What's the magic number?

Oh, there are so many numbers in weight loss and maintenance - goal weight, pounds lost, calories to consume, etc. But the number I am thinking about right now is 5. Five what? you may well ask. The answer is 5 miles. Five miles is, I believe, the key to weight loss through exercise. Five miles a day walking, or running, or even on the elliptical trainer (but not bicycling; it is too easy to rack up miles quickly on a bike).

In my personal experience, and in observation of others who have successfully lost weight, it takes at least five miles a day (most days of the week, at least five days, I would say). That's consistent with a lot of the general wisdom and advice you hear from weight loss professionals. Five miles is roughly equivalent to the 10,000 steps a day that is the typical recommendation (although, unless you are very tall, it really takes more like 12,500 steps to make five miles). It takes about 45 to 90 minutes to run or walk five miles (depending on your speed), which is pretty close to the 60 to 90 minutes of exercise recommended by the sadists - er, experts - at the National Institutes for Health.

You probably don't have to cover the entire five miles in one stint, although it's fantastic if you can, and I really think that you should try to do at least three miles at one time, and then perhaps the remainder in chunks or later in the day. For example, three miles of walking (one hour) plus two miles on the elliptical trainer (30 minutes) is a great combination. On the 10,000 (12,500) step program, for the most benefit I think it is ideal if you can add the extra steps on top of what you would ordinarily walk. So if you record an ordinary day and you walk 3,000 steps, shoot for a total of 15,000 steps.

Persons who are really out of shape and not used to exercise at all probably can't start out with five miles right away. But I think that walking five miles in a day can be worked up to pretty quickly. If you have enough time in your day, you can walk as slowly as you want to, just cover the distance. Soon you will find yourself walking faster, finishing quicker, and who knows? Maybe you'll want to go six miles.