Losing weight is a matter of taking in fewer calories than you burn. Once a healthy diet is planned it’s time to get down to exercise. This should include seven days a week, 30 minutes a day of aerobic exercise. It can be running on a treadmill, swimming, or simply walking exercises to lose weight. Walking is a low impact way to accomplish the exercise goal. Here are some walking tips.

Forget exercising only three or five days a week, aerobic exercise is something you need perform every day forever.

Once the walking is established do some other activities to increase your physical output. This can include simple things like raking leaves instead of blowing them, crazy things like playing tag with your children, as well as other every day habits such as parking in the furthest space from the store rather than the closest.

After getting accustomed to walking that 30 minutes every day, make some adjustments by adding intervals. Intervals are short bursts of increased activity sprinkled into a normal routine. Start out by running for 30 seconds every 10 minutes of the walk. Gradually increase this to a one minute run every five minutes, which goes like this. You walk for the first four minutes, then run for the fifth, then walk the next four minutes, run the next minute, and so on for the whole 30 minutes. Keep in mind that a run is not a jog, it’s faster, it’s a sprint. So if you have to work up to run with jog at first.

Walking to lose weight is healthy, no doubt. But it’s also a great way to get around the neighborhood, meet neighbors, and see things you probably miss while driving around everywhere you go. If it gets boring you can ask a spouse or family member to join you. Make it a family affair, or get the whole neighborhood involved.