Whatever process you are using (walking to lose weight, diet, EFT) with weight loss in mind, it generally requires you to believe that you will be successful even if simply to have the motivation to follow the guidelines, prepare food or go to the gym.

This is because you will need to wake up in the morning believing that you are becoming the person who has the results you want. Every day I think about how I am going to walk or run or do some other activity in my normal day.

Writing about walking to lose weight helps because it acts as  a focus. All through this month of posting about my thoughts and actions around trimming and toning, I am assuming that activity is part of your normal life. You are walking regularly or starting running, counting pedometer steps, etc. Maybe you are doing lots of cleaning, rearranging, moving and shifting of furniture etc. Using what you would be doing anyway as another stepping stone towards your results is brilliant.

Just as it is important to prepare muscles and stamina for increased walking to lose weight it is beneficial to promote your self confidence. The right sort of confidence supports positive action. Usually this is a step by step and increasing approach that means you actually have total confidence in what your body can do i.e. lose weight, tone and trim.

Taking an echinacea and zinc supplement helps me feel as though I’m taking care of myself. This is a good way to reinforce what I already feel is true – that walking to lose weight is a great contributor to my overall well being. Every time I actively feel good about looking after myself well (eating right, exercising, sleeping enough, time out, etc.) I know that my weight loss and reshaping of my body is on track.

In summary how you feel about what you are doing is important. if you want to hear more about this approach subscribe for  Practical law of Attraction for Weight Loss ebook.

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That’s when pedometer steps helps! By wearing a pedometer daily it is easy to get started. In fact the busier the day the better. Make a game out of fitting in extra steps especially when it seems difficult. Walk while waiting, fill in time with picking up toys or clothes (bend and take each item back to its spot individually), walk from the back of the house or the office instead of shouting or phoning.

Walk to the shops. Walk to the other side of the car park. Walk down the stairs instead of using the lift.

Walking for weight loss can be taken too seriously. Walking or exercise can be taken too seriously.

Make it easy on yourself.

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Well it is…but there is a difficulty in measuring techniques and self measuring especially. How accurate are your measurements?

A good policy is to get someone else preferably a professional who has been trained but a girl friend (or wife) would do, to take the measurements. As this can be embarrassing this may not be your preferred option. If so do it yourself but be sure that you know exactly where you are measuring and repeat it at least one time to check the result. I do the bust or nipple line, under the bust (bra line), the waist at its smallest, hips (largest point), upper thigh and lower thigh (just above the knee) and the arm between the shoulder and elbow.

Obviously give yourself some time walking for weight loss before checking to see how many inches (!) you have lost. How long to leave depends on the frequency and type of exercise. My old routine was to leave it for 10 days of 10,000 steps before checking. Counting pedometer steps is one of the easiest ways to lose weight.

The type of exercise will also affect where you see the results.

Even though we are told that spot reduction doesn’t work and loss depends upon overall body fat reduction, if you measure you will find definite differences in the rates of loss. Weight training is great at sculpting the more difficult body parts. Walking to lose weight particularly walking up hills, naturally tightens thighs and bottom. The top half of the body can be neglected when walking for weight loss so it helps to add arm movements perhaps using hand weights during your walking routine.

We all know about buying jeans or some other item of clothing “hoping” that they will be an incentive for weight loss. How often does that work?

But I do recommend purchasing or finding a piece of clothing which is just too tight. It needn’t be expensive and may not even be something you want to wear but it can act as a demonstration of weight loss. It needs to not do up or strain across buttons etc. then take a photo. Over time check on the fit and notice where your measurements have changed. If necessary look at the photo to reassure yourself that it does now fit better. If certain parts are not reducing at the required rate then take specific action for that area.

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Walking to lose weight can become a part of participant’s lifestyle however to do it successfully your lifestyle must adapt. The type of walking must be what suits you and over time this will probably alter as you move through a series of life changes.

Setting up your own business can also require a major lifestyle change.  It may happen gradually, but eventually it changes your life. Keeping in balance during this process is a major benefit.

This is why I am a fan of one hour walking. If I am feeling anxious or annoyed about a work-related issue, have been stymied in some way from direct action, awaiting resolution of a problem, etc. then a walk often lifts me totally-creates an inspired solution, calms me or creates new ideas, enough to re-focus and bring renewed creative energy and success-thinking to what I am doing. In a new home-based business some activities are less diverting than others and often the support of colleagues is not there in the same way as within an organisation, where it can be taken for granted. Or some aspects of your business through confidentiality or technicality, are best left unshared.

Even with weight loss there is division over whether walking alone or with others is best. Much research supports both arguments but successful long term losers tend to do it alone. The focus and commitment is theirs. Supplement it with others but remember where the responsibility lies. See the benefits of walking for weight loss as also benefiting your business in direct ways: That solution that came during your walking for weight loss; The even tone you can maintain as stress levels decrease.

