Walking for Health to Weight loss

How much should we walk to lose weight or to maintain fitness? A good rule of thumb is you must take 12,000 - 15,000 steps a day to lose weight. It takes about 10,000 steps a day to maintain fitness. Obviously fewer steps mean you are neither losing or maintaining. Any amount of walking is good. For the best health results set a brisk walking pace for 30 minutes at least 5 times a week.

How can we get started? Like all exercise programs there are some great ideas to get us going. The first suggestion is to buy a pedometer so you can measure how many steps you take each day. They are readily available and affordable. There are two great options available at I Spy I Buy - take a look. Some even help count calories. It is easy to calibrate your pedometer. Count the number of steps taken over a known distance and do a little math. A quarter mile track at a local school are easy places to calibrate your step length.

Next we have to plan our schedules to incorporate walking. Start slowly and build up to your target level. Easy ways to add walking to your schedule is to walk with friends, a loved one or your family dog. Its a wonderful way to spend quality time and get healthy.

If you look at the benefits of walking they read like the wild claims of a snake oil salesman. Its easy to do. Costs very little. And it works.