Can you lose weight just by walking?

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  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    Doesn't matter what you eat for weight loss, just how much of it. You need to eat fewer calories than your body actually needs.

    Walking will help weight loss, but you'll need to control your calories too. That would be enough if you're not bothered about general health and just want to lose weight.

    How much fewer do I have to eat? My BMR is 1327 calories.

    How do you know your BMR is 1327? Is that from MFP?
    MFP uses BMR x 1.2 as the amount of calories to lose 1lb a week for a sedentary lifestyle. This builds in a 500 calories deficit for normal activity. If you exercise, you add those calories on to what you eat.

    So if you're BMR is really 1327

    1327 x 1.2 = 1592 + exercise calories to lose a lb a week, or 250 calories on top of that to lose 0.5lb/week.

    Sounds quite high (though not definitely wrong) , so you should check whether that number really is your BMR

    ETA: There are much better explanations than this ^^^^ out there - do a search on "exercise calories"
  • blondejester
    blondejester Posts: 63
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    my friend lost a bunch of weight years ago by just walking a mile or so every day but keep in mind, you can't eat junk food, walk and then expect to lose weight! gotta keep the diet up
  • krm0789
    krm0789 Posts: 134 Member
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    Absolutely. My freshman year of college I lost 30 lbs with the same crappy diet (read: french fries, all day, every day) just by walking around an hour a day several times per week :)
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    I tried to lose weight by just 'walking'..and it didn't really work...but no harm done, walking is good cardio vascular exercise and when coupled with good eating habits, only good things will happen. exercise is not a replacement for good food habits though. if you want weight loss, then combined with good eating habits, add in some walking, bike riding,swimming or any cardio exercise that will raise your heart rate a little..results are dramatic!!
  • _hi_hat3r_
    _hi_hat3r_ Posts: 423 Member
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    You dont even have to walk in fact you can sit on your behind all day and still lose a ton of weight.....its all about your diet. Key to everything.

    I have a feeling my diet won't cut it really, if people saw it they'd have a fit. No vegetables or fruits. :indifferent: I wouldn't class it as healthy but I have little control of it because I don't buy the food.

    As long as you eat at a calorie deficit it doesn't matter what you eat.
  • Montanarush
    Montanarush Posts: 76
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    You can definitely lose weight walking. Pick up the pace, increase the time or distance. The last time I went on a diet, I lost 40-50 lbs. ONLY walking. I eventually started lifting and riding my bike, etc. You can do it!
  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
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    Yes you can =) I would say you need to eat more. I wouldnt net less than 1200 and really I started losing more weight at 1500 calories than I did at 1200?!!
  • thegeordielass
    thegeordielass Posts: 208 Member
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    I am going fully catered when I go to university and I am planning to pick the vegetarian options, it just means I won't be able to accurately log my calories - something I'm anxious about - as canteen food doesn't come with it's own nutritional labels :laugh:

    When I don't eat the food my mam buys she thinks I'm starving myself :frown: so I just eat what she gives me now so she doesn't harass me.

    Just make sure you don't snack on chocolate or crisps a lot between your meals at uni. And vegetarian options may not always be healthier then other ones so don't assume. I bet you spend half your time eating pub lunches anyway, lol. It's almost inevitable. It's much easier to cook for yourself though to make sure you get healthy, good tasting food. You just have to make time for it. I'm a picky eater/have dietary issues so no way could I have gone catered.

    Your diary doesn't look too bad to me. I'm not a 'clean' eater either. I prefer to eat 'normal' foods in smaller quantities then living off purely fruit/veg which I'd never be able to maintain. I see you have the same thing for hot choc as me - the weight watchers one and options ones are quite nice and fewer cals. Maybe try replacing some of those choc bars for fruit?
  • _hi_hat3r_
    _hi_hat3r_ Posts: 423 Member
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    You may want to bump your cals up a little bit by adding more protein and good fats.
  • crimsoncat
    crimsoncat Posts: 457 Member
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    If you want to really get a good idea of how much good your walking is doing you, I recommend getting something that can time you and catch your speed. I know I have "runkeeper" on my iphone. It's great because it'll tell me how fast and how far I walked. Makes it much easier to plug the exercise back into myfittnesspal.

