Am i only wasting my time?

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LiaNa2210
LiaNa2210 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I love walking, and walk a lot. Well, not the brisk pace. I usually do the normal pace, but i log it as a slow pace. But.. is walking rlly burn off some calories? I often read from some website tht walking can burn off the calories. But im not sure about it. I can walk nonstop for 3 hours a day. Can i log it as an excercise? And is walking slow pace rlly burn off 3 calories each minute? Or not? Pls answer. Ty.

Replies

  • st0rmagedd0n
    st0rmagedd0n Posts: 417 Member
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    Walking burns calories. Walking for three hours definitely burns calories.

    Log away.
  • llobasso
    llobasso Posts: 2 Member
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    Any activity is better than no activity!

    But actually, I have a story about a friend that relates to your situation. In 8th grade, I became friends with a guy down the street, and we bonded over all the nerdy stuff. He was kinda chubby, but I didn't care. However, I remember people in high school would talk about it behind his back. Then our senior year of high school, he started going on leisurely walk around the neighborhood while listening to his zune. He kept that up throughout college too, and he's lost a lot of weight since then. He looks great! He cut back on sugary foods a little bit, but mainly it was his walks. I'm really happy for him. Although throughout college I went the opposite direction, so now I'm trying to lose weight. The last month I've been eating healthier and walking (but not leisurely), and I've already lost five pounds.

    So yes! Walks are worth it! Just make sure to get in at least a few 30 minute walks per week along with eating healthy, and you'll most likely see results. The longer and more frequent the walks, the better! Have faith! :)
  • LiaNa2210
    LiaNa2210 Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks! I just feel defeated yesterday bcs when i weight in my weight. There no difference from before i start my program (7 days ago) so i got a little worried. I though im just wasting my time. But thanks! I got a little better now :) i think i will keep going and lets see the result in the next month :D
  • KettyLoyd
    KettyLoyd Posts: 51
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    Walking definitely burns calories. Waking 30 minutes a day is sufficient. you walk 3 hours. 3 hours walking will definitely help to burn calories faster.
  • Paizzaz
    Paizzaz Posts: 33
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    Thanks! I just feel defeated yesterday bcs when i weight in my weight. There no difference from before i start my program (7 days ago) so i got a little worried. I though im just wasting my time. But thanks! I got a little better now :) i think i will keep going and lets see the result in the next month :D

    Don't get discouraged and give up! I'm just chiming in because that's the biggest mistake I made when trying to loose weight. I figured why bother even trying if my weight will just stay the same. Keep at it. :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Walking does burn calories, and if really out of shape, it might even be a workout for a little bit, meaning something that will cause improvement in the body.

    But after a while it won't, because it really doesn't take much to do as slow pace. Seen people in hospitals looking half dead or drugged walking the hallways? That was me after my surgery's, didn't take much. Didn't do much, I just wanted to move.

    Also, as you lose weight, if you maintain the pace, it actually becomes less a workout, even for the heart.
    So you need to increase the pace to even burn the same number of calories as weight drops.

    And, while the database entries for walking, if you do the exact speed indicated, are very accurate - they also contain in them the calories you were expected to burn already without exercise.

    So you take a low burning activity for many hours, remove what you were expected to burn anyway from normal non-exercise activity, and you don't have much left.

    How much are you expected to burn every hour?

    MFP Home - Goals - Calories burned from daily activities.
    Divide that by 24 to see the already expected hourly burn rate. That's what your eating level is based on.

    So take the database entry for your walking per hour - subtract that - and that's how much you burned above and beyond expected.

    That's what should be logged and eaten back as extra food.

    Can you figure out how far you walk, and if you know the time, you have a pace. Now you can start with a more accurate calorie burn to subtract from.
    And you'll also know if it's time to increase the pace.

    Is there a problem going faster?

