IS WALKING ENOUGH?

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  • chrissym78
    chrissym78 Posts: 628 Member
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    Walking is good! After you lose part of your weight you may feel like increaing to intervals of walking and jogging. You can get lots of dvds and hand weights for not much investment too. As I lost and felt like doing more I added strength training and running. Just listen to your body. If you stop losing with walking only, add something new and adjust you intake. Best wishes to you! :)
  • formersec
    formersec Posts: 233 Member
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    HAS ANYONE ELSE LOST THEIR WEIGHT JUST BY WALKING? IT IS THE ONLY EXERCISE I HAVE AVAILABLE REALLY, AS THE GYM IS TOO EXPENSIVE.
    I TRY TO WALK AT LEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK, FOR 2 HOURS EACH TIME, IS IT ENOUGH THOUGH, OR SHOULD I BE PUSHING MYSELF MORE? I HAVE OVER 100LB TO LOSE.

    :explode:
    :grumble:

    I lost 50+ pounds before MFP and 13 pounds with MFP primarily by walking. I have heart problems and other health issues that prevent me from doing anything more strenuous. I refuse to feel guilty or frustrated that I can't do more. We should do only what we can and not be concerned that someone else is doing the latest extreme intense insanity exercise. IMHO this is not a competition.
  • PAnn1
    PAnn1 Posts: 530 Member
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    I lost over 80# by changing my eating habits and walking. I walked 7 days a week for several months before taking a day off. I have kept the weight off for over 4 years now and I still try to walk 5-6 days a week. I also walk with Leslie Sansone's DVD's..I will tell you this..Eventually you will need to incorporate some kind of strength training, not neccessarily heavy weigh training. I found that altho I always felt I had a lot of strength, that diminished as I dropped a substantial amount of weight. Leslie Sanson incorporates the use of light weights and therabands (stretchy bands) in her workouts. It's your choice to use them or not. Best wishes to you on your journey :flowerforyou:
  • BernieMBurke
    BernieMBurke Posts: 206 Member
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    Yes, walking is enough on the exercise side. I dropped 90 lbs in 10 months by almost exclusively walking. I do have the advantage of being a guy (we usually lose easier). Also, I kept pushing myself to go faster. At first I could only go about 3 MPH. By the end I could go over 4 MPH. I know I had to take a shower after walking at my pace.

    However, you must know that this will never end. I had a lot of variables come up in my life and I put back on about 45 lbs. I'm back and starting the walking again. Fortunately, I already know what I need to do to be successful. This is my 3rd week of walking and I'm seeing good results already.

    Now for the bad part. Exercise alone won't do it. You have what I call the big four: 1) food, 2) exercise, 3) water, and 4) sleep.

    Food is pretty obvious. Still, you need to log everything that goes in your mouth. Also, get a food scale if you don't have one. They are not that expensive and they are a real eye-opener with regards to how much of something you're really eating (called portion control). One thing I track is sodium. Don't get me wrong, I love salt. Still, it is amazing how much salt is in everything. You're body will retain fluid to balance out how much sodium is in your system (I'm not a doctor). That fluid is weight on the scale.

    Exercise we've already discussed.

    Water is something your body needs. MFP recommends you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I don't have any disagreement with that. Water helps with hunger control for a little while and is good for you.

    Sleep is the one that gets overlooked the most. Try to get 7 - 8 hours every night (at the same general time if possible). Your body is still burning calories even when you are sleeping. Also, you're not eating at that time, so it's a win-win.

    Good luck on your journey!

    Bernie
  • littlemisscrazygirl
    littlemisscrazygirl Posts: 12
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    I don't think it really matters what kind of exercise you do as long as you get your heart rate up some!
  • Danielle_Star
    Danielle_Star Posts: 22
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    WOW walking 2hrs a day is a reward within itself. If you want to start trying to add strength training I would suggest purchasing a resistance band. It's an easy and inexpensive way to build muslce in your arms. Cost is less than $10. Keep up the good work!
  • Ashley121205
    Ashley121205 Posts: 131 Member
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    I've lost about 70 pounds total and the first 50 was just by doing walking videos :bigsmile:

    You don't always need to do workouts that are hard on your body. Just keep walking and eating well :drinker:
  • daisydieter
    daisydieter Posts: 118
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    Check out mapmyrun.com... free account. You can enter in your stats.... map out a route in your neighborhood... then time your walk to give you both an idea of calories burned as well as see your progress. You'll find that if you stick to it, that you'll be picking up speed and distance. And you may be like me... reach a point in your fitness that you start jogging.

