Walking over running

I started my own dog walking business 18 months ago, and in that time (with virtually no diet change - I have an average diet, I pretty much eat what I want in small portions) I have lost 38lbs and 5-6 inches on my waist. I walk about 4 hours a day (Mon-Sat) on a regular basis, but it can be anywhere between 2 and 6 depending on how busy I am. I walk a good pace, probably 4 or 5 miles per hour, but I also do a lot of stopping and starting with the dogs, and take lots of little breaks. I have noticed not only changes in how I look, but I can now jog whereas I wouldn't have had the stamina to before, I can walk uphill in humid, hot conditions fairly easily, my skin is clearer from all the drinking water, my bum, legs and stomach are MUCH firmer, and I feel a lot happier. Walking consistently over a period of time WILL improve your fitness, it just takes longer.

You can burn a ton of cals on incline treadmill but do not use handrails.

The good news about walking is that three 40-minute walks a week raises adiponectin (a fat burning hormone) levels by 260% according to a recently published study on what foods or conditions increased blood levels of adiponectin. Turns out that increased magnesium intake (through eating lots of vegetables) and especially vegetables high in carotenoid (all the yellow and orange ones) raised adiponectin moderately well, but walking was the winner. Interestingly, it raised it better than more vigorous exercise as too vigorous an exercise can raise cortisol levels and when cortisol levels are high, human growth hormone (another fat burner) and adiponectin are low. Adequate sleep is also very important.

I have walked for almost my entire weight loss journey (except for a few months when I started jogging and discovered I couldn't due to knee problems) and I have lost around 100lbs in 3 1/2 years. At various times I have interspersed aerobics home videos and very light weights (and I'm about to start dong some strength training at home) and I also do yoga for flexibility.

I think when you look at the math, it is true that you can burn more calories with running. However, you can still get a pretty good calorie burn with walking as long as you make sure that you are walking often enough, far enough, and fast enough. I walk 3-4 miles/ day, 6 days/ week, 3.5-4 miles per hour. This usually amounts to 300-400 calories burned per day. I make sure that I plan my meals to accommodate the calories I will be burning, so I guess the bottom line is that I don't need to burn more calories as long as I'm not eating more calories.

In terms of muscle tone, I find walking to be great for the lower body and even for the core as long as you are walking using proper form (http://walkingconnection.com/fitness-walking-technique-and-form/). The upper body will still need help from strength training to get toned, but I think that running has the same issue. As for the cardio aspect, I don't really use an HRM, so I couldn't say if I'm hitting any kind of target range, but when walking 3.5-4 miles/hr I do work up a sweat and I do have to control my breathing or I get out of breath. If you are worried about getting in enough cardio to elevate your heart rate, I would suggest that just adding in a few home video cardio routines a week would probably be good. No need to trade in the walking for running if you don't want to.

I feel like all the walking I do has been great for my body. I feel better when I'm walking that when I am doing any other exercise and I don't have to worry about putting too much pressure on my joints. It's boosted my endurance and when I walk in the evening I always sleep great. I have lost weight steadily while walking (except through my long plateau where nothing seemed to help). When I was running, I always felt like I was nursing my swollen knees, or dealing with a pulled muscle (probably because I wasn't ready to be running), or trying to figure out how I should be eating to keep from wearing myself out too fast or crashing completely afterward. And, for me, it actually made me gain weight because I could not get control of my increased appetite and I kept going way over my calorie allowance.

You could say I'm a fan of walking.

I broke both ankles in my teens, and have re-injured them throughout my life. Running is just too painful for me. At my gym there are several variations of pedaling machines. That's worked wonders for me. My cardio consists of high intense pedaling for 30 minutes. Then I weight train for 30 - 60 mins, and wrap up with another 30 mins of intense pedaling. I'm at about 2500 calories intake daily and stay between 194 - 200lbs. I'm 5'11" with a 34" waist so I'm carrying that weight well. Going strictly by BMI, I'm considered obese, but measuring body fat instead, I'm considered healthy fitness, and nearing athletic levels.

Weight loss is 80% diet. I walk every day, and do strength training twice a week, and that's about it.

Ive lost weight by walking. Ive also lost weight by running in the past. Walking is less impact on your body but you need to go longer. I got a Fitbit and its really impacted my life. Havent had a day without since I got it. I strive for 10,000 steps a day. I highly recommend getting some sort of pedometer.

Here's a nice article about how walking is as good or better for heart health than running.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/walking-running-heart-risk-factors-health_n_3020697.html

I started food tracking and walking in January of this year. I don't run because I have bad knees and ankles. I've lost 33 pounds so far and while i am trying to eat healthy I'm not doing major calorie deficits. I bought a fitbit and I am quite addicted to watching my step count climb.