Sarah Lorge Butler - Walk Your Butt Off!: Go from Sedentary to Slim in 12 Weeks with This Breakthrough Walking Plan

To the test panelists, who let me walk a mile in your shoes, this book is for you.

Theres also a good chance that youve tried to lose weight in the past and havent succeeded. In both cases, I have fantastic news for you: Walk Your Butt Off! will change your lifeand your pants sizebut you must be willing to meet it halfway. If youre ready to take care of your body and put your health first, the Walk Your Butt Off! plan will arm you with everything you need to get there and ensure you have fun along the way.

How do I know? This program was created by a trio of top-notch women, all of whom have to work just as hard as the rest of us to sneak activity into our crazy-busy schedules (which is why theyve created a program that doesnt require hours in the gym and can be done anytime, anywhere). They know the rewards that come from committing to daily exercisemore energy, better health, and a body that looks good in jeans and a tank topand their enthusiasm for fitness jumps off the pages. Who are they? Well, theres your walking coach, ACE-certified fitness instructor and previous fitness director of Prevention magazine, Michele Stanten. Theres also your food coach, Leslie Bonci, RD, the director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and all-around lover of real, delicious, good-for-you foods. And finally, theres writer and mom-of-two Sarah Lorge Butler, who helped Michele and Leslie put together their program in a way thats clear, concise, and enjoyable to read.

It wasnt enough for Michele, Leslie, and Sarah to create a program that should work for everyone. They wanted to be 100 percent positive that any woman who picked up this book would have success if she followed the program. So what did they do? They tested the plan on 19 real women, the majority of whom were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. If youve already blown out your 40th birthday candles, you know that they were up against all of the challenges that make shedding pounds more difficult as you age: a slowing metabolism, hormonal changes, and a jam-packed schedule. So when these same women shed 10, 20, even 30 pounds, it became clear that the Walk Your Butt Off! program works. And it works remarkably well.

Forget dieting. You wont have to give up a single favorite food group to see results on this program. In fact, Walk Your Butt Off! doesnt even include a diet program because we know that diets dont work long plus additional for seasoning

You will, of course, have to walk for roughly 30 minutes, 5 days a week. It wont always be easyyoull have to break out of those sedentary chains that nearly all of us are enslaved in, thanks to desk jobs, long commutes, and the constant lure of snuggling up on the couch for some TV time. But Walk Your Butt Off! will inspire you to put one foot in front of the other and will give you the tools to turn a simple walk into that life-changing, magic fix youve been searching for. The rest is up to you.

My final words to you, dear friend: Look forward to your daily walks. We are required to sit so oftensometimes for hours on endthat sitting is no longer a reward. Walking, even for only 30 minutes a day, is a pleasure that only the truly lucky get to enjoy, and it is such a treat. Tune in to how good it feels to move your body, to breathe in and out, and, yes, to break a sweat. Be thankful youre alive, embrace the journey, and keep your sights set on the horizon. Walk Your Butt Off! is here to show you how.

Happy walking,

The only time anyone makes a big deal about walking is when youre about 12 months old. You take your first wobbly steps toward the outstretched arms of your mom or dad before falling into the coffee table. With any luck, the other parent captures the moment on video. But after that, no one pays walking any mind.

Walking is the orphan child of exercise. It doesnt have the dramatic grunting of weight lifting, the giggling-with-your-girlfriends appeal of Zumba, the ooohm of yoga, the cutting-edge gear of cycling, or the year-round competitive opportunities that runners get. Even though walkingracewalkingis an Olympic sport (betcha didnt know that), it somehow still gets overlooked.

Because walking is such an integral part of our lives, most of us fail to notice it as a form of exercise, a vital component of good health, and a powerful tool for weight loss. From the moment we put our feet on the floor in the morning until the minute we crawl under the covers again two-thirds of a day later, we rely on our two feet to get us placesthe kitchen, the bathroom, into our cars, down the hall to the copier. Its so simple, so essential to our identity as humans that we tend to not give it much thought. We think about walking only when were in pain and cant move comfortably.

Its time to reconsider. This simple movement, for which were designed, can work wonders.

For conditioning: With walking, youre developing the capacity of your cardiovascular system. Youre also building muscle in the legs and core and, when you walk at faster speeds, the arms and shoulders.

For health and longevity: According to Dr. Steven Blair, professor of exercise science, epidemiology, and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina, a little walking can stave off many diseases. Even if youre carrying around more weight than youd like, if you walk regularly, youre healthier than someone of the same weight who doesnt move. Walking 30 minutes a day offers protection from a host of ills, like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Simply put, statistics show that a little walking prolongs your life. Its better to be overweight and active than thin and sedentary. Active peopleno matter what the scale saysenjoy longer and fuller lives than inactive people.

And, of course, the one everyone cares about

For weight loss: Walking burns calories at a steady, reliable rate. Walk enough and youll see results on the scale. Walk a little faster and youll see results quicker, too. Research shows that exercise is a crucial component of maintaining weight loss. If you get the pounds off, youll need regular exercise to help you keep them off.

Whats more, walking couldnt be easier. Its low impact, requires no special gear beyond a comfortable pair of sneakers, and can be done anywhere. Even in place. An easy walk doesnt require a shower. Walking trumps all other activities in the convenience department.

For all these reasons, walking is worth a fresh look.

Thats what we did when we created the Walk Your Butt Off! program. We wanted to see what would happen if people walked consistently at least 5 days a week for about 3 months.

Back in October 2011, we developed a 12-week walking program and recruited 22 volunteers to test it out. We wanted the test panelists to tell ushonestlyabout what happened to them. Could they start an exercise program? More importantly, could they stick with it?

Did they get faster? Feel better? Gain health and energy? How did they do when the weather turned colder? When all the big-eats holidaysfrom Halloween through New Years Eveconfronted them?

Of course, there was one major reason they wanted to walk: They wanted to lose weight. And, of course, we wanted to know what happened in that department, too. Could they shed pounds with walking?