When I started out this project I specifically picked a group of folks who I knew had some very different takes on the whole weight loss and fitness field.  I did this for a variety of reasons, but primarily I did so because I know there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” solution when it comes to weight loss and fitness and that having multiple perspectives on certain subjects is a great way to help our readership find out what works best for them.

Take, for example, the article that Rafe wrote the other day about doing something other than walking in order to get in your daily exercise.  It’s a fine article, and the exercise he mentions certainly seems challenging, but in reading it I felt the need to write a response and give you all the “other side” of the coin.

I have heard many complaints about walking over the years, ranging from the “walking is boring” argument that Rafe mentioned in his article to “I don’t feel like walking is actually working out” and everything in between, and I do see the validity of those arguments.  Walking certainly is not the sexiest exercise you can do.  It does not have the zen sounding allure of Yoga or the ass-kicking implications of Tae-Bo.  It won’t build huge muscles or give you a six pack.  Generally speaking, it won’t make you feel the “burn” that many other workouts will and it won’t cause you to lose tremendous amounts of weight in short periods of time.

What it will do, though, is get you moving.  If you’re someone who falls into the “morbidly obese” category, or heck if you are just someone who has not exercised on a regular basis in years (or ever),  that act in and of itself is a lot of effort.

When I started my latest expedition into the realm of weight loss and fitness there is no way I could have done the “simple” exercise that Rafe wrote about the other day, even if I was doing the push ups from my knees.  At 420 pounds, doing a full push up would have been roughly the equivalent of bench pressing 252 pounds (even a “half” push up from the knees would have been about the same as a 125 pound bench press).   The amount of pain that would have come from attempting that exercise likely would have put me off from working out again if I finished it.

And that, my friends, is the key to why I’m such a big supporter of walking.  Walking is easy, walking works, and most importantly walking is something you can do on a consistent basis without hurting yourself so badly that you’re discouraged from working out again the next day.  The key to weight loss when you are trying to lose a lot of weight is consistent activity – not absolutely tearing yourself to shreds every time you work out.   Take Jared Fogel for example.  While a lot of press has been given to the “Subway Diet” that he endorses, one of the key elements of his weight loss kicked in when he started walking “everywhere.”  There is no mention of him going to the gym or doing any other kind of exercise.  Just walking, and only 1.5 miles per day.   For the record, Jared has managed to keep that weight off for ten years now.

Another very important thing to consider when looking at more intense exercise is the embarrassment factor.   That is, if you’re grossly out of shape and attempting to do certain exercises in view of others you are likely to be horribly self-conscious of how you look while doing so.  That may not be a huge thing to some people, but the fact of the matter is that many of us are trying to get in shape in order to look better in public.  Doing something that makes you feel self-conscious about your looks while trying to fix the fact that you feel self-conscious about your looks is a bit on the counterproductive side.

By all means if you’re reached a plateau in your weight loss efforts or you are looking to add a little variety into your daily exercise routine shake things up a bit, but if you are just getting started on an exercise routine take another look at going for a walk every day.   You might be surprised at how beneficial that act alone can be.