Is walking good exercise for weight loss?

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caitypants86
caitypants86 Posts: 278 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to this site, and I have a quick question. Has anyone had success losing a lot of weight (20+ lbs) just by walking and changing their eating habits? I moved out of the city I work in at the beginning of April. Since then, my commute each way includes a 20 minute fast-paced walk to my office and back to the train station at the end of the day (which would total 40 minutes of fast-paced walking 5x per week). For the first few months, I didn't have the best eating habits...I basically just ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. Recently (since joining this site), I've started excluding bread from my diet (I was eating a LOT before), and cutting down on sugar. Although I started this walking routing in April, my weight has not dropped at all. Not even by a couple of pounds. My legs feel/butt feel & look stronger, I think, but my mid-section is just as flabby as ever. I've been doing a lot of reading online about how good walking is for you, for your bones, weight, metabolism, etc...... why am I not seeing any changes (aside from my butt/legs and feeling very calm and relaxed when I get to work in the morning!).

THanks for your input

Cait

Edit: Forgot to mention that I do not do any working out aside from the walking 5x per week. My office also has four flights of stairs that I have to climb multiple times a day (no elevator!!).

Replies

  • nessat18
    nessat18 Posts: 30 Member
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    I walk pushing my kids in the stroller every day I have now incorporated jogging too but I lost the first 30+ pounds walking and eating lower cal and healthier!!
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
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    Are you eating at a calorie deficit? Walking alone won't make you lose weight, you need to be eating less than you are burning. I have lost 25 pounds so far with just eating at a deficit and walking (and a total of 5 zumba classes since I started back in March - a free summer program I've been doing).
  • columbus27
    columbus27 Posts: 178 Member
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    That is my main cardio. I can't do those P90 extreme workouts.
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    Walking can be very good for weight loss when it comes to fat.

    However...

    The human body is an amazing thing. It is constantly adapting to the environment we put it in.

    What you will find is that your body has adapted to the same routine every day, and so your weight loss will have stalled.

    If you change it up a bit and possibly incorporate some weight lifting, and/or a little more intense cardio work - and make sure your intake is correct - fat loss will continue :)
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    The best form of exercise is one that you enjoy and that fits into your life. From that point of view it sounds like walking is great for you.

    The reason you are not seeing any changes are probably more complex that walk/don't walk.

    How long have you been at it?
    What's your diet like?
    how are you measuring "Not seeing any changes"? Weight? Measurements? etc
    Is your goal realistic with respect to where you are now?

    Generally if you've been eating at a moderate deficit for 3 or 4 weeks. I would expect you to see some positive change.

    Best wishes
  • rjsimpson2002
    rjsimpson2002 Posts: 115 Member
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    I think walking is good exercise and doesn't strain your joints etc as much as other ways of exercising but I also think you need to mix it up a bit. I like to walk but I didn't lose anything off my middle until I starting doing exercise which included abs and strength training too. Having said that, I didn't really watch my calories until I joined this site so that is another factor to take into account.

    Best of luck on your journey - and keep up the walking because it will keep you healthy and contribute to dropping weight in the long run. :smile:
  • ashlielinn
    ashlielinn Posts: 920
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    When I was a teenager I lost about 30 pounds from changing the way I was eating and walking 2 miles every day with my Grandmother!

    Now, I do a lot of working out, but I still walk a total of a little over a mile from the train station to work everyday, and I'm sure it's helped a little! I'm always sure to count it in my cals burned for the day, since my daily activity level in MFP is set to "sedentary" (since I have a desk job) and since I'm always rushing and walking fast! I think it could definitely help if you change your eating habits!
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    I'm down almost 45 lbs and almost all of my exercise is walking. I get about 3-5 miles a day 4-5 days a week. I started in February getting maybe 2 miles a day 3-4 days a week. To make it better, I try to make sure I find the biggest hills I can and walk as quickly as I can. My pace averages about 4 mph, even with walking uphill 35+% of the time (I work in a very hilly area).

    I have recently started adding in some home strength exercises and I do plan on joining a gym and starting lifting weights when those aren't challenging enough. I started those exercises by just starting the 100pushups plan, and now have adapted the beginner body weight workout from the scooby website.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Walking is a good exercise for fat loss.

    You should ensure your diet is proper first. Reducing calories is the #1 thing to go for. Walking ups the number of calories spent in a day. So, instead of eating 500 fewer, you can walk for an hour and eat 300 fewer instead, thus creating a 500 deficit roughly.

    As for the whole idea that your body will adapt to this, that is incorrect. Moving the body spends energy, no if's and or but's about it. The body does not magically spend less energy doing the same thing.

    This "stall" people speak of is usually the result of lower weight which results in less energy expenditure. It takes more energy to move 200 pounds 1 mile than it does 125 pounds 1 mile. Also takes less energy to simply maintain etc. So, over time, energy expenditure goes down, and so either exercise must go up to increase output or eating must go down to decrease input.

    It is not simply your body adapting to perform actions free of energy. If this was so, wrestlers, and pretty much every Olympic athlete would hardly need to eat at all.
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
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    Hi, there !

    A quick answer ..... yes, I lost 40 lbs just by walking everyday around the neighborhood and changing my eating habits :drinker:

    Best of luck to you !
  • reojames
    reojames Posts: 96
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    My initial weight loss of 60 pounds was because of nothing but diet and walking...

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