Many people want to know how to lose weight, but what they really want to know is how to lose size rather than lose weight. A tape measure can be a more effective method of monitoring your progress.

Certainly changes to your diet are important, but no weight-loss program has much chance of succeeding without exercise. Aerobic exercises are well suited to this, increasing the body's metabolism, burning fat and getting the heart pumping. What you should be searching for is an activity that can be performed frequently and easily, making it possible to integrate in to your lifestyle relatively smoothly.

There is one exercise that fits the bill - walking. Sometimes known as the king of exercises, walking burns almost the same number of calories as jogging, and despite the fact that it has the calorie-burning advantage of being weight-bearing, it is a low-impact exercise which means that there is minimum risk of injury. How many people do you know who were injured as a direct result of taking a walk? Compare this to runners and joggers, who sometimes miss out on their daily exercise due to strain or injury.

Walking is not only ideal for fat burning and body tone, there are many health benefits associated woth walking too:

Low impact Improves fitness Improves circulation Lowers blood pressure Reduces stress Increases muscle mass Increases bone density Boosts metabolism Minimises risk of diabetes

Having learned all of this, how can you afford not to include walking in your daily routine? Don't attempt to rush your progress, start off with short distances and don't be impatient, you have the rest of your life to increase time and distance spent walking! The main aim is to walk on a daily basis, so that walking becomes a permanent habit, and your weight loss becomes permanent too.

Walking is great because - other than a decent pair of shoes - you don't need any specialized equipment. You can start by simply stepping outside your front door, and if the weather is bad you may consider investing in a treadmill. Treadmills are great because you can perform your full daily routine without getting wet, and do something else at the same time - such as watching TV!

A great way to accelerate calorie burn is to set up a treadmill at the lowest rate possible - say one mile per hour - and stand on it while working at your computer. This slow pace may not seem worth it, but if you have frequent long sessions on your computer the benefits stack up, and operating the computer is surprisingly easy at this speed. Three hours has the potential to burn up over six hundred calories. You may need to replace your desk with a new version that allows you to stand up, but it will be worth the effort!

Stop making up excuses and start walking!

If you have never performed regular exercise before, or it is a long time since you last exercised, it's a good idea to visit your doctor to let him/her know what you intend to do, so that your doctor can advise on the suitability of this - or indeed any other - exercise.