walking the weight off??

clewliss
clewliss Posts: 640 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just curious if anyone may be walking along with proper diet and losing weight? I love to walk, its about the ONLY exercise I enjoy! I've never been a gym goer (yes, I did try it and had to drive 20 minutes to get there every day) I'm in the country and thinking I would love to walk, but I'm not sure how long, how fast or if it would help at all. Anyone having success with it?
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Replies

  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Eating at a deficit is what will cause you to lose weight.

    That being said, any exercise is good for you. If you enjoy walking, go out for walks. Whatever gets you moving. Walking, jogging, running, bike riding, swimming, dancing, weight lifting, circuit training, etc.
  • jillbeanschoop
    jillbeanschoop Posts: 61 Member
    Walking absolutely helps. I have a walking partner and we walk 2 hours once a week and our dogs come along too. I try to walk a few times in between the once-a-week two hour walk but don't always. This winter we missed several weeks in a row and I can both feel it in my body and see it on the scale. You can log your walking in MFP under cardiovascular. The trick is to get a sense of how fast you walk. 3.0 MPH is a 20 minute mile. You can use that to guage how fast you are walking and then choose the correct selection in MFP.
    30 minutes at 3.0 MPH burns approximately 120 calories; 1 hour is about 240 calories. So, if you love walking, a 2 hour walk at that pace is > 450 calories.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    walking a mile and running a mile burn roughly the same amount of calories- walking just takes longer. So i would focus on distance, at whatever speed you are most comfortable. I run because i am short on time but on weekends I will go longer distances walking part of the mileage. I did 5 miles in 61 mins on saturday, which is impressive for me
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    Eating at a deficit is what will cause you to lose weight.

    That being said, any exercise is good for you. If you enjoy walking, go out for walks. Whatever gets you moving. Walking, jogging, running, bike riding, swimming, dancing, weight lifting, circuit training, etc.

    This. The calorie deficit causes you to lose, not the exercise. Exercise is an added bonus and of course good for you though. Do whatever you can stick with.
  • saugonda1
    saugonda1 Posts: 145 Member
    I have walked off 48 pounds
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Yep walking is great, When I began at 560 lbs. I had to use water displacement to be able to stand and then I walked and over the course of the first 17 months of my journey I walked in the pool from one side to the other (therapy pool) and lost 170 lbs. so yes walking is great!!!. Best of Luck
  • RunWinterGarden
    RunWinterGarden Posts: 428 Member
    Any activities where you are moving and getting your heart rate up will help you burn more calories. Start out with walking as far as you can, keep trying to add distance to that. If you run short on time start jogging a bit during the walk to be able to keep adding in the distance.
  • aseymour13
    aseymour13 Posts: 767 Member
    If walking is what works for you then walk and walk and walk! it does work. If/When you are comfortable with it, you can also carry hand weights. I know a couple of folks who have ankle weights but that seems weird to me. I love to walk and do it almost every day. I have dogs and and hills so I can vary distance and elevation. Walk and eat healthy and watch it work!
  • peggyalex
    peggyalex Posts: 174 Member
    walking definately helps! it tones the stomach and lower body really well along with great heart and health benefits. just remember to walk correctly......head up, chest out, pump your arms and keep your stomach pulled in.
  • oldandhealthier
    oldandhealthier Posts: 449 Member
    because of health reasons walking has been my primary excercise. dieting and walking i have lost about 70 so far so it really helps.
  • Macstraw
    Macstraw Posts: 896 Member
    walking a mile and running a mile burn roughly the same amount of calories- walking just takes longer. So i would focus on distance, at whatever speed you are most comfortable. I run because i am short on time but on weekends I will go longer distances walking part of the mileage. I did 5 miles in 61 mins on saturday, which is impressive for me

    Ther's a walking path around 2 ponds in my town that is 1.5 miles around. Walking 2 laps around at 3.0 mph takes 60 minutes, walking at 3.5 mph takes 52 minutes - the calorie burn (according to MFP) is a difference of 2 calories for walking the 2 laps (3 miles)....
  • skr1944
    skr1944 Posts: 1
    I notice if I don't walk at least 15 minutes a day, that it is harder for me to lose weight - even with everything else being equal.
    I didn't start this program until about a month ago so it's in the middle of winter here. I find if I walk in place for at least 15 to 30 minutes (while watching my favorite quilting show!) that this works well for me when I can't get outside. At times, I'm even abale to do a slow jog in place and this program figures your calorie expenditure for that as well. I LOVE "MyFitnessPal"!
  • AhlaWahda
    AhlaWahda Posts: 189 Member
    Like the previous posters said, you can sit on your bum all day and still lose weight. If you do however got more than 10 lbs to lose, which seems to be the case, I highly recommend doing some sort of resistance/weight training.
    I lost about 28 lbs only through walking and a good diet but I regret not exercising during that time. Now I have some lose skin that I'm trying to "tighten" up by building muscles.
    You'll get a lot nicer body with strength training so maybe you can find something that suits you? I'm also not a gym person but I found aerobics which I love!
    Good luck! :-)
  • rnprincess
    rnprincess Posts: 103 Member
    Walking is probably not the best way to lose weight. However, walking is probably the best thing you can do for yourself over the long run for overall health. Particularly since you enjoy walking you are more likely to stick with it. I am not sure how to post this, but here is an excellent video on the benefits of walking. If the link does not work it is The Gift of Walking' by the Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO George C. Halvorson .Walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week can help reduce the rate of diabetes, strokes, heart disease, hypertension and more

