Walk more - the easiest way to change your life

According to Yahoo News, the pedometer craze of a few years ago taught us that to be healthy and stay slim, we all needed to pace 10, 000 steps every day.
But despite the tremendous health benefits of walking (not to mention that it's a free, convenient form of exercise) a quarter of us are still struggling to rack up even a single hour of walking during the whole week.

Scare stories about how bad for our health it is to be so sedentary haven't scared us enough, it seems, as according to a survey by walking group Ramblers, a further 43 per cent of UK adults only manage two hours walking a week or less.

As with most things, modern life can shoulder much of the blame. The survey of 2,000 Brits found that 42 per cent of us drive less than two miles to go to the gym - to go on the treadmill. And hands up who thinks they just don't have time to walk anywhere?

Well think again. All you need is to walk for 30 minutes five days a week to lose weight and lower your risk of everything from diabetes to stroke. And you don't have to do it all in one go.

Jennifer Zerling, author of Breaking the Chains of Obesity, 107 Tools, explains: "Walking isn't really exercise as such. It's something we should naturally do all the time as humans.

She continues, "I'm a big fan of high intensity training, but you have to be at a good level of fitness to really see the benefits."

Recent research agrees that though high intensity training is good for us, burns fat and keeps us healthy, a heavy session at the gym a few times a week isn't enough to counteract an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.

Instead we should be incorporating movement into our everyday life. (But that doesn't necessarily mean we can forget the gym).

Ramblers is hoping to encourage people to increase the amount they walk in small ways. Instead of feeling you don't have time to go for a big country walk, it's running free walks with guides that are less than five miles in length.

Even then, many of us with busy jobs and long commutes will still struggle to find time to walk five miles in one go. But there are other ways to up your paces.

Living Streets, which has organised the National Walking Month initiative suggests signing up to 'walking feats' - making goals to ensure you walk and publicising your success online - such as taking a picture of your empty chair as you head off for a stroll during your lunch break.

For this National Walking Month why not try these tips on walking more every day. You may find yourself getting into good habits:

1. Commute on foot. Try walking to work (if that's realistic), or if it's too far, walk part of the way. That might mean getting off the train or bus a stop early (even if that means adding 10 minutes to your journey). If you drive, try parking further away from the office or doing a lap of the car park before heading in (encourage your co-workers to join you).

2. Take the Stairs. Change up at least one of your lift journeys a day for the stairs. Try upping that to twice a day as the weeks go on. If you work in a very tall skyscraper, get our of the elevator two floors early.

3. Visit the furthest away bathroom. It may be hard to drag yourself away from your desk when you need to spend a penny but once you're up, make the most of it by walking around the office and giving your legs a stretch. You'll find your concentration and productivity also improve.

4. Use your lunch break. If you're managing to grab an extra five minutes of walking here and there, all you'll need to get you to the optimum walking zone is 15 minutes at lunch. Stick in your ear phones, forget the shops and try a brisk walk. It will get your blood flowing and set you up for a good afternoon.

5. Go for an after dinner walk. Switch your sofa slumping for a healthier alternative. Take your partner, housemates or dog or arrange to meet a friend for a 15 to 20 minute walk after dinner. It'll help your digestion and sleep, give you the chance to catch up without interruptions and it's a boon to losing weight. Plus, you'll feel less guilty for missing the gym.

Regular walking will make you look better, improve your sleep, concentration, energy levels and heart health. It might take a little more planning but the rewards will make you more productive and happier. Give our tips a go this National Walking Month and see if you feel the difference.