Weight Loss

This is the simplest plan for weight loss. No counting of calories, no complex planning - just get up and walk. A simple requisite is to eat lesser than what you are used to. Developed by James Hill, John Peters, Bonnie Jortberg and Pamela Peeke, the Step diet is about losing and maintaining weight for a lifetime by increasing the level of activity and decreasing food intake. The book gives an insight into how this can be achieved using simple techniques to modify negative habits.

The basic objective in the Step diet plan is to log 10,000 steps a day. That comes to around 75 minutes or five miles of walking a day. If you are scared already, don't be - you don't necessarily have to do it at a stretch nor do you have to do all of it outdoors. Make a small beginning. Walk 15 minutes or 2,000 steps for the first few days and then gradually increase it. As you become lighter, you will need to do more.

All of your 10,000 steps need not be from a single walk. You can take several walks throughout the day. You can accrue the steps by walking during a coffee break at the office, parking your car some distance away, taking the staircase every time, and such little things. Just clip a pedometer on your waistband and keep the count.

You can even substitute a part of the walking with other exercises like yoga or cycling. The book lists a chart of these exercises and their equivalence in the number of steps. For example, a 60-minute session of yoga counts for 3,000 steps. Basically, the idea is to burn more calories than you consume.

What all can you eat?
You can continue eating your regular food but you have to limit the intake. Eat 75 % of what you presently eat. Just make four equal portions of the food and leave one behind. It goes without saying that fatty foods are to be avoided. Buy, reduced-fat versions of your dairy products. Eat lean meat instead of red meat. But, even if you do eat fatty foods occasionally, you can compensate by walking more. The book details out the situations you are likely to face.

Benefits:

* Eating less and walking more is a common sense approach that always works. You will lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume through food. This is the simple formula for energy balance.
* You don't need to count calories or stick to any kind of diet. You can eat any kind of food.
* It results in permanent weight loss as walking is a healthy activity that you eventually love.
* There is no chance of craving or longing for food.
* It's inexpensive. No fad diet to buy. All you need is shoes and a pedometer.
* The more you walk, the more you can eat!