WEIGHT LOSS - 4 DAYS 1-7 READY STEADY GO

Okay. You’re ready. You’ve already started walking for up to 30 minutes each day. You are convinced that walking will work for you. You feel better about yourself. You have more energy, you sleep better and when you wake up in the morning you want to get going. You know that all you need to do now is to step out,, walk longer and follow The Walk slim Diet and the pounds start to fall away.

But before you step up to a brisk, regular pace and begin your weight loss walkout you should warm up. Walking is safe and effective because it is a low-impact exercise and it uses muscles which you have been using all your life. Even so, a warm-up improves performance and can help prevent injury by increasing your body temperature with easy rhyth-mical movements. The following exercises are a balanced combination of limbering, mobility exercises and static stretches to raise the pulse, increase blood flow to the muscles and fluid to the joints, ligaments, tendons and connective tissue.

The warm-up exercises the main muscle groups which you use when you walk-the quadriceps (the large muscle group on the front of the thight ), the hamstrings (the back of the back thigh) and the calves and Achilles tendons found at the back of the lower leg from the knee down towards the heel. When these muscles are warmed and relaxed, it becomes can stretch get into a good walking rhythm and the muscles can stretch and lengthen more easily to help prevent injury or damage.

Always ease into your stretches using smooth slow move-ments. You should feel a mild comfortable tension as your body adjusts and eases into the different positions.

How to Select a Walking Shoe

WEIGHT- Choose a lightweight design; a walking shoe does not need to absorb as much shock as a run-ning shoe so the midsole cushioning can be reduced to make it lighter.

UPPER CONSTRUCTION- Look a pliable, soft upper providing good support, and made from a breath-able fabric, preferably leather or a design using leather and fabric or mesh.

OUTERSOLE-This is the bottom of the shoe that touches the ground be shock absorbent to protect your feet from bruising. The normal walking motion is to land on your heels and roll your weight forward with a natural rocker motion on to your toes. Some shoes have a rocker profile sole to assist this natural heel-toe motion.

ROOOMY TOE-BOX- This should allow the toes room to spread out when they hit the ground and during push off. Toes should be able to move easily up and back and forth, and should not feel too tight against any part of the ground.

FIRM HEEL COUNTER-This is the cup at the back of the inside of the shoe; is wraps around the heel and lends side-to-side support as the heel first makes contact with the ground.

NOTCHED HEEL-This is the padded collar at the back of the shoe in the shape of a notch or a dip to reduce pressure on the heel tendons.

Always buy shoes in the afternoon-your feet tend to swell slightly as the day goes on. When you try shoes on,wear socks that you will be using with the shoes when you walk. To ensure the correct shoe length use the ‘thumbnail rule” as a guide. There should be a space the width of your thumbnail between the end the toe-box and the tip of your longest toe on your longer foot.

Walk Slim The Easy Way to Lose Excess Weight in 30 Days

The Weight-Loss Walkout

Walking is crucial to every diet plan DR JAMES RIPPE AND ANN WARD
Exercise Physiology & Nutritional Laboratory, University of Massachusetts
A recent report said that half of all men in Britain are now overweight compared with 39 per cent in 1980 and the proportion of overweight women has increased from 32 per cent to 40 per cent. London Underground trains are being fitted with larger seats to cope with larger people changes in their products Again, the experts are blaming our sedentary lifestyle and the high fat content in our national diet.

The answer? To eat a low-fat, high-fibre diet based on the healthy food pyramid guidelines suggested by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest advice for healthy eating, and to do moderate exercise at least three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. And the easiest aerobic exercise suggested by all the experts? Walking.

GETTING STARTED- A STEP BY STEP GUIDE

Walking works because it is a low-stress, moderate exercise. Provided you start slowly and gradually build up your strength and stamina, it is the easiest way to get fit and lose weight.

Research has shown that when you combine a diet with a calorie-burning exercise like aerobic walking you get much better weight loss result. But to keep things simple, all we are asking you do in the beginning is to walk.