Focus on your business but walk for one hour and you are soon weighing less and working better. One hour of dedicated walking is 6,000 steps extra added to that day. Anyone targeting 10,000 steps daily, can appreciate how much this contributes towards that goal. Yesterday was my regular shopping, bank, pay bills, day and combined with the one hour walk I did over 17,000 steps. The day before was less active although I prudently put in a few extra steps when I could, and with the one hour walk, did 11,000.

I have gradually built up walking to lose weight to one hour on most days. Occasionally there may be reasons why this slips, either deliberately or not, such as sickness, but this one hour is bringing a lot into my lifestyle and I miss it if I’m not doing it. However just adding in a one hour daily walk is not an overnight accomplishment for most people. It requires changes in discipline.  It requires ensuring that it adds value to your day.

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So a weight loss process requires a lifetime commitment to diet and exercise. This is also why we at Walking to Lose Weight prefer a weight loss approach which is easiest to maintain and is flexible enough to incorporate variety, any number of others, diverse interests.

This is really about activity.

There are 2 basic options. Create specific exercise opportunities such as brisk walking; and increase your activity choices in daily life.

Option one is to take a walk every day preferably of over 20 minutes duration because 150 minutes brisk (break out in a light sweat or do 3,000 steps in 30 minutes) walking in a week will result in some weight loss. For a quicker weight loss 250 minutes weekly is required. I find that to fit in a walk of 60 minutes daily which is the time frame this requires takes some adjustment. Knowing that it also is required to be a new lifestyle means I want to find a way which will enable me to incorporate it into my daily life with pleasure. So rushing in to 60 minutes walking daily and maintaining it over the long term, may not be easy for you, whereas adding in extra physical activity or a 20 minute walk may be more so. As you become willing and dedicated to finding the time for successful weight loss the opportunities present themselves and you make the choices which lead to this new slim life.

There also is the option of walking in private, at home, and the bad weather alternative of using walking dvds or a treadmill.

The latter exercise option of increasing physical movement through daily tasks is most effective if you have been sedentary. In this case any conscious choices to walk further or do more bending and lifting or jogging around the house, will have an effect. The only way to really know the number of steps you are doing is to use a pedometer.

When I started using a pedometer I was astonished at how few steps I did in normal day. Then I increased these by going to the mail box several times a day to check for mail instead of once only when I knew the mail had been delivered, choosing to go to the Ladies which was furtherest away at the shopping centre, taking several trips to the car to deposit groceries rather than use a trolley.

The object is to increase your daily step total to an active lifestyle level which requires a minimum of 8,000 and for weight loss at least 10,000 steps each day.

Some activities result in a disappointing response on the pedometer such as weight lifting so stick mainly to activity which has enough movement to register a correct number of steps. When naturally added activity from your housework, shopping and playing with the kids, doesn’t add up to the 10,000 required, add in dedicated walks. This has a dramatic impact on the steps walked in a day.

This is called walking to lose weight.

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One reason for choosing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is as an easy introduction to the idea and exercise behind using virtual opportunities as stimulation for your imagination and walking to lose weight.

The actual climb takes about 3.5 hours and doesn’t require fitness so much as health as the many steps, walking on narrow walkways between and climbing in all weather (although you’re unlikely to find it snowing in Sydney) as well as the horrendous safety gear make the whole thing a mental challenge- the total distance is 1.74 kms of slow climbing never ending stairs. The attraction of the climb is that all the way to the top you get stunning views.

Virtual Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Preparation:

Click here to see some details of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Check out the safety requirements and suit up here.

Climb:

Plan to do 2.5 kms in stair steps. This requires something like 3125 – 4000 steps, taking about 45 – 55 minutes.

The idea is to do this by focusing on the stair climbing. Firstly find some stairs which lend themselves to this exercise – office building stairwell, car park, entries to buildings, etc. or use an exercise DVD which you can do with a step, or requires high knee and leg moves. The local railway station here has multiple steep staircases and is perfect for this exercise. The point is to do the number of required steps so if this is high impact movement for you take your time or split it up over 2 separate exercise days. The local step class at the gym would see you do this in one class. This is not about the time it takes to do but doing the real steps. Of course if this is a breeze to do, it can be intensified by restricting the time taken to do it.

Reward:

Go to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb site and click where it says Panoramic View from Bridge. Enjoy the view.

Each week in February Walking to Lose Weight is creating some virtual walks which are interesting and fun to think about and do. Wonderful real world events exist which you can participate in or treat as virtual (which many people do) and in the same way you can make up your own. Choose a way of exercising and walking for weight loss which sparks some incentive for you to get up and walk every day. Build in to the activity the option of ‘doing’ it as in going outside and walking, or ‘faking’ it by walking inside on a treadmill or in front of the TV or a DVD. Remember – as you are using your imagination, the details don’t need to be exactly right.

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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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