adding walking as excersize

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  • Okapi42
    Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
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    I have my activity level set to "sedentary", but wear a pedometer all day.

    Between work and barn chores, I easily rack up 8,000-10,000 steps every day, and that's just incidental - I don't set out to take a walk. But of course I do want to count it!
  • CHOCLETTEANGEL
    CHOCLETTEANGEL Posts: 3
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    I walk about 3.5 to 4 miles in 45 minutes of my hour lunch break, and I also run the stairs and jump rope for about 3 minutes. I burn about 300 - 400 calories a day doing this, outside of any additional workouts I do. Now, granted I have a lot to lose so I am going to burn more calories in the beginning than someone much less my size, but I do believe walking is a free and fun-filled exercise. There aren't any memberships, equipment, or special gear required; just two feet and a good path. I get my heart beat going pretty fast, and I work up sweat because I pump my arms and power-walk.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I walk 3 miles a day in average, in about 45 minutes. I just use the TDEE method so I don't have to worry about adding it as exercise.

    I agree that there's a difference between every day activity and specifically going out for a brisk walk though. I wouldn't count 3 miles as exercise if I did that during my every day activities, but when I go out specifically to walk for 3 miles, hell yeah.
  • mandasalem
    mandasalem Posts: 346 Member
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    Most of my weight loss has been walking. At least 75-85% of the movement I added came from walking.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    I used to walk all 12 hrs of my shift as a nurse. One nurse wore a pedometer and it read 10 miles. I would say that's pretty accurate on busy days. Any time I do that type of nursing, I lose 15-20 lbs right away. (In a bad way.) So I would say walking definitely counts if it's out of the ordinary for you. I'll be lightly active with my administrative position that I'm starting this month, so I'll be doing all my extra walking outside or at the gym. For me, it really helps. To each their own.
  • adriadawn19
    adriadawn19 Posts: 174 Member
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    I count walking if it is walking I don't do on a normal basis, however I rarely eat my exercise calories back so I guess it doesn't really matter what I add for exercise lol
  • lucylousmummy
    lucylousmummy Posts: 348 Member
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    i do 3 school runs per day, approximately 3 miles each, 2 of the runs i do pushing a very heavy pushchair, and i walk at approximately 3-3.5 mph (sometimes quicker i'm always running late lol) i do sometimes look like a crazy sweaty woman by the end, i'm on the fence as to if this is exercise or not, yes it burns lots of calories per day, and yes i get out of breath and sweaty, but... i don't really start aching in my arms and legs until thursday night/friday morning, unlike jillian micheals dvds, bootcamp, or kettlebells, where i can feel it the next day
    that said i have lost all my weight with the only exercise/activity that i have consistently done is walking
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
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    I definitely think if you're walking an extra few miles on top of what you would normally be doing during the day, then it's exercise. Having a Fitbit has made me realize how important walking as exercise is for me. It's been a real eye opener, because I only walk about 6,000 steps a day during the week, even when I'm walking to class and back to my apartment + running errands afterwards. I use walking as exercise because it's easy and calming. I don't need any special equipment for it, and I can just walk out the door and go.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Most weight I've ever lost in a short period of time was losing 10 pounds in 14 days and all I was doing was walking. Admittedly I was walking 16 miles a day on steep terrain with a backpack on but still. Walking adds up and you can burn a ton of calories walking. If your interest is burning extra calories to help with weight loss while maintaining or even improving your fitness walking is actually a really good way to do it. Even bodybuilders tend to recommend walking for cutting.
  • Apple31415
    Apple31415 Posts: 98 Member
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    I'm about to go on a 34 mile overnight hike on the Appalachian Trail - i can't wait to see what that looks like logged in!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I'm about to go on a 34 mile overnight hike on the Appalachian Trail - i can't wait to see what that looks like logged in!

    MFP sez "If everyday was like today you would be 50 pounds in 5 weeks"
  • ambascom
    ambascom Posts: 59
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    Walking is totally a great exercise. I don't have a gym anywhere near my house, so I have to work with what I have. For me, that means a treadmill, some dumbbells, and a 3 mile road with a few steep hills. I bought a fitbit last month to get a better measurement of my workouts and it turned out that I walk quite a bit during the day... around 2-5,000 steps at work, which for the most part my work is sitting at a desk. Of course, fitbit has the goal of 10,000 steps a day and trust me, I get moving to make that goal. Tonight, I started out with about 7,800 steps and stopped at 13,000 just so that I could get a good burn in (it was late and I wasn't able to use the treadmill). Meeting that goal gave me 677 exercise calories. I would say that's a decent burn for just walking.

    Point is, yes, walking is exercise. During the summers, when I still lived in my hometown, my mom and I would walk the track at my high school. 6-8 miles every night. Walking, talking, gossiping with the neighbors. Its relaxing, fun, and a great burn. Most of the time we didn't even realize how far we were walking or how long we were out there, until it was getting pitch black and too dark to see in front of us.

    Go walk! Count it as a workout, especially if it is additional to your everyday life. And have fun!

    p.s. sorry for the novel!
  • beckymscott
    beckymscott Posts: 7 Member
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    I have my profile set as 'light activity' because I'm a college student, work in a grocery store, and am highly active in my church and babysit frequently. I have a pedometer on my phone (Walking Mate - S Health {Samsung}) so I do log how many calories I burn walking throughout my day. Some days I can burn as much as 350 calories just from all the walking I do, so I want to make sure I eat those calories back. I log it even if it's only 80 calories (very rear). I don't purposely go for a walk for exercise though.

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