It is much easier to start out exercising and then begin the diet, because walking will get you motivated and keep you motivated. Aerobic exercise gives you more energy and vitality. Remember what the walkers said who followed The Walking Diet:

‘You wanted to get in the mornings and get going.’- Teresa

‘I loved the walking. I had great energy.’ – tulie
‘I have more energy now than I’ve ever had.’ – tan
The only equipment you need is a pair of well-cushioned shoes that give you good support. A training shoe will do the job, either a ‘cross-trainer’ which is suitable for several sports activities, including walking, or a specialist ‘fitness-walking trainer’ (see How to select a Walking Shoe). Alternatively, there are now several manufacturers who include cushioning in their shoes similar to that included in a sports training shoe, their shoes similar to that included in a sports training shoe, and styles are available for smart business wear as well as leisure wear. In the USA it’s not unusual to see men and women walking briskly from one meeting to another in smart ‘business trainers’.

Now you are ready- so let’s get out and walk. To begin with you are not going to think about losing weight, technique, or target heart rate. You are not going to worry about your stride or how fast you are going during these first few days. Your first objective is simply to walk.

The easiest way to start walking regularly is simply to walk out your own front door and do a circuit or a number of circuits round the block and back, or around the local park or another route that is known to you. It is also the easiest way to keep yourself motivated.

You should walk to suit your physical condition. If you are unfit, pregnant or have a diagnosed medical problem which ‘will affect your ability to exercise, then check with your doctor before starting to walk briskly.

If you are a minimum of 20 minutes without getting out of breath or becoming tired. Stepping out with a normal stride in 20 minutes you will cover about a mile (assuming you are walking at 3). Over one week increase your walking speed as you feel comfortable, working towards a goal of a 15-minute mile (4 mph) and increasing your time a few minutes each day until you can walk for 30 minutes comfort-ably. An easy way to measure walking speed is to count how many steps you take per minute (see Table 1). Use this simple conversion table to calculate your speed per hour, which is based on three to common stride lengths.

Brisk aerobic walking feels good. Although you are walking faster, once you get into a comfortable stride, the continuous, rhythmic motion of brisk walking is actually easier and less tiring than strolling or slow walking.

Over the next 30 days we are going to convince you just how easy it is to build up a fitness and weight loss programme

Steps per minute

2.0 Ft/stride 2.5 Ft/stride 3.0 Ft/stride Minutes Per mile Miles per hour
90 70 60 30 2
110 90 75 24 2.5
130 105 90 20 3
155 120 105 17 3.5
175 140 120 15 4
200 160 135 13 4.5
220 175 145 12 5

That works, is fun and that you can do for rest of your life. Compared with other exercise activities, you are starting out at an advanced level. After all, you have been an accomplished walker since you were a year old.

Walking aerobically helps you slim, burning off around 200 calories every 30 minutes. It speeds up your metabolic rate-the time taken to burn calories-and your raised metabolic rate will continue to burn off calories when exercising is over, helping you to eat well while remaining slim and fit. Combined with a low-fat, high-fiber diet- The Walk Slim Diet- walking is the perfect weight management system.

So step out and speed up. What have you got to lose?

YOUR 30-DAY WEIGHT LOSS WALKOUT

Fourteen pounds. You may have more or you may have less to lose. If you’re like most people ypu have tried many times to lose weight and failed. Now within 30 days you will feel fitter, leaner, more toned up, have more energy than you have ever had and those awkward extra pounds are going to just fall away-they will be history.

Combined with The Walk Slim Diet plan, you will have the motivation you need to get going and keep going, not only for 30 days, but for the rest of your life. You are in charge of this weight loss plan. You discover where you are today, then set out to achieve your own goals of fitness weight loss.

To begin with you need to weight yourself and measure your height if you don’t know it. Then check yourself against the Height/Weight Chart (see Table 2). For each height there is an acceptable weight range covering small to large frames. If you are a woman your goal weight should be nearer the lower figure; for men, depending on build, it should be towards the higher end of scale. This gives you a goal to aim for.

By now you will have been out on several motivating walks and you will be ready to get started with your 30-day plan.

So step out, step it up and walk off those troublesome pounds with your weight loss walkout.

