Start an Active Lifestyle

Find a detour
Park as far from your workplace (or doctor's office, grocery store, or dinner party) as possible. Because you want to walk at least 30 minutes each day (about 3,000 to 5,000 steps), a detour will help, says Juan Remos, MD, an internist and health-and-wellness director at The Miami Institute for Age Management and Intervention. If you park 15 minutes away from your office, you'll also burn an extra 130 calories per day.

Pack your walking shoes
Next time you book a business trip, add walking to the equation. "Everywhere I go, I factor in a daily walk," says Eric Plasker, a chiropractor based in Atlanta and author of The 100 Year Lifestyle. "I get to see a new city in a whole different way." This strategy also helps burn off high-calorie business dinners. A 20-minute walk on each of three days kicks about 260 calories to the curb.

Schedule a moving meeting
Hit the trail or track and bring a digital recorder to remember key points, Plasker suggests. By skipping the usual muffins-and-coffee meeting, you'll avoid at least 450 calories and will burn a bunch, instead.

Get a pooch
Dog owners walk an average of 300 minutes a week, while people without dogs walk just 168, according to a Canadian study. That's a difference of almost 600 calories.
A human friend is another way to stay motivated. "Being accountable to someone makes us more aware when we're skipping exercise.

Add some resistance
Working against the wind, in the water, or while wearing a backpack burns about 50 more calories per hour than walking on flat ground.

Count your steps
In a study at the University of Michigan, walkers who wore pedometers lost weight even in the absence of new diets. You can set goals and race against yourself.

source:  Health Living

Success Story:

Lunch on Run is Making a Difference

August 6, 2008, Martinsville, VA - Forty-eight year old, Barbara Thompson thanked Activate and the Henry County Bike Club for changing her life at a recent Lunch on the Run walk. After losing her job, Thompson was uninspired to do anything that she didn't have to do. "I was gaining weight and my cholesterol and blood pressure was high. I knew I needed to do something but didn't want to do it alone." Thompson saw an ad in the Martinsville Bulletin about Lunch on the Run, a group walk managed by Activate and led by volunteers of the Henry County Bike Club. She decided to try it out. Five months later, Thompson's blood pressure and cholesterol are both lower and her medication has been cut in half.

"I have met some terrific people and made some really wonderful friends. They lifted me up, encouraged me and provided the drive to want to better myself. I am walking regularly now and have started biking. If you told me months ago that I would be on a bike riding with traffic in Uptown, I would call you crazy. To have the wind in your face and friends by your side - it is a feeling that will stay with me for a lifetime."