Want to lose weight? Park your car.

True story. I’ve lost 28 pounds over the last 12 months, in part because I decided to park my car and seek out alternative modes of transportation.

I didn’t exchange my parking pass at work for a bus pass necessarily to lose weight — financial, environmental and reading interests were higher on my list — but the walks to and from the bus stop and the longer walks home on good days have had a serious and unexpected impact on my waistline. Of course, running, basketball, tennis and a healthy diet have also contributed.

But a recent study does show that if “losing weight” is one of your resolutions for 2009 so too should “keeping my car parked.”