Anyone who has dived into a bag of chips at the end of a day gone wrong knows emotional eating is a dangerous habit. Use these tips from stress columnist Amanda Enayati to skip the dip.

If you’ve resolved to lose some weight then you’ve probably come up with some sort of exercise plan. Is working out something you’re not used to doing? If you don’t believe you know how to exercise very well, you can begin with walking. You need to integrate walking into your workout plan if you haven’t already done so.

There are many ways to add walking into your daily schedule. You may want to take your pet for a 10-minute walk around the neighborhood. Just think, 10 minutes per day is the same as walking a minimum of 70 minutes every week. You can double the number if you walk your dog twice a day. Walk to your office if you live pretty close to it. Don’t even think about walking if you’re two hours away from your job–unless you are interested to wake up the crack of dawn daily! A thirty-minute walk to work is possible and if you walk to and from work, you’ll be walking for at least an hour per day. Even if you use the bus to get to work, you can still try adding walking into your day by walking to the next bus stop before you get onto the bus. It’s easy to incorporate walking into your daily living.

Walking is wonderful for your body and whole health. As walking is a form of cardio exercise, you’ll burn up calories, which means you’ll melt off some pounds and it’s also wonderful for your heart. Unlike running, which can put stress on your joints, you can walk at a pace you want. My brother is very trim (but he consumes a great deal of junk food) and I ask him how he does it. He declares to me he has no idea, but he did tell me that he walks frequently each day. It made good sense when he mentioned that. Walking is so easy to do there’s no excuse you you shouldn’t try it.

Establish a daily walking routine, combine it with proper diet, and you should realize weight loss without any major effort. Because walking is not a vigorous physical activity, it’s easier to remain motivated and follow your exercise program. As you walk more often and notice changes, you’ll want to do more or increase the intensity of your walks. There’s no excuse not to try it if you feel comfortable with that. Try walking at a faster speed or if you’re feeling very confident, you could jog. From that point, you can go on to more strenuous workouts.

There’s no reason that you shouldn’t go walking a short distance each day. Irrespective of how busy you are, you should find time for a short walk in your neighborhood or go to your gym for a short session on the treadmill.

Many on-site cafes, geared to serve fitness-conscious exercisers with choices like vegetarian and gluten-free cuisine, are open to nonmembers, too.

Are you using proper breathing techniques while exercising? It may be something you’ve never even thought about, but it can be a pivotal point in a successful workout. Whether you’re lifting weights (anaerobic) or going for a run (aerobic) your breathing is important in many ways. Even during your warm up stretch, paying attention to your breathing patterns can give you a better workout.

Endurance

Controlled breathing will go a long way to maintaining a steady workout. During a cardio workout, you’ll have to keep your breathing level heavier than average but you don’t want to be outright panting. If you can talk but your breathing is still laboured you’re probably in the right breathing range. Your breathing is an indication of your heart rate, and with a cardio workout, your heart rate is determining the intensity level of your activity.

Breathing may seem less important while lifting weights but that is most certainly not the case. Do not hold your breath while strength training! Your muscles need that oxygen you’re breathing in and you’ll be able to last a lot longer if you keep your breathing steady.

Blood Flow

Holding your breath in a workout or not breathing evenly can affect your blood pressure. The physical activity you’re doing has already elevated your heart rate, but adding uneven breathing can increase this and that can be dangerous if your blood pressure is already high. You’re working out to be healthier so doing something that could endanger you is only counter-productive.

Maintaining Stress

Not only will proper breathing techniques prolong your workout and keep your heart beating at a safe pace, it can also just relax you and make your workout more enjoyable. While doing your warm up and cool down stretches, take the time to breathe slowly and deliberately. This will focus you and let you really feel the progress your body has made. Controlled breathing will lower your heart rate after an intense workout and will replenish your muscles with the much needed oxygen they have used up.

Your body is a fine tuned machine and even though breathing may seem like a trivial thing it should not be overlooked. Proper breathing will give you a more effective and enjoyable workout so whether your riding a bike, doing bench presses, or holding a difficult yoga pose, just breathe!

You may think getting only 30 minutes of physical activity a day can’t benefit you so why bother, right? Wrong! Even if you just do a little bit of light exercise each day you are helping your body immensely! Taking a half hour walk during your lunch break at work rather than sitting in the lunchroom or jumping on an exercise bike while watching TV instead of sitting on the couch can really impact your fitness level.

Personal Health

Probably the number one reason to stay in shape, being healthy is what keeps you alive! A little bit of exercise can go a long way in keeping your heart, lungs, and the rest of your muscles in good working order. Eating healthy and staying active can prevent so many diseases and will improve your quality of life.

Body Image

Your reason for getting into shape doesn’t need to be so you can look like a super model, but achieving a higher level of physical fitness will not only give you the extra tone you may want in certain areas, it will make you feel more attractive. A regular exercise program can help your self-esteem in multiple ways; the sense of accomplishment you can get from seeing what you’re capable of is invaluable and can make you feel like a superstar. On a purely chemical level, the endorphins released when exercising can give you a sense of euphoria. This may be why many people find exercise so addictive!

Mood and Maintaining Stress

For the same reasons your self esteem will be affected, your mood and stress levels will be more manageable as well. Exercise can be a form of stress relief and pounding out a few miles on the pavement is a sure way to get work or money troubles out of your head for at least a little while. A regular exercise program is sure to leave you more relaxed and at ease with yourself.

Mobility

There are three aspects to a good fitness routine: cardio, weight training, and flexibility. Incorporating all three of these into your lifestyle will undoubtedly improve how you feel while walking around, doing household chores, or playing with your kids. If you feel that being able to walk up a few flights of stairs with ease is something worth 30 minutes of your day then figure out the right exercise plan for yourself and give it a try. There’s no handbook to physical fitness, so if you aren’t enjoying a particular activity try something else. All you need to do if move your body a little bit every day and you’ll learn what works for you and what doesn’t.