IDEAL HEIGHT/WEIGHT CHART

HEIGHT WEIGHT
Ft in
Without Shoes Cm lbs Kg

Women over 25 years

4 10 147.3 96-107 43.5-48.5
4 11 149.9 98-110 44.5-49.9
5 0 152.4 101-113 45.8-51.3
5 1 154.9 104-116 47.2-52.6
5 2 157.5 107-119 48.5-54.0
5 3 160.0 110-122 49.9-55.3
5 4 162.6 113-126 51.3-57.2
5 5 165.1 116-130 52.6-59.0
5 6 167.6 120-135 54.4-61.2
5 7 170.2 124-139 56.2-63.0
5 8 172.7 128-143 58.1-64.9
5 9 175.3 132-147 59.9-66.7
5 10 177.8 136-151 61.7-68.5
5 11 180.3 140-155 63.5-70.3
6 0 182.9 144-159 65.3-72.0

Walking Works Wonders To Loss Weight

Life is a maze
In which we take the wrong turning
Before we have learned to walk


If you want to lose weight, tone up your body and get slim; If you want to watch the pounds drop away and have more. Energy and vitality than you have ever had before; if you want a simple way to get fit for your life-then Walk Slim is for you.

Easier than jogging, swimming or dance aerobics, man-kind’s simplest way of getting around is quickly becoming the easiest and most effective way for most people to lose weight and get fit. Almost a ‘forgotten art’, walking is fast becoming the exercise of the 90s – and anyone can do it, young and old.

During the past ten years walking has been at the forefront of a fitness revolution that has swept America. It has become known as ‘the quiet revolution’. Walking for fitness or ‘fitness walking’ has Now replaced jogging and is the most widely practiced aeries used by more than 70 million Americans to get fit, stay slim and beat stress.

Suddenly, fitness walking is the most popular and fashion-able exercise to be seen doing. Cher, Arnold Schwarzenegger and even ‘go for the burn queen’ Jane Fonda are all fitness walkers.

Experts are now beginning to caution against the effects that jogging has on the body. ‘You can’t use running as a life=time exercise. The body was built for running,’ says Gary Yanker, a walking expert. Biomechanical studies show that your feet pound the ground with 3-4 times your body weight when jogging compared with only 1-1.5 times your body weight when you walk. This makes walking a safe and almost injury-free aerobic exercise for people of all ages.

According to the World Health Organization, ‘A walker loses weight, lowers cholesterol, reduces condition associated with hypertension, slows ageing and the balance, strengthens bones and increases stamina.

The founding father oh the medical profession, Hippocrates, said that walking is the best medicine. Now, 2500 years later, fitness walking is a ‘best exercise’ recommended in more than 40 medical studies by exercise physiologists, biomechanical experts, cardiologists, chest experts, obesity experts and stress experts.
The message is simple: fitness walking-brisk aerobic walking- is the easiest, cheapest and most accessible way for most people to get fit for life. There is nothing difficult or faddish about walking, so it appeals to people of all ages. It keeps you slim, it helps beat stress- and it’s fun.

You may have tried other fitness and weight loss routines and failed, but this time you are going to succeed. This time you’re going to watch the pounds fall away forever. This time you are going to be a winner.

Tired of diet and exercise fads that don’t work? Well, say goodbye to failure and hello to sweet, glorious success. The Walk Slim Diet plan will shift those unwanted pounds, tone and trim you. It will give you more energy and vitality than you’ve ever had. It’s easy and it works. No matter how much weight you want to lose, walking and The Walk Slim Diet will work for you.

Because walking works wonders.
Fitness-It’s Got to be Fun

We must walk before we run

GEROGE BORROW

In June 1992 the National Fitness Survey was published by the British Health Education Authority. The survey was carried out to assist the UK Government in developing policies and targets for increasing the activity and fitness of the population and to increase individual awareness of the benefits of ‘active living’. The survey confirmed that the British are get-ting fatter, lazier and unhealthier:

• 48 per cent of men 40 per cent of women are over-weight

• Nearly one third of men and two thirds of women find it difficult to walk at
3 mph up a gentle 1 in 20 slope without suffering breathlessness and fatigue

• For many women aged between 55a and 64, walking on level ground form longer
than a few minutes is circulatory diseases related to lack of exercise

• Some 70-year-old men are fitter than their 17-year-old granddaughters
The British are spending more time in their armchairs than exercising (other surveys show that some people are spending as much as 25 hours a week watching TV). Although 80 per cent of British people express a strong belief in the value of exercise, only a minority do anything about it.

