If you're overweight, please don't jog

Picture this. You decide it's time to shift the extra weight. You lace up trainers you haven't worn for years. You head out for a jog. By the end of the road, your knees are sore. By next week, your hips are aching. A month later, you've quit because everything hurts.

This is the most common pattern I see in the people I work with. And it's a tragedy. Because your body wasn't refusing to exercise. Your body was begging you not to.

Here's the thing.Every footstep when jogging puts 3-5 times your body weight through your knees, hips and ankles. If you're carrying an extra three stone, that's an extra nine to fifteen stone of impact every stride. For 30 minutes. 5,000 times.

Joints, cartilage, tendons. They are not designed for that. Especially when they have been sedentary for years.

And the worst bit? Jogging spikes cortisol. Cortisol raises blood sugar. Raises insulin. Stores fat around your middle. The very thing you were trying to lose.

Here's what works instead. Walking.

Slow it down. Speed it up. Go further. A brisk 45-minute walk burns a lot of body fat, but running often doesn’t burn any, it just uses up your temporary glycogen stores! With cortisol that stays calm. With insulin that stays low.

The fitness industry sold you the lie that you have to suffer to get fit. You don't. You have to move regularly. Walking is the most underrated tool on Earth.

When the weight comes off, by all means start jogging if you love it. But until then, walk. Walk after every meal. Walk while making phone calls. Walk in the rain.

I'm 60. I walk almost every day. That's why I can still play tennis, ski and kitesurf at my age. But jogging, that’s not for me!

Your action today: If you're carrying extra weight, pledge to walk this week instead of jog. 20 minutes after each meal.