Many leading health authorities sing praises to walking as a great road to travel to get to your ideal weight. Unlike many other forms of exercise, walking does not require any memberships or expensive special equipment. It can be pursued year round during any type of weather. After all, who says you have walk outdoors? Why do you think there are malls? Malls are designed for walking, in fact, many malls have walking clubs associated with them.
     Reaching and maintaining my ideal weight is a matter of control. Dm I going to continue to let my weight control ME or am I going to take control and dump the excess weight? It is a mental game and I can win it. I know because I am not going to be in this alone.  I am not some hunk of a body builder trying to sell my particular weight control pills, sweat belts, or exercise videos. I am simply  an overweight, out-of-shape, 61 year old guy with a dream; a dream that WE, you and me, are going to turn into a reality. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start on the road to a long life and an ideal weight of just over half my starting weight.
     It's time to stop making EXCUSES; it's time to start making PROGRESS. Let's begin.

     Did you ever wonder why many people's efforts to lose weight seem to fail? Maybe it is, in part, the way we, as a society, look at weight loss. First of all, why do we say we want to "lose" weight? We lose our money in the stock market, we lose a game in the ball park, we lose our minds at work, we lose daylight if we procrastinate, we lose . . . . The list is endless and these are all negative things!!  Even the reality TV show is called "The Biggest Loser." I don't know about you but I AM NOT A LOSER. We are programmed to think of "losing" as something to be avoided. What if we re-frame our goal in more positive terms.  We are going to "gain" our health, gain our self-esteem, gain years of life. We want to gain, not lose.
     The best place to start on this journey is between the ears - in the mind - get the foundation established in positive terms and move forward toward success.
     So, let's get past excuses, let's get past negativity and let's make positive progress toward the goal.

     Now that we have that out of the way, it's time to get serious about getting healthy.

     I once asked my cardiologist which diet or weight loss (there is that negative word again) plan was best. His response was that most commercial plans work as long as you pick one and stick to it. Don't take parts of one program and mix them with parts of another program and expect success.  The objective is to get healthy, not to simply weigh less on the scale.  The bottom line is the best program for reaching your healthy weight is the one you will stick to. 

     Walk! That's it, just walk. OK, so it isn't quite that simple.
     First things first, join Weight Watchers. Or, if you prefer, sign up for NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, A Better Weigh, or some other commercial weight management program. The one thing we do not have a shortage of in this country is people willing to take your money to help you get healthy and reach your goal weight. My suggestion is that you stay away from the diet pills and the magic bullets that abound on the internet and in the health food and vitamin stores. Unless you are a physiologist or a biochemist, leave the pills to the pros and just buckle down and follow a proven plan like one of the ones I've already mentioned. The money I am going to save on groceries and (eventually) doctor bills and medicines will more than cover the cost of one of these programs AND my new clothes.
     Me? I chose Weight Watchers. Why? Because it works! (Click here to find our why I chose Weight Watchers.)
     Then walk.

     Guess what. I did not get to over 330 pounds overnight. Who in their right mind can reasonably believe that it is possible to shed all that weight in a few weeks? I didn't get here by eating reasonable quantities of healthy foods either. Well, I'm not going to get to my goal weight if something does not change. AND, this is going to take some time. DEAL WITH IT!

     Walking is exercise. Plain and simple. And it is easy. Do you have any idea how many pieces of expensive home gym equipment are out there serving out their lives as clothes racks? Think about it. Walking is something you can do anywhere, well, almost anywhere. Also, if your current exercise program consists of clicking the TV remote, then walking is probably for you.
     It is really all about adding exercise to your daily routine and exercise gets your metabolism fired up to burn the calories that you eat. That's all there is to it. If you are interested in the finer points of what exercise does for your metabolism, attitude, and health you can Google it and find TONS of information that I am not about to type in this little text box. Nothing works to get your weight down like a good eating plan coupled with an exercise that you will actually do.

     Many of the online walking sites publish really complicated walking plans that assume that you have NOTHING else to do with your life than put on a pair of walking shoes and hit the bricks every day at 5 a.m. before work. Yeah, right! Get real! You don't need a complicated walking trail with mileage marks and time limits to get the benefit of walking. In all likelihood, you have been walking longer than you have been buying your own candy bars and fudge. This is a skill that you know well. You do not need to be trained for it. You don't need a coach or hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. Having said that, you should consider investing in a good pair of walking shoes and some comfortable socks. Both can be had for about fifty bucks at DSW or and equivalent discount shoe store.
     I walk about a quarter of a mile a day just to get to work. "But I can't walk that far," he whines.  OK, then don't. Walk half that far. However far "far" is you can walk part of it. You can be assured that eventually you CAN walk that far. And a quarter of a mile is nothing compared to where we will end up once we start getting our health back.
     If all you can manage is ten steps without getting dizzy, then walk nine steps and sit down. When you feel better, do it again. (See the caveat above). Set a reasonable goal based on your own ability. This is not a race. It is very important that you keep this in mind. Keep it comfortable, keep it slow, keep it at a pace you can handle. Listen to your body. "No pain, no gain," is fine for Marines and Navy Seals but it is probably not fine for you and me, not yet anyway. If it hurts - STOP and see a doctor before continuing.
     If you are not a walker today, start walking at a strolling pace and work your way up. Set your walking distance based on how you feel and stop before you reach a point of exhaustion or pain. Walk every other day until you are confident that you can handle it, without muscle pain or exhaustion, on a daily basis. Add distance as you feel able. Don't try and match someone else's distance achievements.
     Walk where it is safe to walk. Don't walk on railroad tracks, uneven surfaces, private property, or airport runways. Don't go anywhere dangerous and do anything stupid. Oh, yeah, and don't forget to watch for cars.

     Click here to go to The BLOG to post your comments and to see what others are saying about their own personal trip down the path to a healthy weight. You can follow my weekly progress by clicking on My Journey. My plan is to update My Journey weekly while keeping The Blog up to date as often as the spirit moves me. If you don't fell like leaving a public post on the blog, feel free to leave me a private E-mail instead.

Click here to learn about one of my key sources of strength.