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ce0yxolt0Cw
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Why not wouldnt it be better to enjoy your exercise and do it on a regular basis then pick something you hate doing and never do it. The big kick with the pedometers now is it's shown that those who walk 10,000 or more steps a day generally have a lower body weight.
  • rnprincess
    rnprincess Posts: 103 Member
    Yep walking is great, When I began at 560 lbs. I had to use water displacement to be able to stand and then I walked and over the course of the first 17 months of my journey I walked in the pool from one side to the other (therapy pool) and lost 170 lbs. so yes walking is great!!!. Best of Luck

    Wow! Way to go!
  • rnprincess
    rnprincess Posts: 103 Member
    Why not wouldnt it be better to enjoy your exercise and do it on a regular basis then pick something you hate doing and never do it. The big kick with the pedometers now is it's shown that those who walk 10,000 or more steps a day generally have a lower body weight.

    Ditto.
  • Rose_bee
    Rose_bee Posts: 226 Member
    Walking is my favorite form of exercise, too.

    Although I just bought an elliptical machine that I set up in my garage. I get a more intense cardiovascular workout, and my knees/hips/ankles are just as happy as when I'm walking! Aforementioned knees/hips/ankles are what's keeping me walking instead of running.
  • swil4
    swil4 Posts: 19
    I am counting calories and walking!! Sometimes I do go to aerobics or zumba. Only ride the exercise bike if the weather is bad. Walking is my main exercise even in the freezing cold!
  • wendylou224
    wendylou224 Posts: 40 Member
    I walked every day for about 30 mins and it helped a lot
  • waferless
    waferless Posts: 16
    Walking has been my only form of exercise since I started on MFP 14 months ago. I walk on average, 60 minutes per day at an average 3.0 mph. At this particular time in my life, a gym membership just wouldn't work for me. I have managed to lose 45 pounds by sticking to a 1200-calorie diet and just walking every day. And because I have a dog, I walk EVERY day, even when I don't want to.
  • clewliss
    clewliss Posts: 640 Member
    Like the previous posters said, you can sit on your bum all day and still lose weight. If you do however got more than 10 lbs to lose, which seems to be the case, I highly recommend doing some sort of resistance/weight training.
    I lost about 28 lbs only through walking and a good diet but I regret not exercising during that time. Now I have some lose skin that I'm trying to "tighten" up by building muscles.
    You'll get a lot nicer body with strength training so maybe you can find something that suits you? I'm also not a gym person but I found aerobics which I love!
    Good luck! :-)
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
    Your Physial appearance is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise................
  • KeithChanning
    KeithChanning Posts: 202 Member
    We walk with our dogs for at least an hour every day. Our Jack Rusell terrorist is unbearable in the evening if he hasn't had his hour.

    Until very recently that was our only exercise, and it's still our main exercise.
  • gpizzy
    gpizzy Posts: 171
    At one point I lost about 15-20lbs over the summer between school by monitoring my calories and walking briskly for about 20 minutes per day. Just enough that I was starting to breathe harder, and could still carry on a conversation. It's a great low impact way to get in the cardio.
  • Salvi30
    Salvi30 Posts: 196 Member
    Wow great job. Congratulations!

    I have walked off 48 pounds
  • NHoughton13
    NHoughton13 Posts: 303
    I love walking too. In the beginning, I was walking and doing 30DS. I think I have to wait on the circuit stuff, my knees can't handle squats and lunges. So, I'll be walking 2 miles a day until I'm light enough to lunge:smile:
  • EvelynBfly78
    EvelynBfly78 Posts: 240 Member
    Every day--rain or shine--I walk my dog 3 times a day for 20 minutes each @ 2 mph. It only burns 159 calories but it's better than none. Since I am too ashamed of my body to go to a gym (they might laugh me out also because I'm not that coordinated), I walk with the fitness programs on On Demand on TV. Besides walking I do ab tightening exercises. I walk for about a half hour a day 5X a week with the tv. It certainly gets my heart rate up. I don't usually log those walks in my exercise diary.
    Only calorie deficit reduces weight. Exercise helps tone up my flab.
  • Fatbuster205
    Fatbuster205 Posts: 333 Member
    34lbs and counting! Walking works really well!
  • RMElliott2
    RMElliott2 Posts: 5
    Do whatever you enjoy. I walk for up to 3 hours a day. Some days I run for part of the time. On bad weather days I use an elliptical. It takes both exercise and an intelligent eating plan to loose weight. Best of luck.

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