    OH... and losing weight is the same formula... you take in, burn, or a combination of the two, less calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. How you get to that deficit depends on what works best for you. I can do the combo of diet and exercise but I have two friends who lost weight. One lost it by simply changing diet... another by keeping diet but added a very brisk walk to routine. it took them each close to 18 months but each lost about 40-50lbs.
  • Kristiehaines
    Kristiehaines Posts: 11 Member
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    I'm another who has lost over a hundred pounds and I started out by walking! Walking is enough to get you started and as the weight drops you'll be able to do more and more! Good luck!
  • PunkyRachel
    PunkyRachel Posts: 1,959 Member
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    Walking is great, I've know people who lost weight just from walking. I like to change it up and walk in different parts of town, to get different resistance. I also get bored easily walking the same place all the time. lol
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    Just getting up and doing something is most important
  • ViSabbi
    ViSabbi Posts: 120 Member
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    I lost 25 pounds in the past just by doing that and cutting on carbs. It's absolutely doable but remember that it's an habit you have to take and maintain otherwise the weight will come back eventually. It's all about lifestyle changes. you can do it! :)
  • mlindahl
    mlindahl Posts: 43 Member
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    Absolutely! Are you walking at a brisk pace to get your cardio up? each step not only burns calories but tones and releases endorphins so you can Walk happy!
  • kappyblu
    kappyblu Posts: 654 Member
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    :smile: :smile: :smile: Of course it is! Take it from someone who has even more weight than you to lose. That is how I have done it so far. You may want to incorporate some different moves in your walking however. Try the Leslie Sansone walk at home dvds. You can get them on Netflix (not instant) or see some on youtube. But the ones on youtube are just bits and pieces and don't have the slow walk in the beginning or the cooldown at the end. The dvds help to add other movements in your walking routine that work your other muscles. Believe me, she will have you sweating like crazy!! Plus, you can do them in your own home. I imagine that once you get closer to your ideal weight, you will want to do more...but for now, walking is something our bodies are meant to do.

    Think about the girl who started this journey..the girl who had the courage to say "Yes, I can!" Don't let her down. Remember how she felt when she made that decision to have a healthy life. You go girl!!! Keep walking....never give up...never surrender! :happy:
  • akf2000
    akf2000 Posts: 278 Member
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    so many people here mentioning DVDs/ Videos, how are you carrying all this audio/visual stuff with you on the walk? :bigsmile:
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    This thread makes me proud.
  • steffihoney
    steffihoney Posts: 392
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    Everyone has been right and I don't need to repeat any of what was said. Move, move, move!! It gets the heart rate going and the fat burning. I had back surgery 6 weeks ago. The only thing I can do is walk. I am trying for 2 1/2 hours a day, 5-6 days at least. I have lost 9 lbs and I have only been walking and staying under my calories. It does work and hopefully soon I can go back to running. You might eventually get to running and that would burn even more calories.

    And you said that all you have available is walking. You could always buy some weights to start out with, like 5 lbs and 8 lbs and then eventually go up. I am sure you could find a good program or something online to help you get started. Just a suggestion, but I have a full set of weights in my basement. Who needs a gym to workout?!

    You can do it!! Motivation and movement!!!
  • steffihoney
    steffihoney Posts: 392
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    Absolutely! Are you walking at a brisk pace to get your cardio up? each step not only burns calories but tones and releases endorphins so you can Walk happy!

    So true!!! I feel awesome when I walk. Some feel good music adds to the happiness! lol
  • rainbowbuggy
    rainbowbuggy Posts: 320
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    Walking is one of the best exercises for fat burning. I started my weight loss with walking. I still try to walk every week weather permitting. The aerobic and strength training can be added later for stamina and body sculpting. Good luck!


    This is great! Good sound advice!
  • EuroDriver12
    EuroDriver12 Posts: 805 Member
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    your diet is about 75% of your results! make sure you get enough sleep! n keep walking at a fast pace... u dont want to be just strolling along walking a dog or something... walk as if you are 2min late for work and you are trying to make it in the office before anyone notices!

    with those 3 thigns YES you will loose your weight...

    when i cut i have a proper nutirtion plan, 6 meals a day, every single one weight to a gram, train/weightligt for 1.5hrs n cardio 60+min... my cardio is high incline at 3.9mph but in ur case as you got 100+lbs to loose walking fast will be enough to get your heart rate up!

    good luck! and i repeat, WATCH YOUR DIET! no "diet" pops, no pizzas, no burgers, no donuts, non of that crap.... eat clean and you will shred weight so fast that it will motivate you to keep going and stay away from that stuff

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