Your Weight! Your Health! Your Skin!

A few years ago I woke up after a shocking night’s sleep and hazily thought “How did I let myself get in such a bad condition with all these ‘niggling’ health issues”?  Over the next week or so I thought about the best way to start getting back into some kind of shape.

My waist was around 41.5” which on my light bone structure wasn’t healthy. I knew I needed some form of exercise but I also needed it to be at a basic level. Being a tried and true ‘frugalist’ I didn’t want to pay for a trainer. It had to be something low impact, enjoyable and eventually have a progression element to it.  Where to start?  Something basic!

By chance not far from where we lived were some designated bush tracks so I decided to start tackling these. Under the guise of taking my old dog for a walk I got started. I thought the dog would give me an excuse for the lack of pace on my part.  Funny how much we worry about what other people think.

The first few walks were around 20 minutes and some areas of the bush tracks were quite steep so at times I was breathing quite hard. Not good. I had absolutely no cardio fitness. But I stuck with it and after a couple of months things were getting easier and I was setting a nice pace.

Eventually I left the dog at home and took him for separate walks from my ‘fitness walks’ and was able to build up to 45 minutes using some of the steepest tracks.  Now 2 years later I can run those same tracks.

So for those of you that are so out of shape, where a walk from the couch to the refrigerator leaves you out of breath, I highly recommend starting a walking program.  No matter what your age or how out of shape you think you are, walking can be beneficial for you.  It doesn’t have to be far to start with as long as you do it.  Try for 15 minutes 2-3 times a week at your own pace.  Or even 10 minutes.  Eventually each time try to go a little further or a little faster or start to time it and try to knock off a few seconds.

The Japanese have a saying or word kaizen, the technique of achieving absolutely incredible improvements through very small, regular and steady increments. So make the steps so small that you can’t possibly fail.

Further down the track set yourself a goal and within 6 months aim for everyday for 30 minutes and upwards at a pace that gets you breathing harder.

Remember the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I love walking, probably because I do not feel like I am exercising. It is the most natural form of exercise that a person can do, and it is great for one’s health. It also does not require you to buy an expensive piece of equipment, one just needs a good pair of walking shoes.

The question today is, can walking reduce your waist and flatten your stomach?

Drumroll please!  . . . . . . .  yes it can!

Actually, walking is part of the reason why I lost 20 pounds.

If you are overweight and you want to lose those extra inches, walking is a great start for you. It will improve your health as you lose weight and you will look good and feel great!

One can lose weight successfully just from walking, but you will have more success if you combine your walking efforts with a proper diet.

Now before you hit the road, do you have a goal? You need to make a weight loss goal and you need to decide how much weight you want to lose, and how much time you are giving yourself to lose that weight. Writing down your goal will keep you focused on what you want to accomplish.

You also need to track your progress, so you can get encouraged as you start losing the weight. There will be times when you are feeling discouraged, or maybe you are low on motivation or you gain a pound or two, it does not mean your weight loss efforts are in vain. You need to keep your focus and keep at it.

Remember walking burns calories so the further you walk and the faster pace you go the more calories you’re burning.  Start out your walking exercises slow and work your way up the ladder picking up the pace at the same time.

Warm ups need to be done for about 5 minutes before you walk and than cooling down 5 or 10 minutes after the walk.    You want to warm up to get your muscles and joints loosened up, cool down to slow the heart rate, and bring the blood pressure back to its normal range.

Your walking exercises in itself should last at least 30 minutes.  During this 30 minutes each day you should be able to pick up the pace and walk further.  While your walking, take the talk test every once in awhile.  The talk test is if you can’t talk and breath while walking than your walking to fast so slow down some.  You want to be able to carry conservation with someone while your walking.

Try and make the walks fun, otherwise you will get bored fast and you will not do it long enough to reap the amazing benefits. Take your mp3 or ipod when you go on your walks, or invite a family member to come with you, or if you have a dog, take him along. You can pitch the idea to your spouse and children, and it can be a special time for the whole family to bond and do something healthy together.

As you keep walking, and increasing the pace and distance of your walk, you will realize that  you are getting fitter and leaner. As you lose fat off your body, so you will be dropping inches off your tummy. And the more inches off your body you drop, the more closer you get to flattening that stomach and exposing your 6 pack.

Taking the decision to exercise and eat properly is not to be taken lightly. It requires quite a commitment, but the reward are worth it.