    Also, were you already in a diet?
    Because any start to eating less than you burn will cause some water weight drop, unless you already were eating at a deficit and lost that fast water weight.
  • TheSageMage
    TheSageMage Posts: 18
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    Just a quick lesson: A Calorie is a unit of energy. Your body uses energy for everything, even when you sleep. It's a matter of how much energy you burn. When moving, you are using more muscles, breathing more, etc. This will burn more energy than simply sitting in a chair or lying in bed. The extra energy though is a question that is tough to nail down without a lot of equipment.

    An example for me: I usually walk at a pace of about 3MPH, and more records indicate that this burns about 5 calories a minute. 20 minutes = 100 calories. 100 Calories = 2% of 1lb of fat.

    All that being said, continue to take you walks. Don't get discouraged by not seeing weight loss for a little while, sometimes there can be a lot of factors. Make sure you are logging all your food and are giving an honest assessment of size. Also, if you feel like you want to lose more/faster, put more workout into your diet. Instead of taking these walks, try running. If that is not possible, take longer walks.
  • allotmentgardener
    allotmentgardener Posts: 248 Member
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    Majority of my exercise comes from walking (both with and without dogs) and I log it as leisurely pace. Combine that with calorie deficit and it'll work. See my ticker for proof :)
  • November_Fire
    November_Fire Posts: 165 Member
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    The sort of slow dawdle some people do when they're out shopping, probably not much. Walking from A to B with intent, maybe a fairly brisk pace? Like walking to work or school? Sure it burns.

    I didn't log my walks. I assumed my walking was small-fry - I don't drive so I walk everywhere, but big deal! That's not 'exercise', right?

    But I lost weight too fast. My calculations were all off because I wasn't concentrating on the walking. I'd log a bike ride, but I didn't log the 5-7 miles of brisk walking, pushing a heavy weight (pushchair!) I was doing each day, raising my heart rate, working up a sweat. I started wearing my HRM for walks - I don't think the accuracy is 100% for walking, as it's not 'steady' - but it gave me an idea that I was still burning 100 cals or more per trip to school or the store. Three times a day.

    Now I keep my basic calories (before I log exercise) as 1700 on school-walk days and 1500 on non-walking days, and my numbers work out fine and my weight loss has slowed (I'm maintaining.)

    Walk with some intent, keep the heart rate up, and it's a hidden gem!
  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
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    2 months. 26 pounds. 1 hr walk per day-7 days a week, around 3.0 pace, and almost never eating my exercise calories back. My butt and hips are fantastic, 4 inches off waist and 3 inches off hips. I do weight training 3x/week, mostly arms.

    It might not look like I'm killing myself, and I'm not. But it's very valid exercise. I recommend a measuring tape.7 days? Give it some time, heck, we're girls, half the month is either preparing for, or getting over TOM.
  • Kegha
    Kegha Posts: 37 Member
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    Any positive action including walking is worthed. Every little things you do to improve your health is worthed. It might be slow, it might not show big results fast, but it is still worthed.

    Congratulation on your efforts, now you can add more changes to get were you want to be.
  • LiaNa2210
    LiaNa2210 Posts: 20 Member
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    Nah... not the window shopping walk. Its more like a normal walk. But not a 'fast' walk. Im not walking while daydreaming or sight seeing in the mall. But im not like someone whos in hurry.

    Yeah... a least 1 hours of walking per day. I planning to calculate the time and the distance so i can know my pace more accurate.

    And i do other excercise too. Like dancing, i love dancing and can dance up to 30 minutes. Someone im doing aerobic excercise from some videos, too.

    And ty for the answer. Im decided! I will keep going until i see a result :)
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    You need to learn a little patience. I suggest coming back when you're actually 18.
  • llobasso
    llobasso Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks! I just feel defeated yesterday bcs when i weight in my weight. There no difference from before i start my program (7 days ago) so i got a little worried. I though im just wasting my time. But thanks! I got a little better now :) i think i will keep going and lets see the result in the next month :D

    Your body needs time to adjust to the new regimen. I think it took me a 2-3 weeks before I finally started seeing results.

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