The step diet: a painless approach

We would all be slimmer--and healthier--if we focused more on exercise than on diet, says James O. Hill, Ph.D., a longtime weight-loss researcher and cofounder of the national health initiative America on the Move (www.americaonthemove.org). "People are trying one fad diet after another and just getting fatter," says Hill, co-author with John C. Peters, Ph.D., of The Step Diet: Count Steps, Not Calories to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Forever (Workman Publishing, 2004). This new plan focuses as much on keeping weight off as it does on losing it in the first place. "Weight maintenance is where most people fail," Hill says, and the best tool for success is exercise. Hard workouts aren't necessary; in fact, to keep weight off, he suggests simply striving to take at least 10,000 steps a day. (The book even comes with a pedometer to count your steps.) That's about five miles, but includes the steps you take during the regular course of your day as well as additional exercise. (A few equivalencies: 1 minute of cycling = 150 steps; 1 minute of swimming = 96 steps; 1 minute of yoga = 50 steps.)

Another mistake is setting goals that are too high. For example, each week that you're trying to lose weight, increase your daily goal by just 500 steps (see suggestions at left).

No food is off-limits. Instead, you're encouraged to eat just 75 percent of what you normally eat. In combination with exercise, reducing your food intake by one-quarter will help you lose weight at a safe rate of 1-2 pounds per week.

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at home

* Walk around while talking on a cordless phone.

* Do chores like emptying wastebaskets during TV commercials.

at work

* Host "walking meetings" outside with co-workers.

* Find a lunch spot at least a 10-minute walk away.

out and about

* Walk around the airport while waiting for a flight.

* Always return your grocery cart to the designated area.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group