Does walking actually help?

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  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    I'm really glad for all the responses here. Thanks folks. I want to add my personal experience.

    One year ago today I was bedbound by myocarditis (heart inflammation). Today I weighed in 70 lbs lighter. Most of my weight loss occurred once I started walking 4 months into tracking. I can think of no downsides to walking. If you can take a step, you can walk. It might not be very far; when I started, I could barely make it 1/8 mile, and not every day (heart inflammation does that to a person).

    As I got my lupus under control thanks to a wonderful doctor who finally LISTENED to me after 25 years of symptoms but no one taking it seriously, I was able to increase the intensity and duration of my walks. Almost every day now I walk 3-5 miles (2 walks). Despite significant joint pain, I can manage this mobility without damaging my body. In turn, the significantly smaller weight is making it a lot easier to move on days lupus is kicking my butt because my body doesn't have to work so hard to move.

    Today is one of the days lupus is "winning" But because I'm also now tracking calories carefully, it won't set me back. And tomorrow, hopefully, I'll be back trudging through the snow, thankful I am able to move at all.

    Walking works.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    I walk every day for at least an hour. Sometimes I get more like 1.5 hours of walking in throughout the day. In the past 16 months combined with healthier eating habits and portion control, walking has helped me eliminated 135 - 136 pounds. Not bad, eh?! lol
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Walking is the only exercise I do. Without it I would really struggle keeping myself in a deficit. Every morning my calories start out in the red, by the end of the day they are waaaay in the green thanks to walking.
  • blossomingbutterfly
    blossomingbutterfly Posts: 743 Member
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    olivia_roland wrote: »
    Ok, so I've heard a lot of pros and cons to the whole "walking to lose weight" discussion. I know walking has a lot of health benefits, but has anyone actually lost a decent amount of weight by walking? I love walking outside. The fresh air is great and it makes me feel better. But a lot of people have told me that cardio is pointless and I'm just really confused.

    Help please. Any advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

    Considering I've lost 75lbs thus far by mostly walking, I'd say it works. That and eating at a calorie deficit.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    Walking is such an easy way to move more. Nearly everyone can do it, it's free and it can fit it into your life much easier than other forms of exercise.

    In the end, it's still adding to the "Calories out" end of Calories in vs Calories out, which can help out with weightloss as well as overall health.

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