Walking?

DoubleUbea

Many thanks to you and Mildred.

cwolfman13

jmg9656 wrote: »

Here’s the thing: does a walking regime REALLY work for weight loss??

Your diet is going to have a far greater impact on weight management than what exercise you're doing. Walking is a good, light exercise activity...any increase in activity is going to increase overall energy expenditure. From an aerobic/cardiovascular fitness standpoint, it has a pretty low ceiling. I do quite a bit of walking, but I also do quite a bit of other more vigorous cardio and lifting.

whitpauly

My main form of exercise is walking,,lots of it,some strength training too,I love walking

BOBHUNTER71

I joined 6 days ago during that time i have walked a total of 13.6 miles (I use "Mapmywalk" to measure the distances ) in a total of 8 hrs 55 mins and burned 2831 calories, and to date I have lost 3 pounds, jogging and running and heavy weights are a non-starter for me as diagnosed COPD.

RenaTX

For me walking does help in several ways. Like others have said it helps me lose weight in the standard calories in / calories out formula when used while eating at a calorie deficit.

It also helps me by relieving stress and I feel it works great as an appetite suppressant but that may be due to the stress relieving part.

My life has been extremely stressful for me for the last few years and I notice that when the stress goes up more , I have a tendency to want to eat. However with walking , the same amount of stress I was facing doesn't feel as bad. I also notice I'm not thinking about food as much and I don't feel the need for afternoon munchies. I'm even PMS and not needing to pig out on everything which is my standard issue.

Kaybird93

My Fitbit shows that I burn as many and sometimes more calories walking 30 mins. as Step Aerobics for 30 mins!

TavistockToad

Kaybird93 wrote: »

My Fitbit shows that I burn as many and sometimes more calories walking 30 mins. as Step Aerobics for 30 mins!

Doubtful

singingflutelady

Kaybird93 wrote: »

My Fitbit shows that I burn as many and sometimes more calories walking 30 mins. as Step Aerobics for 30 mins!

That must be a very time version of step aerobics

heybales

Kaybird93 wrote: »

My Fitbit shows that I burn as many and sometimes more calories walking 30 mins. as Step Aerobics for 30 mins!

Sadly, that could be because of an inaccuracy issue.

Walking is a great exercise for using step-based calorie burn - if the resulting distance is decently correct anyway - because the formula's are most tested.
Of course it doesn't take into account up & down hills.

But if your HR just barely peaks into what Fitbit thinks is the aerobic zone - it'll use HR-based calorie burn.
(people have that issue with daily activities sometimes bouncing into that area and getting inflated calorie burn)

And that calculation down on the bottom of the aerobic range is going to be most inaccurate potential for that estimate, inflated.
Just as HR-based would be on the upper end of aerobic, moving into anaerobic area, inflated again.

So your walking is likely inflated, your aerobics better chance if HR device.
If step-based only device - the aerobics is likely under-estimated.

CSARdiver

Walking burns more calories than not walking, so...yes.

cammiecane

I think walking is a great way to start out. It’s easy, it burns calories, and it’ll start getting you in shape. After a while, I’ll add new fitness challenges, but I’ve always still continued walking and it worked out well the last time i did it.

Of course, all of that is assuming you’re eating right. But yeah, if you eat less calories than you burn, walking can be a great way to boost your deficit, and I find it has other benefits, like appetite suppression

lynn_glenmont

heybales wrote: »

If you eat exactly the same amount as you always have - and merely add in a lot of walking (500 cal burn worth is a lot unless trucking, and even then talking hours) - you can lose weight.

As you lose weight though - you'll have to walk even longer if you want to keep eating the same amount.
Burn less moving less weight around all day.

Generally though - if you were eating say 2500 daily - usually easier to find 500 in food to cut out.
But maybe with walking as new activity - you only need to cut out 250, so even easier.

Not necessarily. If someone needs to lose weight, we know that at some point in time they have been in a CI > CO state. Without more information, we don't know if that point in time is now, and if it is, we don't know how much more their CI is than their CO. If someone is currently in a CI > CO state, and they merely "add in a lot of walking" -- even enough to burn 500 kcal (roughly 90 mins at a very brisk 4 mph for an 180 lb individual) -- it's not a given that they're going to lose weight. Maybe their calorie surplus before walking was 500 kcal or more.


Also, your post seems built around the idea that you can only lose on 500 kcal deficit. You can lose weight on a deficit of any size, at varying paces.

jgnatca

Many of us are losing weight to get healthier, right? Walking is just a more direct route to health.

I enjoy exercising far more than calorie restriction. I get greater cardiovascular benefits, strength and mobility. I find the health benefits more direct than weight loss where the water weight fluctuations seem more in tune with the phases of the moon than my caloric intake.

heybales

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

heybales wrote: »

If you eat exactly the same amount as you always have - and merely add in a lot of walking (500 cal burn worth is a lot unless trucking, and even then talking hours) - you can lose weight.

As you lose weight though - you'll have to walk even longer if you want to keep eating the same amount.
Burn less moving less weight around all day.

Generally though - if you were eating say 2500 daily - usually easier to find 500 in food to cut out.
But maybe with walking as new activity - you only need to cut out 250, so even easier.

Also, your post seems built around the idea that you can only lose on 500 kcal deficit. You can lose weight on a deficit of any size, at varying paces.

Merely a common round number to use as an example. Obviously could be a lot less, and obviously take a long long time to see it. Of course could lose on any uneven number.

Hardly see where I'm claiming can only lose on 500 though, that was a parenthetical comment - the main comment used no numbers or time for the walking or rate of the loss.

So yes actually - you add in a lot of walking (to cover what you eat and more) you can lose weight.

Also used example 500 as likely big enough to cover someone indeed eating in surplus slightly, slowly gaining over the years.
I've found very few examples (excepting lifters bulking or recovery ED both for short periods) of ones that are eating in surplus by 500 or more each and every day, gaining 1 lb or more weekly of fat. Possible sure.

maureenkhilde

When I started on May 6 2018, I huffed to walk 7 minutes and complained to myself every step. Now on average I am walking at least 30 minutes every day. Hitting 4,000 steps every day, and on weekends now up to 8,000. And joining a run/walk group in August. I am using walking more as an added bonus to become healthier than to lose weight. Kind of an added tool. Because I am losing weight, I am finding the willpower to make sure I become more active. To me yes walking has helped me lose weight.