what do you think is better for weight loss, walking or running?

annsummers20

I've been reading some conflicting information about walking vs running for weight loss. Some studies say running burns more calories per minute, but others mention that walking for longer periods can be just as effective and easier to sustain.

I've also seen research suggesting that moderate intensity exercise like brisk walking might be better for fat burning, while others say high intensity like running is more effective overall.

What's everyone's experience? Do you think shorter, intense runs are better or longer walks? Which has worked better for your weight loss goals?

Alatariel75

Honestly, the one I'm going to enjoy and stick to. All the numbers in the world don't mean anything if I'm going to hate having to do it, or struggle to find time etc.

Lietchi

Weight-loss is mostly controlling your calorie intake - in 5 minutes you can easily cancel out 1 hour of exercise, whether it's running or walking.

Pick whatever you enjoy and fits into your lifestyle.

I do a mix of both: running for cardiovascular/fitness benefits and because it's a quicker workout than walks, but I also try to get a decent step count in daily life.

PAV8888

For weight loss you can ignore what specific energy you're burning for your 10 or 60 minutes.

Sugar in the blood, glycogen or fat. It doesn't matter what gets burned right now.

If over the day, over the week, over the month your body ends up with less fuel coming in than going out because of these 10 or 60 minutes, that will have to come from somewhere. Deficits get drawn down from (sooner or later) your biggest energy reserves: your fat stores.

So. Most of your deficit will come from not eating. Strictly speaking in terms of activities and exercise for weight loss you're dealing with a maximization problem. The maximum energy you can spend over 24 hours taking into consideration the extra burn generated by what you do but also what cannibalization side effects you end up with because of your activities

Sure. Running up a hill at max hr for 2 min will burn a crap ton of calories per minute for the 2 minutes. But a non athlete may end up useless for the rest of the day dragging like a slug!

You're better off finding something you can and will be able to both do and enjoy and to do it mostly for the health improvement benefits of movement and exercise.

And then you rely on plate push aways and knife and fork put downs as your main deficit generating exercises!

AchilleusKozmo

I think you should both as you can. So, walking is great exercise, you won't have to "warm UP", you can add some weight like a backpack with a few water bottles 1-4 liters, or something, that will add resistance, and effort to get your heartrate up. SO yeah, do it as a work out or just more otfen during the day. it's great (but takes more time).

Running, great for your heart and going thru all the cardio zones. Its tougher on the body if you're carrying more weight so injury is something to worry about, but maybe look up some expert advice on how to get into that sport. Speaking of which, up hill sprinting would be the end all be all of athleticism and calorie burn. Once you build up to that, you'll be a seriously much more capable and healthy person.

Final thought, it's not a race, so take your time, explore and enjoy. Stick with what's fun and doable for you, as we all know, anything we dread gets left undone quickly.

Cheers!!! And good Luck!

AnnPT77

I don't do either one, and lost weight fine. I am active, but choose things I find fun. The things I do are so fun for me I'd do them even if they weren't good for me, but they are.

I agree with those suggesting you do what you think is more fun - or at least personally tolerable and practical.

Y'know what, though? For over a decade, I stayed class 1 obese working out pretty hard 6 days most weeks. Yes, really.

Exercise is good for a body, can improve health and quality of life - at least it did those things for me.

But weight loss is about calorie balance. That's true no matter how much or little exercise a person does. Once I got my eating in line with my activity, I lost weight. I've been at at healthy weight for 9+ years since.

Running does burn more calories per minute than walking, because it's more intense exercise. But higher intensity exercise is more fatiguing, and fatigue is counter productive for weight loss (because we burn fewer calories in other ways, dragging through our day). Over-fatigue is also counterproductive for fitness improvement, because we under-recover, and recovery is where the magic happens - our body rebuilding better than before.

Running is also more injury-prone than walking. So there are tradeoffs, and they're personal, depending on things like current fitness level, body weight, and health/injury history.

I'd suggest what you want is balance: The right level of happy activity for you, the right balance of calorie intake to activity so you achieve sensibly moderate, sustainable weight loss and learn the habits you need to stay at a healthy weight long term.

I'd say: Ignore searching for "the best exercise for weight loss". Find a happy, health-promoting set of long-term eating and activity habits that work for you personally.

It's a different mindset.

Best wishes!

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rsccore

Weight loss and weight maintenance are two different stages in this. While the former doesn't need extra physical activity, the later certainly does. Thus, developing a solid daily routine of activity during the "diet" will ensure that you are fit and active once the diet has ended and you then keep the weight off. And building up a solid activity routine during the diet will help a lot in maintaining a healthy deficit.

There is no best exercise or activity, it is realy about getting enough activity. Someone losing a significant amount of weight may need a total of 60 to 90 minutes of activity throughout the day. 10k steps is 90 minutes of brisk walking for example. This would be a combination of exercise and/or NEAT. Also, while doing fun stuff is obviously fun, for a reliable and consistent level of activity people generally use discipline rather than fun for a good portion of their activity needs. Thus, walking is generally the highest reported activity due to its accessibility and low stress. Then you have the more vigorous activities like running, rowing, biking, etc.

