Easy Exercise: Instead of Doing Lunch, Walk with a Friend

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Lolita Carrico

Next time you want to “do lunch” with a friend, skip the lunch and take a walk instead.  Walking is an easy way to exercise and it costs nothing!  It’s hard to fit everything in and making a “walk date” instead of a lunch date with a girlfriend is a great way to get some exercise and catch up!

Walking gets a bad rap in some circles–people believe that walking is only for those who can’t run or can’t keep up with the spin class at the gym.  Dr. Michelle Look, a sports medicine specialist and a national medical consultant to the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk says walking is good is for everyone:

Walking is not just a weenie activity for the nonathletic. It’s good for just about anybody, and the health benefits are particularly significant for women.

Even if you like to hit the gym, walking is an effective way to lower your risk for metabolic syndrome and heart disease–both of which are very high among women!  Walking for just 30 minutes a day will cut down significantly on your risk for metabolic syndrome, which 24 million American women already have. A British study found that walking to work can reduce your heart disease risk by 11 percent!

Here’s some stats to motivate you to substitute walking for lunching with friends:

• Just 60 minutes of walking will burn 300 to 500 additional calories
• If you walk an hour for 10 days and you’ll lose a pound
• Keep it up for a year—you’ll be 35 pounds lighter without even dieting!

Do you ever walk with a friend?  Have you found it helped you lose weight?