Walking as one of the keys to losing weight

markja

I've been walking a lot lately, trying to hit the 10,000 steps per day that you hear so much about. I've gotta say that it's been great! The only hard part is finding the time so, I started eating lunch at my desk then walking during lunch time.

I try to walk every day and on the days that I take my walks, I just kind of feel better. The fresh air, etc. I take my Kindle reader with me and read while I walk so I don't get bored. Exercise always bores me and, I've never enjoyed the gym. The amazing thing is the amount of calories I burn! I've been using the fitness app on my phone to track the calories, Samsung S-fit, it's called.

At first I was hesitant to log the calories because the calories expended seemed very high. After some research, I learned that the data input to the app to establish the baseline is an expression of the calories required to maintain weight with no activity, the TDEE. Any activity, just walking from the car into the office takes energy, It's about 400 steps for me from the parking lot to me desk. For me, because of my weight, I use one calorie for every 11 steps, about 35 calories to walk from my car to my desk.

It all counts towards losing a pound.

Christine_72

True. Every little bit of activity helps

Aviva92

I walk to and from work each day which equates to around 5 miles, so around 11,000 steps. I log it. I view the mfp calorie goal as sort of a rough estimate anyway and it seems like a low estimate. I have to rely on how my body reacts to calories in order to test the accuracy regardless.

atypicalsmith

Walking is the best exercise!

Amduc

I love walking. In the spring and summer I walk 2 miles every morning and LOVE IT!!! However fall and winter are my struggling months where I have to use the "dreadmill". Good job on finding the time and motivation!

Christine_72

Amduc wrote: »

I love walking. In the spring and summer I walk 2 miles every morning and LOVE IT!!! However fall and winter are my struggling months where I have to use the "dreadmill". Good job on finding the time and motivation!

Bahahaha "Dreadmill". Love it !

Liftng4Lis

Walking is great for your health and helps to increase the deficit.

Aviva92

Amduc wrote: »

I love walking. In the spring and summer I walk 2 miles every morning and LOVE IT!!! However fall and winter are my struggling months where I have to use the "dreadmill". Good job on finding the time and motivation!

yeah, i force myself to walk to and from work in winter too. it is not pleasant.

jumblejups

I'm a fan of walking. I was a bit weak physically due to health reasons about 2 years ago, so I decided to slowly start walking to more of my destinations and increasing my capacity to do that. I now feel like it's pointless to get on a bus or train for anything under 2 miles away (unless it involves crossing a motorway!), and I've bought good boots, coat etc for winter - although winter isn't severe here so it's just cold and wet and windy, no blizzards or anything. I got a Fitbit recently to get a better idea of my activity levels and was really surprised that on one day in my first week, I was just under 20,000 steps. I find 10,000 steps relatively easy to fit into my day and I burn way more calories that way, so it is also helping me to maintain a deficit in my diet that can include things that are calorie dense, as I don't want to get lost (a long way down the road) when I transition to maintenance and I don't want butter to be a once-a-week spread

SergeantSausage

markja wrote: »

I've been walking a lot lately, trying to hit the 10,000 steps per day that you hear so much about. I've gotta say that it's been great! The only hard part is finding the time so, I started eating lunch at my desk then walking during lunch time.

I try to walk every day and on the days that I take my walks, I just kind of feel better. The fresh air, etc. I take my Kindle reader with me and read while I walk so I don't get bored. Exercise always bores me and, I've never enjoyed the gym. The amazing thing is the amount of calories I burn! I've been using the fitness app on my phone to track the calories, Samsung S-fit, it's called.

At first I was hesitant to log the calories because the calories expended seemed very high. After some research, I learned that the data input to the app to establish the baseline is an expression of the calories required to maintain weight with no activity, the TDEE. Any activity, just walking from the car into the office takes energy, It's about 400 steps for me from the parking lot to me desk. For me, because of my weight, I use one calorie for every 11 steps, about 35 calories to walk from my car to my desk.

It all counts towards losing a pound.