In the weight loss phase, something like a 50/50 split between eating less and exercising more is a pretty good target, but often not something one can attain at the beginning of their diet depending on their starting weight. But something you approach further on as you food deficit diminishes as your sedentary TDEE drops.

But after the diet is over, the primary factor within your control as to controlling your TDEE and how much food you can eat without regaining weight is how active you are.

And finally, no one exercise (such as HIIT) burns more calories overall as does any other. While HIIT does burn a high number of calories in a short period of time, you are limited to how long you can do it and how often (rest days). But one can walk for longer periods and every day, they burn more calories in total for the week via walking than via HIIT. Personally, I find a mix of moderate and vigorous to be optimal. Say 30 minutes of running or high inclined walking, and the rest walking (throughout the day) and resistance training. Besides the calories, the vigorous activity does more for your cardiovascular conditioning. And of course you should have resistance training in the mix, even if it is something like calisthenics.

annsummers20

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48663857#Comment_48663857

IKR, stick to whatever you're comfortable right now. Break routine once in a while and dip into something new.

annsummers20

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48663885#Comment_48663885

I definitely get caught up in the "fat burning zone" vs "cardio zone" debates, but you're absolutely right that it all comes down to the overall energy balance. And the point about not burning myself out with super intense stuff really hits home, with my work in child welfare, I'm already dealing with a lot of stress and emotional drain. The last thing I need is to be dragging through difficult cases because I overdid it at the gym!

The walking and hiking are more for my sanity and overall health at this point but would definitely try trail running.

annsummers20

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48663954#Comment_48663954

Adding weight to my walks is interesting, reminds me of that character Rock Lee in Naruto who also puts weight for training. I actually carry a pretty hefty work bag during home visits anyway, so maybe I could be more intentional about that. And there are definitely some good hills around Ottawa I could incorporate. Gatineau Park has some great hills that could be perfect for that eventually.

annsummers20

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48665447#Comment_48665447

I think I've been overthinking the "optimal" exercise when really, the walking and hiking I'm doing are things I genuinely enjoy. I love exploring Ottawa's trails and getting my sweats outside.

Your point about staying obese while working out hard for a decade is such an important reality check. I've definitely seen the biggest changes since I started being more consistent with tracking my food rather than when I was just doing more cardio.

The balance approach makes so much sense for my lifestyle too. Thanks for the perspective shift!

PAV8888

Well this feedback is really nice to see!

Just a quick note of caution from the other (older) side… limb weights maximize the potential for injury because they add an eccentric force. I would personally not even think about them.

I have a friend who has been going around with a weighted backpack for years… but I've personally tripped and fallen carrying a backpack. Just a simple stumble with a few steps trying to recover my balance but being 40 minutes into the walk and just marginally slower because of the weight not quite being able to recover before scraping the sidewalk! The resulting thud was not quite at current weight (because backpack!) but more reminiscent of previous obese weight levels! True, the wonky knee is no more wonky than before and the mouse hand DID recover—so just non permanent road rash.

But it has given me pause because well… the knees ARE wonky and my chicken-ness is not quite up to spring!

I suppose well fitted (with bottom straps too) backpacks or tight (unmoving) vests might be slightly less dangerous…

As to the rest of it… exercise is more than desirable, good, and healthy. But out-exercising a bad diet ends up unsustainable for most of us!

Have fun exploring!

age_is_just_a_number

Weight loss comes from being at a caloric deficit. Exercise is for building and maintaining muscle.

Which ever one you actually do and enjoy.

Exercise should not be a chore or something to get through.

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AchilleusKozmo

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48670936#Comment_48670936

yes great point it turns out that people used to get older exercise and just doing every day activities. And it also turns out that’s kind of what our bodies were built for or at least what they evolved to be good at. But recently we’ve turned all that evolution on its head. That said I said get out in nature as much as you possibly can. The plan sounds good.

briscogun

Lot's of people saying pretty much the same thing:

"You can't out run a bad diet."

Exercise for the health benefits, not the weight loss. When you run/walk, you are mostly burning glycogen in your bloodstream to fuel your activity. As soon as you eat again you replenish it. Not a ton of caloric burn benefits here.

But when you consistently eat at a deficit your body will burn previously stored reserves, mostly fat, to keep you going. Now, here is where the exercise comes in: your body will also consume muscle mass to power you through the deficit, not fat only. So doing some form of exercise/resistance training/etc, can be beneficial during this process to maintain your muscles.

As others have said, find something you enjoy and do that to be healthier, not skinnier.

spiriteagle99

I do both. You can outrun a bad diet, but it takes a lot of time and effort. For many people, exercise for weight loss or maintenance can depend on how much time you have available. I can run 6 miles or walk 3 in an hour. In that time, I would burn 550 or so calories vs. 200 or so. I actually prefer hiking, since it takes me to the woods, but I don't generally have the time to drive to a trail, hike it and drive back. That's more of a once a week thing, if that. On a daily basis, I walk the dog for an hour or so, spread out over a couple of walks, and run for an hour. I am retired, so I have the time to do that. If I were working, I doubt I'd be willing to spend 2 or more hours a day on exercise. Right now, I have the time and it allows me to have some flexibility in my eating. I have been able to maintain a 55 lb. loss for over 10 years.