So much is said and written every day on losing weight,and getting more exercise. Many jobs nowadays involve little if any physical work and sitting behind a desk,or the wheel of a car or lorry is not going to burn the calories,is it?. So what is the answer? I suppose the immediate reply would be, join a gym, go on a diet, sign up to a slimming club, all of which can and do work for some people as i can personally verify but, having experienced the afore mentioned i can say in all honesty they all have one thing in common, they are utterly boring.

Walking,jogging,or running on a treadmill will and does help you lose weight, but endlessly just looking ahead while you  plod plod plod away is mind numbingly boring,yes i know you can equip yourself with a walkman, Iplayer or any other gadget that comes on the market,but you still cannot escape the fact that you are constantly thinking of your body and how it is performing,or not.

I have found over time, that things can be achieved if they are done almost subconciously,and without a doubt a fine example of this is walking for exercise. It obviously helps if you have an interest in the countryside and nature in general, and if that is the case with you i strongly recomend walking regularly as a way to burn the calories. Now here is the first important point, do not set of on your first walk thinking you have to walk a marathon before you get any benefit, in fact the opposite is true, as you will come back stiff and sore, and even though you may tell yourself you will do the same again soon odds are you will have subconciously have scared yourself off. Get yourself an ordinance survey map of your area, lay it out on a table or flat surface and work out a circular route of maybe 4/5 miles, list all the interesting points to lookout for and there will be many, and set off at a reasonable pace,and keep it up until you arrive at your first place of interest. By going about it this way you will not feel pressured and you will be surprised how easy the walk is. next time, you can do the same walk with less stops,and before long you will find you can easily do the walk in one go.

The great thing about exercising in this way is you can set your own pace,( although if you are too easy on yourself, you wont burn off much), you will always have something to attract your attention,and last but not least, you will have privacy. Autumn has to be the most beautiful season for walking,so get on your walking boots, lay out your map,find a route,and start walking this weekend.