Walking for weightloss... Does it really work?

Walking is great, but what/how much you eat determines weight loss. Exercise is what provides us with fitness (which our bodies all need to process everything efficiently) and building muscle raises metabolism, which helps with weight loss as well. Walking is considered a weight bearing exercise, and it also strengthens joints. Walking is a great way to obtain fitness, and I like it because you can make goals based on distance, timing, etc, and it gives you motivation to go further and work harder.

Walking is the unequivocal champion exercise for loosing weight and regaining fitness. On September 9th of 2013, I started walking and eating healthier. My choice was to get healthy or die, so I decided to live. From September 9th, 2013 through October 25, 2013, I had a net weight loss of 45 pounds, solely by walking, eating healthier, and drinking about 2 gallons of water daily. My walks average about 5 miles a day at a very brisk pace, aided by the music on my phone. FYI, the angrier the music the better. I find it a great motivator to keep moving, most likely due to the tempo of the songs.
Incidentally, this effort was all prior to using MFP, the weight loss on my ticker is from October 26, 2013 through today. On the 26th of October, I switched my exercise routine to using an elliptical machine, that was a coat rack for 10 years in my house, and using MFP to log every bite I put in my mouth, even the ugly ones. The combination of MFP and vigorous CV exercise is what has propelled me to a net weight loss today of 126 pounds.
Start Walking! You'll win.

Anecdotal evidence re: running vs walking: My brother, SIL, and a bunch of their friends went to Peru to hike to Machu Picchu last fall. These were all 60-ish fit people along with some of their 20-something children. The ones who ran for exercise most of their lives had the hardest time with the trails. The walkers among them handled the trails just fine.

Running is great if you like it but don't let anyone look down on you if you "only" walk. Walking a mile and running a mile burns a similar number of calories, you just get there faster when you run.

. Walking a mile and running a mile burns a similar number of calories, you just get there faster when you run.

You would think but for some reason no......walking is awesome though.




http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single




In "Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running," published last December in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, a group of Syracuse University researchers measured the actual calorie burn of 12 men and 12 women while running and walking 1,600 meters (roughly a mile) on a treadmill. Result: The men burned an average of 124 calories while running, and just 88 while walking; the women burned 105 and 74. (The men burned more than the women because they weighed more.)

Swain was right! The investigators at Syracuse didn't explain why their results differed from a simplistic interpretation of Newton's Laws of Motion, but I figured it out with help from Swain and Ray Moss, Ph.D., of Furman University. Running and walking aren't as comparable as I had imagined. When you walk, you keep your legs mostly straight, and your center of gravity rides along fairly smoothly on top of your legs. In running, we actually jump from one foot to the other. Each jump raises our center of gravity when we take off, and lowers it when we land, since we bend the knee to absorb the shock. This continual rise and fall of our weight requires a tremendous amount of Newtonian force (fighting gravity) on both takeoff and landing.

Eating at a calorie deficit = weight loss. Exercise helps to burn more calories so can definitely aide it.

Yes, walking helped me but it was a combination of several things (mostly overhauling my nutrition) that made me lose weight. We got the dog around the same time as I transitioned into a vegetarian (that alone made me stop the fast food and I learnt more about nutrition, etc) so it all went hand in hand. I dabbled with a few other exercise programs in the next couple of years but these days, all I do is body weight training and walking the dog.

I really enjoy walking - the fresh air does wonders for me, I can "switch off" from every day stresses and can enjoy the local scenery. Even if I don't always feel like it sometimes, my dog HAS to be walked (live in a 3rd storey flat) but I always feel better for it. Most times, she takes me for a walk and I'm trying to enjoy a leisurely stroll but she either sees a squirrel or smells something and yanks me along but never the less, I still enjoy it.

Anything that puts you a a deficit "works".

It's at least 80 percent diet. I'm not a super clean eater, but if I'm in the mood for something and it fits into my calorie budget, I have it. This way I don't feel deprived. Yes, I was losing weight counting calories. I had knee surgery a couple years ago and it's not stable enough to run, but when I started walking, it increased my loss dramatically. I bought a fitbit, I walk about 20 or more miles per week, and I always take the stairs so I get those steps in : )
I'm halfway to my goal weight now, so when I get there I'll re evaluate. I still hold out hope that I'll be able to jog or run when I lose some more weight!

In my opinion it works wonders. Brisk is the way to go.

And really ... who really cares about the weight loss as you will be better off just doing it.

Let's see ... I'm 71 lbs down ... walking is my main form of exercise ... so I'd have to say "yes, it really does work".
(Combined with a sensible eating plan, of course)

This exactly. Walking is basically the only form of exercise I have done….lost 70 pounds. Have gained some back by not paying attention to my diet…..and am working to lose it again.
Try to get in at least 3 miles 5 times a week…….in the summer it is more.
Kaye

I like to walk in my parking garage at work. I know that sounds silly but I go up the stairs and across the garage. I do it all the way up 6 levels and back down. I do it 3 times. Its a great work out. Within a month I have lost 7 #. I have also quit eating junk food too, which i am sure that has helped a big deal!

Doesn't sound silly to me. When the weather is crummy, I walk in the underground parking area of my apartment building. Five times around is a mile. Not great scenery, but it is dry.

A calorie deficit is what really works for weightloss. Adding any kind of exercise can help maintain that defict and is good for overall health.

My doctor told me to walk 2 miles every single day if I wanted to lose weight. I did it 7 days a week and eventually I lost 40 pounds just walking and sort of eating a little better. I wasn't a pop drinker or a fast food eater to begin with but I love sweets, especially ice cream so I tried to cut that down and/or made sure I exercised enough to have a calorie deficit based on what I ate. Yes, you can lose weight with walking - I should clarify I am not a leisure walker so I kept at a pretty good pace... Hope it helps you!

To Meltedsno: What an awesome response! You are so nice to share so much information and what an INSPIRATION. I am presently a "tight 18/20" and have can not begin to imagine the joy of getting down to a size 6! Wow. Thanks for posting

This is me also. I got down to a loose 16, but just couldn't get past it. And then injury set in. I have a new plan. I have my 2 best friends holding me accountable. And I'm ready to start the journey again.