Walk off 3,000 Calories

Firm up and drop pounds with our 7-Day walking plan. Here's a turbo-charged seven-day walking plan guaranteed to burn about 3,000 calories.
Walk on a treadmill to determine how fast these paces feel before you take them on the road, or measure out your mileage and follow the mile-per-hour recommendation. Modify each session as needed. Start and end each session with five minutes of slow walking.
Day One 1 1/2 hours steady pace (13-min mile, 4.5 mph) Total calories burned: 470Day Two 60-min running/walking intervals: 5 min walking a 13-min mile: 26 calories 5 min running a 10-min mile (6 mph): 52 calories (repeat this sequence six times to total 60 min) Total calories burned: 468 Day Three 60-min jog/walk intervals: Sporadic intervals, at your discretion, running slower than a 10-min mile, walking a 13-min mile Total calories burned: 420 Day Four 60-min hike (on gravel, on a trail or at the beach) Total calories burned: 415 Day Five 50-min racewalking intervals: 5 min walking a 13-min mile: 25 calories 5 min racewalking (as fast as you can): 35 calories (repeat this sequence six times to total 60 min) Total calories burned: 360 Day Six 80-min jog/walk intervals: 20 min walking a 13-min mile: 100 calories 20 min jog/walking: 120 calories (repeat this sequence to total 80 min) Total calories burned: 440 Day Seven 60 min steady pace (13-minute mile) Total calories burned: 300

4 Foods to Avoid

While no diet will target ab flab specifically, "many of us tend to store fat around our abs," says Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D., president of Shape Up America!, "so losing weight in general will help decrease fat in that area." Avoid these diet don'ts to make your middle a flab-free zone.

1.Fully Loaded Baked Potato."A large baked potato equals three to four slices of bread, which could add up to 60 hefty grams of carbohydrates," says Lisa Dorfman, R.D., a triathlete from Miami and author of The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide (John Wiley & Sons, 2000). Not to mention that cheese, sour cream and butter all pack on extra fat and calories.

Better bet: Top a small spud with fat-free salsa or a half cup of 1 percent milk-fat cottage cheese. A plain sweet potato is also a great alternative. It has more flavor, so you can skip the fatty toppings.

2.Pad Thai or Chow Fun. Many Asian dishes are just noodles with fattening oils and way too much sodium.

Better bet: If you crave noodles, order an appetizer portion and ask for the sauce on the side so you can control the oil and sodium-laden soy sauce.

3.Oil. "Some people add as much as five tablespoons of oil to their greens, for a whopping 70 fat grams or 600 calories," says Dorfman. That's more than your fat quota for the whole day.

Better bet: Bag the oil and make salads more interesting with texture (egg whites or beans), flavor (parsley and other herbs or balsamic vinegar) and crunch (croutons).

4.Alcohol. Liquor and beer pack tons of excess calories.

Better bet: Sip one glass of wine on occasion, but leave the beer guzzling to the college boys.