‘Modern living has taken much of the energy out of our lives and we need to find ways of putting it back,’ said Dr Jacky Chambers, director of public health at the Health Education Authority.

And one of the key messages of the survey was for people to ‘take longer walks more often and more briskly’

Several studies worldwide show that least active among us are twice as likely to have a heart attack as the most active.

In the USA, a sedentary lifestyle is now considered so bad for you that the American Heart Association now lists it as a major ‘risk factor’ on a par with high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and cigarette smoking. And the exercise most recommended to get fit, lose weight and reduce the factors that contribute to heart disease is brisk walking.

If exercise is so important in controlling our weight and in maintaining fitness and health, why is it so few people succeed in keeping it up? After all, the Fitness Survey found that 80 per cent of people expressed a strong belief in the value of exercise to health and fitness.

Before we answer that, we would like to remind you of a well-known story. Do you remember those wonderful children’s classics, Alice in Wonderland and through the looking Glass? Do you remember the bit when the Red Queen seized Alice by the hand and dragged her faster and faster through the countryside, but no matter how fast they ran, they always stayed in the same place, and Alice saying: ‘It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place’?

A familiar story - yes?

For many of us, exercise is a bit like this. No matter how much we exercise we never seem to make any progress. It’s the yo-yo fitness syndrome: you yo-yo up and down between one exercise routine and another trying to find one that works for you and that can keep up.

Unfortunately, the statistic speak for themselves: 25 per cent of people starting out on fitness programmes today will give them up within a week; 60 per cent of those starting our on jogging programmes today will drop out or burn our within three months. Yet many of those same people will be back at it within a few months and they will be trying exercise bikes, aerobics, swimming, rowing, skipping and so on. Like yo-yo dieters, they will yo-yo up and down from one activity to another and each time they will fail.

Why? Because they’re not having any fun.

Five years ago we weren’t having any fun! When it came to exercise that is.

WALKING is a natural, healthy expression of the human body.

1. You body is built for walking- it’s ultimate exercise machine. Walking helps you restore rhythm and balance to your life: it makes you fit, healthy and wholie.

2. WALKING is easy, safe and inexpensive. Walking really can’t be easier to do – after all, you’ve been doing it since you were a year old. And it’s safe and almost injury-free. All you need is a pair of comfortable walking shoes.

3. WALKING is aerobic. It is the easiest aerobic exercise and will give you all the aerobic benefits of jogging, swimming, aerobic and more extreme exercises- stamina, endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

4. WALKING is the perfect exercise for weight loss. It is the best way to burn calories and increase your body’s ability to burn fat. It allows you to work – out longer and burn more total calories than if you were working out too hard with more extreme exercise.

5. WALKING improves both muscle tone and strength. It tones and strengthens your hips, thighs, stomach and buttocks and will help your body look sleek and firm. Illustration I Shows you the main muscle groups used in walking.

6. WALKING is the best cardiovascular workout. It conditions the heart: the heart becomes stronger and it pumps more blood with each beat. It needs to do less work, so it lasts longer. Walking lowers blood pressure and raises HDL (good cholesterol)

7. WALKING is the easiest way for all the family to keep fit.
Why? Because everyone can do it, it’s cheap and it’s no-competitive. It helps you spend time together-to get fit, lose weight and to talk, the family that walks together talks together.

8. WALKING is an injury-free way for the over 50s to keep fit. Walk longer; live longer, Because walking is a low-stress exercise, almost anyone can begin to walk at any age providing they begin slowly and build up frequency and intensity,

9. WALKING is the ideal way to relieve stress. You will find that the psychological benefits of walking become as important to you as the fitness and weight loss benefits. Walking is an ideal way to relax, to re-energies, to ‘burn away’ the effects of stress.

10. WALKING produces a variety of important health benefits. Walking can help with back pain, osteoporosis, respiratory problems, diabetes, arthritis, cardiac rehabilitation and a variety of other health problems.

Remember, joggers may start out faster than walkers, but like the hare in Aesop’s fable, they start off at a cracking pace and exhaust themselves long before their competitors, while the slower tortoise walks past them to the winning post.

So walk, don’t run, to tell your friends and family about the benefits of aerobic fitness walking.