But they raise families, work themselves up the corporate ladder and attend their children's sports meetings, so where are they if we can't see them on the walking trail?



We need to demystify walking, bring out its beauty, its durability and attraction to travelers of all ages and sizes.

We know the plus size men and women; aren't they our children, our friends and our workmates?"

Supposing you are plus size, what can you do to get back to walking holidays?

Being plus size does not mean a life on the couch. If as plus size as you are, you can give your house a thorough cleaning or work in your garden, you show all signs of a person who can put a foot forward on the walking trail.

Of course you are not a petite size 10, but you have been around long enough to be comfortable with your plus size frame and you can work with your abilities rather fighting with them.

You possibly can point with near accuracy the period when you accepted that you are plus size and with that you subscribed to taking passive holidays.

Was it after relationship break-up, child number two, an illness or the retrenchment? How did you take your holidays before the "plus size" tag hit in? Sort out these personal issues, then retune your mind and hit the keyboard for serious research on what has been happening in the walking tours section.

Renew your subscription with your local walking club, join on-line walking forums and strike up conversations with your neighbor about his favorite walks - all these will get your juices up, making it easier to put on your walking boots.

Bring with you a healthy dose of realism that are taking up walking to simply enjoy yourself and not necessarily to be the first one on the hiking trail. Book walking holidays with flexible distances.g where you can take a 5km walk instead of the full 10kms and where you may have an off-day for resting in the hotel.

Be careful not to mix-up your renewed interest in walking with loosing weight. Surely you have given the weight issue enough attention and now you must hold a truce with it - this will give you inferiority complex that will take away the fun of hiking.

Prepare yourself by taking short walks round your neighborhood or in the park and gradually increase the the distances of walking.You have to be fit enough to at least keep up with the rear group in your first walking tour. If in the process you end up dropping a kilo or five take that as a bonus and see, things really aren't so bad.

What will come as a pleasant surprise is that once your mind set changes and you join other hikers who have crossed the mental size-barriers, you will want to be outdoors savoring each hour and following up on talk of "where next?" Count on it, this kind of talk will make you explore further into your state and in no time the exotic hiking destinations will be on your must-visit list.

Still on the talking part -- expect your fellow walkers to come up with all manner of topics; from D.I.Y car repairs to best restaurants, all on a very informal way. So when athlete John asks for ideas on "how to grow the best orchids" - is this not your specialty? Knock him flat with your breeder's knowledge, including the exact millimeters of water that each plant needs per day.

Thereafter check how he will moderate his pace to match yours and when he says "I'll give you update on the next walk" he means well and who knows if this is not the starting point of the Orchid Walkers.

So banish the stigma associated with plus size, get your boots from the attic, smell the morning dew, have a cold wind on your face and did a sandwich ever taste so nice?

No obligation to log in the kilometers, just have fun and later look back with WOW, what a walking tour and what great company can walkers be!