For people very overweight or unfit the slower approach to the New Year exercise program provided by walking to lose weight may be the better prospect. This is an ongoing process and it requires mental as well as physical commitment. Going full speed at a gym works wonders if you are slightly overweight or have neglected to exercise for a couple of years. Or want to fit into certain clothes which you love but are a little too tight! If you have been long term overweight and couch potato-ish than I would recommend that gym membership only be added if necessary to supplement your walking to lose weight, depending upon your circumstances.
This whole process can be overwhelming and you probably will need help. I use all help available. A lifeline to support, sometimes is necessary if you want to take advantage of the beautiful, healthy body hidden inside of you. Many options exist to live a life independent of aging and disease.
Why? Because this will change your life. It has to be fitted in your life, daily, by creating, or using existing, time to do it. The others who you work, live and play with can help or hinder you by cooperating or not-obviously it would be better if they can positively support your effort. You will be changing many existing habits, whether it’s what you eat, where you eat, what you do at lunchtime, if you take your car or walk, taking the family on activity days etc. Starting walking to lose weight requires a serious commitment to making this process work. You need to build a lifestyle around it.
Starting walking to lose weight requires preparedness and determination, a sense of humour, and an ability to focus on what you want. The mimimum necessary apparatus is sensible shoes suitable for walking; A place to walk outside; a way of walking/exercising inside; a pedometer.
At the beginning of every year I really get focused on exercise. And it works. This time I am doing more than walking to lose weight, I am adding toning and targeted reducing, as I have lost enough weight from walking alone, that tightening my muscles will make a wonderful difference to my appearance and how I look in my clothes. I lost weight by taking the softer approach of setting up a program for walking to lose weight which established a pattern of walking which included as much other incidental exercise as I can fit in, daily. The natural approach to exercise!
With an ongoing training program to make exercise a happy part of life you will never have to “start” again!
