Is walking enough?

Options
kara_leigh
kara_leigh Posts: 25
in Fitness and Exercise
I know I have only been doing this for less than a full week (started Monday) but I don't feel like I've been making any progress. I've been keeping below my calories in my food diary, and I've walked 11 miles this week, but if anything I've GAINED weight. Is walking enough to lose weight, or do I need to do something else also? How long will it take before I see results?

Replies

  • mrtechaddict
    mrtechaddict Posts: 17
    Options
    I've lost 150lbs and the majority of that has been through walking alone. As you are close to your ideal weight, just going for a stroll may not be enough. You might have to speed up your pace to get any real benefit. You don't have to run or jog, but you should shoot for 3.5 to 4 mph. You might also want to recheck your MFP settings. I'm quite active now, but I still keep things set so the program thinks I'm doing very little exercise. This way I KNOW I'll be under my calorie goal.

    Good luck and enjoy your walks!
  • kara_leigh
    kara_leigh Posts: 25
    Options
    I hope to get up to 3.5-4mph eventually, but at the moment I'm struggling to go above 3. I just started, also, from a life of sitting on my butt, so it's going to take time.

    I had it set to losing 1lb/wk, but I was starving to death, so I lowered it to 1/2lb for now until I get used to regulating my calories.
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
    Options
    Don't stay too far below your cals... you could be hurting yourself in the long run. And the first 10 lbs I lost, I lost mostly with walking. But as one person already said, as your body gets used to exercising more, you may need to do something more strenuous :) Good luck!
  • klkelley
    klkelley Posts: 122 Member
    Options
    I started on September 17th and I am only walking to Leslie Sansone's program. I have lost 10.4 pounds but I had to start out slow and pick up the pace. Now I am up to 3-4 miles at a time. I have slimmed down and shaped up. Don't get discouraged, it will start coming off with patience and persistence.
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
    Options
    the first week or two of changing your life around to a new and healthy one are going to suck. you will probably be hungry, even if you're eating all of your calories plus your exercise calories. dont beat yourself up about it and know that for most people after week one they start to feel way less hungry and exercise becomes way easier. starting with walking is great, the great thing about walking is that the more you do it the faster you will be able to go and the longer as well. just keep at it and REMEMBER its JUST your first week....beating yourself up for not being able to walk as fast as you want to isnt going to work in your own favor. take a deep breath, remember that it takes TIME and endurance to lose weight, its never over night and it can fluctuate. sounds to me like you're doing great! good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • ashleyinthestars
    ashleyinthestars Posts: 107 Member
    Options
    LOVE and highly recommend Leslie Sansone walking workouts! I think I can give credit to her for AT LEAST 40 lbs of my weight loss. When I first started this whole journey, I had to start off slow too. Once you get used to moving and get your endurance and stamina up, you will find that going faster and further is alot easier. I just finished her two mile walk (30 mins = 4 mph), but I've done up to five miles in a session (that workout is 5 mph!).
  • Dafrog
    Dafrog Posts: 353
    Options
    push harder. bump the speed up and go as long as you can, slow back down for a few, repeat. or raise your incline as high as you can. i burn more calories at 3.5 with incline than the whole 30 mins at 4.0.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,119 Member
    Options
    With your goal of losing 10 pounds....do you need to lose that to get to a healthy BMI, or do you just want to lose it? Your body is perfectly happy right where it is.

    Here's a really good post for you.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/8977-your-body-s-thoughts-on-calories
  • srcurran
    srcurran Posts: 208 Member
    Options
    If you've been sedentary, you may be building some muscles in your legs. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may be experiencing a net gain - but it's a good "gain" because the added muscle will help to rev up your metabolism. Good work and good luck.
  • helloiloveukitty
    helloiloveukitty Posts: 448 Member
    Options
    I love my power walking, its a huge form a exercise for me and was during my pre MFP weight loss of 30lbs and my current post MFP weight loss of 28lbs. I really try to go fast paced and engage my arms and I worked up from 2 or 3 miles to 6 ot 7 at a time and its been heavenly health and feeling wise as well as calorie burning for shedding lbs. Walking gave my legs lots of definition and slimmed me, I never really experienced gains...
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
    Options
    I walked from 10 mins at a time, back in the beginning to 3 hours at the gym today, 80 % was cardio, ie, the tread mill, eliptical and bike

    I lost all my weight, about 90 % of it walking, no lifting ....no nada.......lol, my man boobs are gone too, lol........they were getting to where I was kinda of shocked how big they were.......not theyre all gone........lol

    sometimes you just gotta laugh and enjoy life.........take care, keep it up ,were all here for you........Lloyd
  • Scorpiomom222
    Scorpiomom222 Posts: 1,462 Member
    Options
    You won't make a crap load of difference in a week. I lost a few inches in the first few weeks just from walking! You just need to be walking fast enough and long enough to REALLY make a difference. I usually walked 3.5-4.5 miles an hour FOR an hour. I'm running now, but the walking, if done right, will be enough.
  • size08
    size08 Posts: 101 Member
    Options
    :tongue: Yeh, I love walking! take in the rest air,....take time out to clear my thoughts.... and hopefully keep trim or loose that half kilo that just lovessssssssssssss to creep-on-back-on............ but I have found whilst in the maintaining weight stage being at my goal weight, walking is not enough. you need a very active week to keep the weight under-control!
  • CreativeRedhead
    CreativeRedhead Posts: 2,166
    Options
    Walking made all the difference in the world to me, It's free, which was great for me...I couldn't afford going to the gym. You can totally tailor it to your needs, going as fast or as slow as you feel necessary and for as long or short as you want. I loved walking and probably walked off about 20 lbs during the first half of this year. I would walk every evening almost for about 45 mins to an hour. I'd say it's a great thing to do in addition to other things as you progress in your work out regime. :flowerforyou:

Categories