Is walking a good enough exercise to be doing?

andyj1984

Quite frankly at the moment I'm not fit enough to go for a jog, or swimming (would probably have a heart attack! LOL), so I'm focusing on daily walking and cycling exercises. According to the exercise log for yesterday, my 2 hour walk I went on (approx 7 miles) burned 675 calories. That seems rather a lot to me (I weigh approx 250lb).

Is that actually accurate? I ask, because I'm eating back those calories from the exercise, and want to make sure I'm doing it correctly. I would have thought walking wouldn't use all that much energy, compared to say swimming or jogging?

Is walking really that good for you? And as far as I understand, the less you weigh the longer you have to walk to burn the same calories?

I do plan on taking up jogging and swimming in a few months time, but only when I think my body can handle it! LOL

Sorry for the newbie question, I did search beforehand but didn't really get an answer.

royam01

Walking is great! That's the way I started Its relaxing and if you walk fast enough you can really work up a sweat! Good luck with everything!

kristelpoole

I didn't look anything up, but that sounds about right for your weight. If you can stick to walking for 2 hours a day, I'm sure you'll see something start to change. It'll take more the less you way, yes, but you're off to a good start. Keep up the good work and make sure those are healthy calories!

darrenham

Yes it is.

Specifically, you were walking for 2hrs, so yes you will burn a lot of calories. I have suspected that the calorie figures on here are a little excessive for exercise. But having followed my predicted kcal intake for a week, I lost a pound, exactly as it said, so you can trust it. As a heavy person, you'll be burning even more calories on that walk than someone of a lower weight, so it's possible that that figure is even conservative.

Keep it up, and don't forget to make your walk faster as your body gets used to the exercise over the weeks. Only then will you be able to progress to more intensive exercises like swimming and jogging.

Keep up the good work.

BflSaberfan

any exercise is better than nothing and walking is great! Dont be afraid to push your self though. Even if its a 10 second sprint, tomorrow make it 20 seconds...etc.

SarahJaneDeschamp

walking is good hun, sounds bout right to me keep it up x

crthiel

Anything to generate more activity is good and 2 hours of walking burning 600 or so calories isn't too bad. Once you start running and swimming though, you'll burn that much in less than half the time.

trejon

Walking is an awesome way to start! Go at your own pace and then work your way up. Create challenges that YOU can complete not anything someone else makes for you unless you need this. Maybe Day I to the mailbox and back then progress. Walking a little is better than sitting alot. Any activity burns calories - cleaning, washing clothes, playing with kids - just do something.

Lemonhead70

I've had trainers tell me walking is a great exercise to do and a great place to start!! One of them said "Just keep moving! No matter what you're doing!" That's actually how I got started as well and am now in the gym doing Spin Class and other things but still love to walk! Total I've lost 57lbs! (10 since I starte MFP!)

And I think for 7 miles that should be accurate on calories. So keep up the good work. That's awesome!!

hroush

I would say don't eat back all the calories as MFP tends to over estimate. I say split the difference with half.

I think you should start trying the www.c25k.com program. If you can walk for 2 hours, you can jog for the little bit that they require you to in the first week. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can make progress if you push yourself. For example, when I started losing weight, I was 280. I decided if I was going to lose weight, I needed to start running, so everyday I tried to go one more lap around the track. By the time I was down to 260 I was running a 7 minute mile!

luv_lea

Walking is great! Everyone has to start at their comfortable pace~Good job!

kellymcnulty26

Hi - well done on the 7mile walk in 2 hours that's good going - I find the calories burned on MFP a little high and tend to use them with a pinch of salt. You might find this website helpful as it maps your walk and then figures out the calories, you can get an app for the iphone/ipod touch/blackberry as well.

http://www.mapmywalk.com

Walking is a great exercise - I'm training for the Moonwalk a power walking marathon and have lost lots of inches if not the pounds at the mo.

bluebird321

I use walking as my exercise (mostly treadmill). It does burn calories and it's a good way to gently kick off an exercise program.

Christine1110

You will need to buy a HRM to be sure...and mostly because your eating you exercise calories, or you could be eating to many calories. I have a heart rate monitor, and only eat half of my calories back. If your going to buy one....make sure it has a chest strap to be more accurite. Good luck.

Sounds like a great walk by the way, and walking is a great exercise....just keep your heart rate up ; )

andyj1984

Thanks for the replies! My medium term goal is to get back into swimming, I used to LOVE swimming as a child...I have my 1 mile badge somewhere That is one of the motivations for getting fit and healthy, so I can enjoy swimming again!

srp2011

Yes, walking is a great exercise, and the fact that you're walking 7 miles is amazing - great job! I've tried walking a 9 mile loop around the lake near my home, and I can only do it once a year - then I'm in pain for a week, and swear it off for another year. The calories burned sounds about right (they would be higher for swimming and jogging) and it is dependent on weight, so as you lose weight, you would burn fewer calories doing the same thing. At the same time, you'll be building more muscle from exercise, which burns more calories at rest, so it all works out. Just get out there and keep moving!

jamaka1

i love walking, i lost all my weight from that. i do the treadmill, elliptical, stairs, anything that keeps me moving. i dont like to run bc my ankles hurt and if i dont enjoy it then i will quit which is not good so i walk. you are on the right track, keep it up and you will be sharing ur success story soon.:laugh:

HeidiMightyRawr

If the walking you're doing is more than you would've done before you came here and make an effort to get fit then yes I'd say that's great - anything is better than nothing at all
As far as the calories goes, it does sound about right since the more you weigh the more you burn so I'd aim to eat at least most of them back. If you're still unsure about the calories burnt though, a HRM would probably be best as those are going to be the closest to what you're actually burning.

ProudMomoftwo

Walking is a terrific way to start.
Good for you!
7 miles is awesome and you should be so proud of yourself.
Get moving is all that matters - log it - eat healthy - log that too and you will see results.
When that walk starts to get easy, bump it up to walking it faster or walk longer to keep seeing results.

Best of luck! We are here for you

andyj1984

It helps that there is a massive nature reserve about a mile away from my house... Its lovely to walk around

dad106

I primarily do walking as my form of exercise and I've lost 15 pounds that way. I hate running, so walking it is for me.
I also tend to eat back most of my exercise calories and I've lost weight.