The #1 Thing You Can Do To Look And Feel Healthier

SPECIAL FROM Grandparents.com

Reader Question: "What's one think I can do that's easy to keep and will actually make me look and feel healthier?"

Dr. Peeke says:

It's a four letter word: walk. Assume the vertical more throughout the day doing your typical activities of daily living. Find every excuse you can to move those amazing legs of yours. This is a doable and sustainable resolution you'll cherish for life. If you're into numbers, there are now all kinds of great contraptions out there, from your classic pedometer to the fancy wrist bands like the Nike Fuel, to keep track of your steps. If you're into apps, then you can download free apps like FitPal. The bottom line is that walking all by itself has a powerful and independent effect on health and wellness. It'll help shape you up while maintaining better heart heart as well. How much? Try to accrue 30 minutes per day at a minimum. That means 10 mins here 20 mins there counts! If you want to get more out of your walk, add some intensity by increasing your speed every now and then or climbing that hill or those stairs. The key is to be regular about it, meaning at least 5 days per week, and in the best of all worlds, you're incorporating walking into your life most days of your life. Here's a little rhyme--- it's a great day for a w-a-l-k! Have a question for Dr. Peeke? Email us at expertadvice@grandparents.com.

Dr. Pamela Peeke is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland, WebMD's lifestyle expert, Chief Medical Correspondent for Discovery Health TV, host of the Could You Survive series and the national spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine's Exercise is Medicine global campaign. A triathlete and mountaineer, she is known as the "doc who walks the talk." The New York Times best-selling author of Fight Fat After Forty, Body for Life for Women, and Fit to Live, Dr. Peeke recently published another New York Times best-seller, The Hunger Fix: The Three Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction. For more information, visit www.drpeeke.com.