Article: As with any exercise regimen, you might be more likely to quit walking if you try to do too much too soon. You also could strain your muscles. Be patient and work up to longer walks.  Even though walking is a low-impact exercise, your muscles, joints and feet must adjust to new activity levels to avoid soreness and injury. Motivate yourself by remembering that you can burn about 400 calories from a brisk walk, although it takes about 5 miles to do so. If you want to lose weight, it’s a good idea to also reduce how many calories you eat per day and to eat healthier unprocessed foods. Try to add 2,000 steps into your daily routine when you first start walking.  Sometimes you can add steps just by making small lifestyle choices every single day, such as taking the stairs at work when you could take the elevator. If you don’t see weight loss right away, it might be because you are starting to build up muscle, which is good. Be patient, and you will see results over the course of time. Slowly add more steps each week. If you prefer to have a few days off during any given week, that’s fine too. Just aim to walk a total of around 2.5 hours per week.  One benefit of walking is that you don’t need a lot of specialized equipment to do it. You can walk wherever you are, even if you are on vacation. You don’t need to be in great shape to start doing it. You can go over the 2.5 hours per week recommendation as you slowly build your endurance for longer distances.  The standard official health advice recommends 150 minutes of physical activity a week.  All of the fitness advice, although it might vary by a few minutes here or there, consistently recommends the same thing: Walking for several hours a week, however you divide those hours up, has enormous healthy benefits. Eventually, try to walk at least 30 to 45 minutes at a time. The number one key to many forms of exercise is consistency. If you walk irregularly or, say, once a month, you’re not going to see a lot of benefits. Make walking something you do regularly.  If you build walking into your regular activities on a daily basis (or at least several times a week), you could see many health benefits. Walking reduces the risk factors that cause heart disease and strokes.  Indeed, walking can cut your risk of heart disease by 30 percent. It can also help control the risk of diabetes and cancer.  Always check with your doctor before embarking on any new physical activity, especially if you have a medical condition. Lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and sharper mental acuity are all benefits from regular walking activity, which is a low-cost way to improve your health.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Start gradually. Aim to walk for 21 minutes per day. Walk almost every day.