Pedantic nitpick: you have confused TDEE with BMR. BMR is Base Metabolic Rate - the base rate with no activity. TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure - and includes ALL calories expended throughout the day for ALL activities.

markja

Cool. Thanks foe the clarification.

arditarose

markja wrote: »

I've been walking a lot lately, trying to hit the 10,000 steps per day that you hear so much about. I've gotta say that it's been great! The only hard part is finding the time so, I started eating lunch at my desk then walking during lunch time.

I try to walk every day and on the days that I take my walks, I just kind of feel better. The fresh air, etc. I take my Kindle reader with me and read while I walk so I don't get bored. Exercise always bores me and, I've never enjoyed the gym. The amazing thing is the amount of calories I burn! I've been using the fitness app on my phone to track the calories, Samsung S-fit, it's called.

At first I was hesitant to log the calories because the calories expended seemed very high. After some research, I learned that the data input to the app to establish the baseline is an expression of the calories required to maintain weight with no activity, the TDEE. Any activity, just walking from the car into the office takes energy, It's about 400 steps for me from the parking lot to me desk. For me, because of my weight, I use one calorie for every 11 steps, about 35 calories to walk from my car to my desk.

It all counts towards losing a pound.

Did I read this correctly? You read while you walk?

segacs

arditarose wrote: »

Did I read this correctly? You read while you walk?

Yeah, you might want to watch where you're going. Just a thought.

Totally agree about walking, though. I feel better on the days when I get outside for some fresh air and exercise, too. Even in this frigid winter weather, I can usually manage to get a walk in.

Aviva92

arditarose wrote: »

markja wrote: »

I've been walking a lot lately, trying to hit the 10,000 steps per day that you hear so much about. I've gotta say that it's been great! The only hard part is finding the time so, I started eating lunch at my desk then walking during lunch time.

I try to walk every day and on the days that I take my walks, I just kind of feel better. The fresh air, etc. I take my Kindle reader with me and read while I walk so I don't get bored. Exercise always bores me and, I've never enjoyed the gym. The amazing thing is the amount of calories I burn! I've been using the fitness app on my phone to track the calories, Samsung S-fit, it's called.

At first I was hesitant to log the calories because the calories expended seemed very high. After some research, I learned that the data input to the app to establish the baseline is an expression of the calories required to maintain weight with no activity, the TDEE. Any activity, just walking from the car into the office takes energy, It's about 400 steps for me from the parking lot to me desk. For me, because of my weight, I use one calorie for every 11 steps, about 35 calories to walk from my car to my desk.

It all counts towards losing a pound.

Did I read this correctly? You read while you walk?

I used to read the internet lots during my 2.5 mile walk to work, but then I mysteriously kept going over my data limit for some reason and had to cut down on that. Probably almost got hit by a car a few times, so it's for the best.

pinkshoelaces

Walking is probably 60 percent of my exercise. I add a little running and biking and strength training in as well, but for the most part brisk incline walking is one of my favorite forms of exercise. It's definitely toned up my thighs and isn't nearly as hard on the knees as running.

Sued0nim

love my fitbit

I often get the same calorie benefit from a 10K step day as I would from a 30 - 40 minute workout in the gym

I credit walking more .. getting up from my desk at lunchtime, and taking the dog out .. for my reaching my goal and for my dog constantly barking at me and jumping up whenever I put my coat on

Foamroller

Walking is my go-to. It started with 20 mins slow downhill once/week. Gradual increase.

Fast forward four years, now I'm a nationwide certified bicycling instructor.

I walk as restitution or for pleasure for at least 1 hour/day. Lately I must concentrate if I need to go slowly, cause I love walking fast!

I've created good music playlists and also listen to podcasts.

likehlikeo

I walk 10k to work every morning, since I have a high energy dog and take him to the office. We walk an hour during lunch break as well and usually for 2-3 hours every day of the weekend. I use runkeeper to log all of that and estimate my calories based on distance, speed and weight. I love the fact that I burned off my breakfast when I reached the office

markja

arditarose wrote: »

markja wrote: »

I've been walking a lot lately, trying to hit the 10,000 steps per day that you hear so much about. I've gotta say that it's been great! The only hard part is finding the time so, I started eating lunch at my desk then walking during lunch time.

