Losing a few pounds is a goal which is shared by a large number of people. Unfortunately it brings images of starving yourself on the latest diet craze or getting hot, sweaty and out of breath down at the gym to mind. Pounding the pavement or doing laps of the track in the rain is another image. None of these options are especially appealing to the vast majority of people.

Weight loss – and a plethora of other health benefits – can be obtained simply by performing a form of exercise which most of us do every day without so much as a second thought. Walking is a low impact, low injury risk way to exercise which is a great solution for many people – at a variety of different fitness levels and across a wide age band. It’s perfect for anyone who recovering from an injury or illness and it’s a good method of losing weight post childbirth.

The thing about walking is that it’s a natural activity. There’s no need for any special equipment, training or expertise. Anyone can do it – whenever they feel like it and whenever it suits them best. It can be slotted into you daily schedule when it’s most convenient for you. There’s no need to fit in a special trip to the gym – which will also save you money on membership fees as well as time.

The important thing to obtaining all the health benefits and losing weight by walking is consistency. Relatively low level exercise, performed on a regular and frequent basis, is very much better than intermittent periods of high intensity exercise – and it’s much less likely to result in sprains, strains and other injuries as well. Walking for just half an hour daily will soon produce results – as long as it’s done on a regular basis.

If you can gradually build up to 10,000 steps daily on a regular basis, you will be pleasantly surprised at just how quickly you start to feel the benefit and actually see the results. For the majority of people, 10,000 steps is roughly equivalent to a distance of 5 miles. That may sound like a long way – but it really is much easier to achieve than you may think.

Another big bonus with walking is the fact that there’s no need for any special equipment. All that you need to get started is a good, comfortable pair of shoes. It’s not strictly necessary, but you might consider getting yourself a pedometer to be a worthwhile idea. You can pick these up for less than $ 10 these days – even an Omron pedometer, which is the top brand on the market, can be found starting at just over $ 10 – although the more feature packed ones do cost a little bit more. They will help you to keep track of your progress and are able to display results in terms of the number of steps taken, the number of calories used or the total distance covered. It might help you to stay motivated and encourage you to find other ways to make a walking workout part of your daily routine.

It’s also worth considering the latest developments in fitness footwear. Brands like Skechers Shape Ups,Reebok Easy Tones and Fitflops are designed to increase the amount of work done by the lower body muscles during normal walking activity. This will help to increase the effectiveness of your walking to lose weight workout.