Lose Weight by Walking?

happymediums
happymediums Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
I need to lose a few pounds, about 10 to 15, which isn't too much!
I really don't care for running or anything that leaves me too winded... I'd rather spend an hour walking on the treadmill than run.
Is it possible to still lose weight by walking or should I step it up a bit?
And also, any work outs or how many times a week for it to be effective?
Thank you! :smile:

Replies

  • Marquism123
    Marquism123 Posts: 152 Member
    I need to lose a few pounds, about 10 to 15, which isn't too much!
    I really don't care for running or anything that leaves me too winded... I'd rather spend an hour walking on the treadmill than run.
    Is it possible to still lose weight by walking or should I step it up a bit?
    And also, any work outs or how many times a week for it to be effective?
    Thank you! :smile:

    Weight loss is 80% diet. If you stick to your calorie deficit there is nothing wrong with walking to support your weight loss goals. Plenty do it. Walking for an hour at a decent pace and perhaps an incline will probably burn maybe 400 calories?! It will definitely help a lot
  • Marquism123
    Marquism123 Posts: 152 Member
    Oh - and you probably want to aim for 5 times per week to really see a benefit
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    Of course you can! I lost 40lbs by walking from Jan until the first part of May 2012! I averaged around 3 miles a day.
  • melissab6968
    melissab6968 Posts: 56 Member
    When I was at the end of my marriage, I would walk a couple hours a day, just to be away from the house. I dropped quite a bit of weight that way.
  • ValerieMomof2
    ValerieMomof2 Posts: 530 Member
    You can lose weight as long as you track your calories and walk and you will be lose. Walking isn't extremely intense so I would walk daily. Add some strength training in there too and that will help. The key to weight loss is healthy eating and eating the proper amount of calories (not too few is included in that)
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    Look at my ticker... Lost all that by walking!
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    You lose weight by eating correctly and having a calorie deficit. The exercise just helps that along.
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
    Yep, I lost about half of my weight by walking briskly (about 3.5mph) with the incline jacked up (to at least 10%) on the treadmill. If you plan to walking outside, make sure you walk fast and incorporate hills.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    A friend of mine has dropped around 90 pounds. He walks three to four miles every night and tracks his calories.

    I lost 40 pounds in 2008 doing the same thing. I walked a two-mile circuit, with hills, 5-6 nights per week.
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    I am in the same boat as you. You can lose 1 pound a week if you walk for an hour a day at a brisk pace and do not eat your exercise calories.
  • Jimmytreatingtons
    Jimmytreatingtons Posts: 128 Member
    Without a doubt walking on the Treadmill will work. Make sure (with time) you up the incline on the machine! i walk as fast as I can on the highest incline I can.

    It will work!
  • Katbody10
    Katbody10 Posts: 369 Member
    Absolutely .. I walk 5 miles every morning uphill, steep inclines for half of the journey here in my neighborhood. :-) Takes me about and hour and 15 minutes "ish" .. and I burn around 270-280 calories. Depends if I walk a little faster or not.

    I have a MapMyWalk account online .. and downloaded the app to my phone .. it's great .. tracks distance, speed and calories burned based on your info and uses GPS :-) I love it!
  • JohnDun
    JohnDun Posts: 140
    Yes walking is very good and will help (as others have said) with burning off the cals. There are some other apps to use for recording your steps and updating MFP or you can just buy a pedometer which records, steps taken, cals burnt, distance. The recommendation is to try and do 10,000 steps a day. Here is a link to a news paper article about it all.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3723704.stm

    Enjoy....
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    But to make sure that the weight you are losing is body fat, you will want to also do some weight training or other exercise to build lean body mass. The key to a better physique is to lose body fat and add muscle at the same time. This is a reversal of the "normal" process of gaining body fat (from eating high calorie/low nutrition "foods") while our muscles get flaccid from being sedentary (from sedentary jobs and "activities" like surfing the net and watching TV). If you just concentrate on losing weight rather than body fat, you may be setting yourself up for a regain. Walking only works a few leg muscles. There's nothing particularly wrong with that but adding an all over strengthening will likely yield results that are more pleasing to you in the short and long run. :smile:
  • oohmercyme
    oohmercyme Posts: 279 Member
    Lost my first 100lbs by mostly by walking (add in some yoga and weights). It's great exercise, just put some effort into it (not just a stroll).

    Happy walking!
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
    I need to lose a few pounds, about 10 to 15, which isn't too much!
    I really don't care for running or anything that leaves me too winded... I'd rather spend an hour walking on the treadmill than run.
    Is it possible to still lose weight by walking or should I step it up a bit?
    And also, any work outs or how many times a week for it to be effective?
    Thank you! :smile:

    Do you enjoy dancing? If so, incorporate some of that into your routine. I can't stand the boring pace of running, and I don't own a treadmill. I walk outside with my dog at a very brisk pace, or I will do something I call "aerobodogging" which is an aerobic, dancing, jogging, dog walking, thing that helped me lose 50 lbs (along with proper eating).

    Do what you enjoy doing, and you're more likely to continue doing it. I took up Zumba over a year and a half ago, became a certified instructor and now teach a class once a week. I try to do my Zumba workouts twice a week. But, I have pledged to do a 20 minute activity every day of the year. I do 2 heavy cardio work outs per week, walk a couple miles on Saturday, walk for 30 minutes on Wednesdays, upper body weight lift/strength train on Sundays and lower body weight train on Mondays. Fridays are reserved for stretching out my sore muscles.

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