I try to walk every day and on the days that I take my walks, I just kind of feel better. The fresh air, etc. I take my Kindle reader with me and read while I walk so I don't get bored. Exercise always bores me and, I've never enjoyed the gym. The amazing thing is the amount of calories I burn! I've been using the fitness app on my phone to track the calories, Samsung S-fit, it's called.

At first I was hesitant to log the calories because the calories expended seemed very high. After some research, I learned that the data input to the app to establish the baseline is an expression of the calories required to maintain weight with no activity, the TDEE. Any activity, just walking from the car into the office takes energy, It's about 400 steps for me from the parking lot to me desk. For me, because of my weight, I use one calorie for every 11 steps, about 35 calories to walk from my car to my desk.

It all counts towards losing a pound.

Did I read this correctly? You read while you walk?

Yup. I read when I walk. It's a habit I picked up in the Air Force when I needed to stay awake to study. It's hard to fall asleep when you're walking:) It's not for everyone but, there are folks who don't like Tabasco or bacon, too.

Rules: Don't read and walk in parking lots. Crowded shopping areas are not a good choice. If your surroundings are sketchy then you're walking in the wrong place. Parks are very good, so are long stretches of uninterrupted sidewalks. College campuses are great and so are athletic tracks, just keep to the outside lane.

When you're reading and walking, you can tell when you're coming to a driveway or a traffic light; you still have spatial awareness and perception.

middlehaitch

Just out of curiosity, what is your walking speed while you are reading?
Cheers, h.

atypicalsmith

middlehaitch wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, what is your walking speed while you are reading?
Cheers, h.

Can't be more than a mile or two an hour, whereas not reading is easily three mph.

caryb2015

For those of you looking for entertainment while walking, I highly recommend podcasts. I download mine while at home using WIFI so I'm not using up data plan while listening while out on my walks. The podcast aggregator I use is Podcast Addict.

prattiger65

I started the same way, I would eat lunch at my desk then walk for an hour. Now I still eat lunch at my desk, but go to the gym for an hour. Well done OP!!!

echmainfit619

I love walking. I used to listen to music while I walked but I prefer to walk and think about...stuff.

Try the app MapMyWalk to keep track of your routes, times, etc. I found out I walk at 4 mph. Pretty brisk.

markja

middlehaitch wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, what is your walking speed while you are reading?
Cheers, h.

2.5 to 3 mph. Keep in mind that I'm walking where I don't have to dodge people, bikes and cars. I know my routes and I do also check my bearings from time to time. With an e-reader, it's pretty easy to keep track of your surroundings. I don't recommend it with a book.

airangel59

All I do or have done pretty much since July 2013 when I got my first tracker (Flex) is walk. Started it to push my loss to/past the 100 lb mark...and never stopped walking. Now I also do C25k Zen app on the treadmill and Hungry Girls house walking (for me it's jogging) to get my steps in. I use both Flex & Vivofit as well as Runkeeper. Just changed up my playlist to try to get/keep the heart rate up (was a lot easier when heavier, lol)

goldenrodfarm

I walk a lot but I listen to books on tape or CD, that way I can walk about 4 mph, I mostly get 12-15 K steps in a day, sometimes it is more if I am not on a work day but a farm day it can be up to 22 K in a day

qtchick1

I am so glad to read this thread. All my life I have been reading about gyms, workout etc. when I finally thought of moving more than usual, easiest option was walking. I work until late evenings, gyms are waste of money no time... Also boring. I walk around 7-10km/day depending on my workload. I am so glad I can see results. I believe it's most under rated exercise. At least for me... I love when I can go any time of the day, fresh air and I can do it whole my life. Already lost 8 kgs and same amount to go more.

Sued0nim

I get the same calories for walking 10K steps over the day (including a couple of 40 minute bursts and general meandering) as I do for a 40 minute gym workout

FaylinaMeir

if you're using mfp to log calories for walking only do it if you're actually exercising and getting your heart up a little (like a brisk walk). Also the calories burned are way high, if I walk for 30 minutes, I only log 15 because of this reason. (sorry not reading all the posts :P )

sdado1013

Truthfully you don't even need to exercise to lose weight as long as you are in a calorie deficit. But being physically active has so many other benefits besides assisting in weight loss. Keep on walking and more power to you!