Walking for newbie

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jackieg218
jackieg218 Posts: 96 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all, I just started my weight loss journey on my own about 10 days ago. After a serious illness and surgery I lost 35 lbs with out trying (I lost part of my intestine due to infection and had ZERO appitite for about 2 months) but I found myself excited and motivated to continue... I have 20 more lbs I want to shed.

I walked a mile today and HR was about 120, but when I factor time and distance it equates to 2.11mph which is a slow pace, one that I should be able to carry a conversation with out much difficulty. WELL, the ONLY conversation I could have was with the good Lord above not to have my lungs explode! Lol.

I see people try to get HR in the 170s and up... Is that reasonable for me? I want to lose this weight but don't want to kill myself in the process. Did you all start out slower or am I being a pansy about pain vs gain?
Jackie

Replies

  • rachel41
    rachel41 Posts: 354 Member
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    Hello..I been walking a mile a day on my treadmill.but I do interval.I would start at 2 for 2 min,then go to 2.6 for another 3min, then up to 3 and back down to2 its takes me 20 min to do a mile.
  • Oreobbenb
    Oreobbenb Posts: 5 Member
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    I started by walking my dog. At first I was short of breath, but I attributed that to my asthma (mild). I could not have carried a conversation with anyone for the first week. Now it is better. We walk a little over a mile each time we go out. We are up to 2 walks a day. She loves it and keeps me motivated. I'm sure my heart rate was very high the first week. Now it is lower but still higher than my resting heart rate.
  • lexgem
    lexgem Posts: 163
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    Don't worry too much about your HR while walking, at least not the first few weeks. Record it, make note of it, but don't worry.
    Just walk. Try to walk every day, adding a few minutes each day, doing whatever it takes to make it an enjoyable experience (walk with a friend, with a dog, in a new place, in a beautiful place, with an iPod (during the day and in a safe neighborhood) so that you keep at it.
    One thing that can help motivate you is getting a podometer. It doesn't have to be the fanciest, most expensive one. I have an omron walking style III and I really like it. I got it just to motivate me to walk more. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do the 10000 steps per day at first. It's actually a lot of walking! Just start where you're at and try to increase your steps from day to day.
  • sparkle814
    sparkle814 Posts: 78 Member
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    Hi Jackie, good job working on your fitness! I would say given that you had surgery and are just starting on the fitness journey, it would probably be a good idea to talk to your doctor about this type of stuff. But generally what heart rate you are shooting for will depend on your age and goals. I googled heart rate training zone by age and a bunch of sites and calculators came up, for instance this one: http://www.heartmonitors.com/zone_calc.htm

    I hope that helps! Good luck :)

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