adding walking as excersize

goku89

I started doing it cause I almost went over and I actually DID walk today but it just sounds so lame lol im sorry

whats everyones stance on adding walking or light excersize? it technically counts but its so light.

RllyGudTweetr

I started doing it cause I almost went over and I actually DID walk today but it just sounds so lame lol im sorry

whats everyones stance on adding walking or light excersize? it technically counts but its so light.

Why would walking not count?

QueenE_

In the beginning, all I did was walk. That was my exercise.
I love it. It's peaceful.

ItsCasey

I don't really do it for exercise. I do it for recovery or because I have something to think about or because I'm bored or because it's a nice day and I want to be outside. That doesn't mean it's not exercise for someone else.

rosebette

When the weather is good, I try to walk a mile and a half every day. I really missed it with the hard weather. It doesn't burn a ton of calories, only about 90-100, but it's good for my mental health. I do it in addition to my other workouts. If the weather is good and I get home before it's dark, I walk without fail.

tmaryam

I try to walk for 30 min every day at a pace of 3 to 3.5 mph. I love being outside. Today I worked out at the gym on a treadmill for the first time because it's strangely cold and rainy here. It was soooo boring being indoors. I prefer the fresh air. I think it's excellent exercise.

ErinMcMom

I have an hour long lunch break at work each day. I spend the first 30 minutes walking and the last 30 eating lunch. Every little bit helps! Plus it gives you some quiet time to think and decompress after a stressful morning!

shadow2soul

Walking can be exercise and I don't personally feel it should be overlooked. It may not burn as many calories as say running, but it still has an impact (just a smaller one).

I love walking and it's an easy exercise for me to do with my 2yr old son. I try to walk at least 3 miles everyday when the weather is nice. Sometimes my walks end up being 5+ miles.

Rockstar_JILL

I love walking! When I am really working out full force, I will use walking as my "rest day"....but right now, with this winter we have had, I am just lucky to be able to get back out and start walking (and running) again!

tycho_mx

How significant is this in your daily activity? Is it considered as part of your base daily calories as "light activity"?

I'll give you an example: I don't register my daily commute to work by bicycle. It takes about 35 minutes, round trip, easy pace. It is insignificant compared to the 60-240 minutes of moderate/hard riding that I actually record accurately, so I simply ignore it.

If your walking is significant compared to the rest of your activity, by all means record it! I have friends who were very overweight and that is all they could do - and went from walking a city block to 1 hour, to jogging, to running. Without those early steps there would have been no progression.

mxmkenney

Walking is exercise, but I don't log it unless I am walking FOR exercise. If I am walking around as just part of my day, that does not get logged. And be careful how much you put for calorie burn. I would use a HRM or deduct from MFP's estimate by 25% because it's too high. By the way, I do believe walking is good exercise, but it doesn't burn very much per hour unless you're really moving fast.

mobrien689

Walking is great! Even when I'm tired, I find I always have enough energy for a walk. I can do an hour at a time on the elliptical runner, but that can feel like drudgery. When I go outside and walk I hear birds chirping and children laughing, feel the breeze on my skin, and notice that the trees are leafing out and the flowers are starting to bloom. And the best part... everyone once in a while I find money in the gutter!

tmaryam

Walking is exercise, but I don't log it unless I am walking FOR exercise. If I am walking around as just part of my day, that does not get logged. And be careful how much you put for calorie burn. I would use a HRM or deduct from MFP's estimate by 25% because it's too high. By the way, I do believe walking is good exercise, but it doesn't burn very much per hour unless you're really moving fast.

I don't think MFP's estimate is high enough for me. It really depends on your level of fitness and exertion. For instance, when I do 30 min of brisk walking, MFP says I've burned less than 100 calories. But I am dripping with sweat and out of breath and I'm losing a good amount of weight. They don't take activity level into consideration. For a sedentary person, a 30 min brisk walk is hard work. For an athlete, it would probably be insignificant.

I_Will_End_You

Do you mean like....walking to and from your car, walking from the bedroom to the bathroom, walking through the grocery store? Or walking as in....I'm going to take a 30 minute walk? If it's the latter, I don't see why that's a problem. If it is the normal walking you do throughout the day, don't log it, it's already worked into your activity level.

PJPrimrose

Starting to exercise at any point is good! Next thing you know you'll be joining a gym! Good luck.

RllyGudTweetr

Do you mean like....walking to and from your car, walking from the bedroom to the bathroom, walking through the grocery store? Or walking as in....I'm going to take a 30 minute walk? If it's the latter, I don't see why that's a problem. If it is the normal walking you do throughout the day, don't log it, it's already worked into your activity level.

I don't recall any questions about whether I walked or drove to the grocer's when setting my activity level; there was one about how much activity I did at work, and one about how much exercise I do in a week (which doesn't influence the calorie allowance MFP gives, since they expect you to log that as you do it).

