For the sceptics, walking does help.

I am driving my parents to the railway station last Saturday. Since they were in town to get their annual medical check-up done, I had cancelled my weekend trip to Kerala last week.

They were quite surprised (pleasantly) at the huge change they saw in me. Inplace of the
guy who slept till 7:30AM and then rushed to work, here was someone who woke at5AM, walked for 4-5kms and was home even before they woke up at 6:30AM or so. Also, from someone who was not necessarily much of a fruit-eater, I had stocked the fridge with
various types of fruits, which I consume as-is or as juice.

I was asking them about the results of their annual check-up and it seemed, the results
were really good. Dad's total cholestrol was down to 126, while it was 147 for my Mom.
Though not very surprising given their regular walks and other work they do at home,
it still was the lowest they ever recorded.

These figures are pretty impressive for their age. More so, when compared with my
cholestrol figures which are roughly double my Dad's.

Dad : How come you suddenly became so health-conscious ?
Me : Nothing. Just like that.

Dad : Happened to see your health-records file. Your cholestrol figures are too high.
Me : Hmm. Yeah, they are pretty high. Am over the safe number of 200.

Mum : So, is it due to this that you started walking and including fruits in your diet ?
Me : Partly yes. The figures were too high and I reckoned that walking would help
reduce it apart from giving me some much-needed exercise. And the fruits would
help reduce LDL and increase HDL.

Dad : The change is very much visible in you.
Me : It's only 12-13 days since I started this routine. Isn't it too early for results ?

Dad : Well, you have lost weight and we can see loss of flab at your tummy too.
What weight are you now ?
Me : For the past 15 years or so, I have been having more-or-less same weight - 67kg.

Dad : No way. You would be weighing much less now.
Me : While I would like that, I dont think I would have lost much weight in just 2 weeks.

Anyway, after dropping them at the station, I return home & the first thing I do is weigh
myself on the bathroom scale. To say that I was surprised by the readings, would be an understatement.

The scale showed 63.5 kgs. Even accounting for some error in reading and rounding it
off to 64kgs, that is an impressive 3kgs gone. Pretty awesome results for just 2 weeks.
While weight-reduction was not my target with my daily walks, it does feel good to
know that some unwanted baggage has been lost in the process.

So, if any of you are looking at reducing weight, all you need is a pair of walking shoes.
Hit the nearest park or even the road and before you know it, you would be marvelling
at how you manage to not only lose weight, but also feel healthier/fitter.