Walking helps you to burn off all those excess calories that the festive season helps us put on!
It has been calculated that we eat over 6500 to 7500 extra calories by eating meals that include such things as Christmas cake, Christmas pudding with cream or custard, turkey with all those trimmings plus festive drinks and nibbles and chocolates!

The New Year is an excellent time to commit to getting fitter and losing weight.

Walking is good for you – it helps to lower blood pressure, strengthen the heart and lungs and actually helps you to sleep better and reduces stress – all this for free! Just get walking!

Check in your local newspaper to see whether there is a walk you can join over the holiday time – quite often there are walks which you can go on for free and walk as far as you wish with a group of like minded people.

Otherwise why not get the family to join you on a walk or stroll.
Start a new traditional of a family walk – take the children out for a walk to help get rid of some of that excess energy. Don’t be put off by the thought of walking, if strolling suits you then go out and stroll – in fact if you are very overweight then strolling is the best thing for you.

For more info on walking, its health benefits and how to get started browse through these articles and then go for a walk.

• How many steps it takes to walk off a glass of wine and more…

• The ideal number of steps to walk each day
• Counting calories and walking - a quick guide to how many steps you need to take to walk off one calorie
• Develop a positive attitude to walking.
• Walk yourself slimmer.

• Lose weight by walking
• Average walking pace

• More ways to walk at home
• An Overweight walking plan that will help you build up to 5000 steps a day.

Enjoy your walking