Where in the process did it as about how much of your commuting about town was walking?

Aaron_K123

Actually walking burns a surprising number of calories. Taking the time to walk an hour every day will make a HUGE difference over time.

Slacker16

I checked my activity level as sedentary because, aside from some strength training, I pretty much am.

My rule as to whether I log a walk or not is the following:
If it's a walk anyone would do, it's part of my normal daily burn and I don't log it. Otherwise, I log it.

For instance, my grocery store is ~15 mins away and I figure anyone would go there on foot, so I don't log it. On the other hand I walk to/from work 3-4 times a week and it's a one hour walk to get there, so I log that since most would take public transportation.

Been working for me.

Aaron_K123

Honestly if you are not looking to get into athletic shape or build muscle or bodybuild all you want to do is lose some weight then really all you need to do is eat a little less and walk regularly. You don't need to do intensive cardio, walking is not "lame" its actually really effective.

GingerLolita

I have a FitBit, which calculates my daily activity, most of which is walking. I set my MFP to lightly active and I generally burn approx. 200 calories over that. So yes, walking can make a real difference.

freemystery

I do! I walk a minimum of 4.5 miles each day just to work and back, and generally I'll go for a walk at lunch for around an hour. If I'm meeting somebody for a drink or dinner after work, I try to walk there if possible.

This adds up- some days I could be walking eight or more miles. If it's significant, absolutely log it. Would I bother logging ten minutes strolling at 2 miles an hour? Probably not.

Francl27

I don't know about 'light'. I can burn 350 calories or more in one hour on the treadmill at the gym (I even reached 425 two weeks ago). I'd rather walk outside though, but even then, I do 3 miles in 45 minutes and there are some hills... it's still pretty good exercise. And I do it every day. Clearly, it's helped me.

81Katz

To me walking around grocery shopping (for example) wouldn't count as exercise. Now my dedicated walking where I walk anywhere from 3-6 miles, that's exercise. I count that.

WelshPhil1975

I walk roughly 3 miles a day as part of my usual daily routine and the vasty amjority of this is at a quick pace. I deliberately underestimate it and I log about 1/3 of this so it recognises that I am doing the excercise, but I don't feel that it's a comfort zone of net calories this way.

rockmama72

My favorite exercise is to walk around my town with an audiobook on my iPod. Fresh air, no people I have to talk to except for a friendly nod. I don't speed walk but I try to walk with purpose and good form, and after 75 minutes I definitely feel it in my calves and core.

FindingAmy77

walking is how I have lost most of my weight. i walk like six miles or more a day. i make it my new thing now to walk to my local mcdonalds for their yummy parfait. it is 2.6 miles away. Plus i go for a second walk after dinner too. walking is great. :drinker:

megidia

I walk at gym incline 10 percent incline and at about 3.8 to 4.0 mph for a half hour and burn a ton of calories.. yes it's exercise.

marilandica

I walk 5 miles per day at 4.0-4.5 mph. I log that as exercise. I also try to maximize the walking about I do during the day - I move quickly, I always take the stairs, I deliberately park at the back of the parking lot, etc. I don't log any of that.

Fitness walking (which is my 5 miles per day) is excellent low-impact cardiovascular exercise. Don't dis it.

staceyloukelly

I lost my first 2 stone just walking my Husky, i then started calorie counting now i'm carb counting and have 3 huskies to walk plus my daily workouts but walking is a much better exercise than people think, i could barely do anything when i started walking and would be exhausted after walking 4.4 miles with my dog, i now walk all 3 one at a time, walk to do my shopping visit people etc and do kettlebell, cycling, exercise bike, aerobics step and some jogging too, not all in one day but my point is it gave me stamina and some fitness back as well as losing 28lbs, worthwhile if you ask me!

paperpudding

I log walking - of course it is exercise.

I don't mean I log walking to the car etc - but if I walk to work or take the dog for a walk then I log it, anything 10 minutes or more of continuous walking.
It doesn't burn a huge amount of calories for the time taken, I think it is 34 calories for 10 minutes medium pace - of course something like running for 20 minutes would burn more than walking for 20 minutes - but it still counts.

One of the biggest promotions in Australia in terms of getting the population healthy was to encourage 'incidental exercise' like walking up the stairs instead of taking the lifts, parking further away in the parking lot and walking to the shop entrance etc - in other words for people who do no exercise, every little additional bit helps.

Like PP said, some of us are not trying to body build or become elite athletes.
but taking an 'all or nothing' approach to exercise (ie if Im not going to run a marathon or join a gym, its not worth doing anything) is counter productive to those people.

motivatemychange

Walking is good if you walk for a prolonged period of time 20-30mins+ and at quite a moderate-fast pace! (Uses fat as fuel rather than carbohydrate)

(I do a sports degree haha)