    Also, my mother lost about 10 pounds walking the dog every day twice a day. She had a much better nsv though. When she started walking she could barely keep up a very slow pace for 15 min. By the time I came home for spring break she was walking upwards of 6 miles daily (just with the dog) at a moderate pace without breaking a sweat. Even if she never lost a pound, I think we can all agree that she was doing way better healthwise.
  • Nailrep
    Nailrep Posts: 966 Member
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    As long as you are in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. The rate at which you lose is determined by how large the deficit is thru exercise and dieting.
  • valerie521
    valerie521 Posts: 140 Member
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    Years ago - I had a 1520 calorie diet
    I walked 45 minutes every day around my neighboorhood
    I was in great shape - no other exercise

    :) My doctor told me to start with 30 minutes and if weight loss did not happen to increase each week 15 minutes

    and I have an extremely s l o w metabolism. I'm getting there again

    as the saying goes ... "slow and steady... something something" wins the race I think LOL
  • kathymillard1970
    kathymillard1970 Posts: 40
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    yes you can. I have lost 27 Lbs.I started my diet March 31st. I started walking 1 hour a day twice a day, now I walk 2 hours a day twice a day. I walk and my Lbs. just melt away.
  • orangelf27
    orangelf27 Posts: 1
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    At University, I went vegetarian so I just wanted to warn you that you will want to have some sort of multivitamins for the lack of protein and iron you will be taking in. There will be more vegetarian options and it will be easy to control what you eat there. Just make sure that you are having the right essentials, vitamins, and minerals! :)
  • Leslie85
    Leslie85 Posts: 265 Member
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    Walking is great cardio- and I'm sure you can lose weight that way...probably just at a slower pace than if you were doing something a little more high intensity.

    Also- I don't know what your goal is- but this is something to keep in mind. Last year when I was trying to get "beach ready" all I did was cardio b/c I thought since that burned the most calories, that would get me to my goal weight the fastest. This year, however, I have been doing some interval training involving weights (like the 30DS) and even though I am a few lbs heavier this year, I look so much better. I think I actually look smaller than I did last year because I added some muscle and lost a little fat.

    I know you hate weight lifting and interval training- but it REALLY does produce a better result when compared to cardio only. Just something to think about :) But if only losing weight is your goal, as opposed to toning up, then you should be just fine!
  • indrani1947
    indrani1947 Posts: 178 Member
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    yes walking is great and do not eat below your BMR its not good for you so grab yourself a pack of fruit, apples are great and have one as a snack instead of a biscuit, there are lots of seasonal fruit coming in so make the most of them and even tinned veg is better than no veg. keep at it you will get there :)
  • AnnyaSB
    AnnyaSB Posts: 233 Member
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    I walk my dog (a lively Doberman) a couple of miles every day and also do Nordic walking (fast walking with poles) which burns about half as many calories again as just walking does a few times a month. It is very hilly here in Wales so there is lots of incline work involved in all my walks - the Nordic walking is all done hiking up and down hills and mountain sides with a group - I can burn 600-800 calories easily in a couple of hours (I have a good HRM to check my burn rate). I am now starting on the Pooch to 5K with aforementioned Dobie and hope to take up CaniCross with her in a couple of months when we are both fitter :smile:

    I've lost 19lbs since the end of February with my target set at 0.5lbs/week which has not been tough at all - only another 11lbs to go now.

    I must say I am now rather addicted to my walks and feel really figety if I miss a day for any reason - you may well end up the same once you have got into the habit of putting on your shoes and getting out there.

    Good luck!
  • losermomof3
    losermomof3 Posts: 386 Member
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    You certainly can!!!! Even if its 10 minutes a day at 2.5 you can!!!
  • s3xipantz
    s3xipantz Posts: 14 Member
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    Yes you can lose weight by walking. I have lost 148 pounds by walking and watching my calorie intake.



    Thats amazing! Great job!
  • marcia724
    marcia724 Posts: 180 Member
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    I've lost weight with and without exercising at all. some people have to start out with walking because they are not used to exercise. of course you can lose weight from walking! :D

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