Walking is a great way to lose weight. Make sure you have the right clothing, the right shoes, and the right attitude.

Autumn is here and that means cooler weather.   You might think a heavy sweater or coat is what you need to keep warm during your walking program, but think again.  Dress in layers, not in one heavy layer.  As you get started during your daily walk you need warmth, but by the middle of your walk you may overheat.   Top your walking shorts with a pair of sweats.  Have a long sleeved shirt over your tank top.  Throw a light weight sweater over the shirt.  If you do get too warm those layers are easily removed.

Quite a bit of body heat is lost through the head because of all the blood being pumped to the brain.  Wearing a hat is one way to keep warm at the beginning of a walk.  You can remove the hat as you warm up. Cold hands can mean the rest of you feels cold, wear light weight gloves. You can stick them in your pocket as you warm up.  Sometimes all you need to do to keep warm is to keep the torso and chest area warm with a light weight vest.

Good fitting shoes are crucial to maintaining a walking program.  Blisters are bad news and besides being painful can become infected.  Wear your new walking shoes around the house or on errands to break them in.  Alternate brand new shoes with your old shoes every other day.  Shoes should fit comfortably when wearing socks.  You don’t want a lot of extra room in the shoe so your foot doesn’t slide around and cause friction.  Rubbing can cause blisters, bumps and calluses.  It’s a good idea during rainy fall weather to have two pairs of walking shoes.  One can dry out while the other pair is ready to go.

Muscles use more calories than fat.  As you walk you’re replacing fat with muscle and therefore using more calories which means you lose weight faster.  Exercise increases your metabolism for four hours or so after you’ve finished and that can mean you lose more weight as well.

Attitude is everything on a weight loss program.  Don’t think of walking as a chore you have to complete but rather a treat for yourself.  While walking off the weight takes a little more planning than during the summer the beautiful fall colors and mild weather more than make up for the inconvenience.