for so many reasons-parking in the shade but a long way away from the shops or having to park a long way away form the mall during the crowded part of the day. It was not my favoured way to exercise in the heat but I am able to appreciate that it did ratchet up the steps and get the Christmas shopping list done at the same time.

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