How much weight can I lose swimming or walking?

CallaLilly9050
CallaLilly9050 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
(I can't swim during the year, but I can certainly walk everywhere as I already do.)

Last summer, I really got into swimming. I swam with a friend about three times a week at a community pool for about three to four hours a day. Sometimes swimming lazily, other times racing or teaching random kids to swim or just doing quick and strong laps out of boredom. At the end of last summer, i noticed that I had definitely lost weight and i kept losing weight! My mother told me it was because my metabolism had started to get faster. I noticed that I slowly stopped losing weight after awhile when I had ceased to be able to swim due to summer ending and even though I walked and still do, everywhere, i have no car, I don't lose as much weight as i had last summer. So I plan to swim again this summer but I plan to be less lazy. Does this mean I should walk even more and for longer? i don't walk like determined people walk, I walk like a turtle in a tiny shell, any tips on how to be a stronger more confident walker? And when winter comes back round, will I still be able to lose weight without access to a pool like I would if I was just walking? :)

Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    How much weight can I lose swimming or walking?

    None.

    Weight loss is a product of what you eat, not what you do.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    How much weight can I lose swimming or walking?

    None.

    Weight loss is a product of what you eat, not what you do.

    This x1000000000000
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Set-up your MFP profile to reflect your lifestyle before exercising then add your exercises. When you add your exercise, the system will give you more calories to eat. Eat back some of your exercise calories, about half of them.

    Here is a great read for you. It is long so read a little at a time and post questions if you need further clarification:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    How much weight can I lose swimming or walking?

    None.

    Weight loss is a product of what you eat, not what you do.
    Eh.

    Oversimplification of the process.


    Losing weight is a product of both. Move more you burn more. You can lose weight by eating less and not exercising, that is definantly true.

    but exercising should help weight loss go quicker if you create bigger deficits.


    Swimming is a great exercise. Now..that is actually swimming and not just being in the pool messing around and such! You will want to make sure you be conscience of what you eat. Eat at a deficit and exercise...swimming and walking..and you will lose weight.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    If, however we all know what happens if someone ups energy output without controlling intake.

    Say it with me class, increase of intake!

    Increase of intake at best will net zero with increased energy output, and at worst will result in exess intake!

    While true, my statement was overly simple, read the OP, I provided as much technical detail as was appropriate.

    Don't throw shade.
  • mrbyte
    mrbyte Posts: 270 Member
    Swimming will burn more calories than walking. If you can add resistance training into your routine, you will carry more lean body mass and be able to burn more calories at rest. Don't worry about getting to big. It won't happen. Having more lean body mass will allow you to eat more of the things you like(within reason) and stay leaner and toner with less effort in your dieting.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Agreed don't listen. Exercise might not be necessary for weight loss but by god it helps! Walking is great if you weight a lot. If you are rather light already consider carrying a backpack. Perhaps with a portable stove and some lunch in there. So you can take a walk in nature and sit out somewhere in the nice weather and have your lunch. Quite simply the more you weight the better walking is for you. And this includes what you carry. Why do you think the military has it's recruits walk and jog with big heavy bag-packs? Cos it bludy well works that's why!
  • equallyyoked
    equallyyoked Posts: 16 Member
    Eating really is 80% of weight loss. But since the other 20% is exercise...walking at a moderate pace about 45 min a day is what helped my weight loss for sure. So yes, you need both. Track and walk and you will see a difference. I would definitely say the average of 1-2 lbs a week unless you are taking an entire food group away in which case you would probably see weight loss faster ( I wouldn't recommend that). Plus not using your activity calories for food will speed up the weight loss. Just go to bed at the end of the day or use some activity points for MORE fruit. Your body uses that type of sugar to be used over a longer period of time and can also help you stay full longer if you also eat fruit with fiber. I am sure that you know or have heard this all so have fun finding the balance that works for you.
  • CallaLilly9050
    CallaLilly9050 Posts: 2
    Well that may work for you but I don't lose as much weight when I cut back the crap and carbs as I do when I exercise. I cut out junk food and carbs and only lost ten to fifteen pounds. I walked and lost so much more. So food may be important to my diet and how i should eat but exercise is more important for me. ;)
  • ruthejp13
    ruthejp13 Posts: 213 Member
    Diet is for weight loss. Exercise is for health. Study after study shows this. However, combining the two has even greater benefit. For example, if you diet you might lose 1 pound a week. If you exercise you might not lose any. If you do both you might lose 2 pounds per week. These aren't the actual numbers from the study but to give you an idea of how it works.

    My guess is that you were building more muscle swimming than you build walking. That muscle burns more energy. Sunshine also helps boost your metabolism. Because of the swimming, your body was functioning better and you were less hungry. There are so many factors at play to losing weight and you have discovered the good ones in summer.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    early this year i took to walking and lots of it. i didn't change what i ate at all, but i did start losing weight, and consistently, too. when i hurt my hip and had to stop walking, i continued eating the same foods and put weight back on. walking rocks, and swimming a lot not only burns some calories, but both swimming and walking can also help you build muscle, which in turn helps you burn more calories.

    how much you can lose depends on not eating more, which some people do when they start working out more, and otherwise it depends on your body - everyone is different - and on how intense or for how long you walk or swim.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Yep the only drawback is if you are heavy take care of your feet. Man my feet totally KILL after a 2 hour walk and that's with good shoes XD
  • ashenriver
    ashenriver Posts: 498 Member
    One thing about swimming is that your body uses more calories just to stay warm in the water. And since it seems like you were at an outdoor pool the water temperature is cooler then an indoor pool, plus the air temperature can be cooler (temp, wind, shade). Your body probably burned more calories then you have accounted for with just the swimming exercise. That may be why you noticed more weight loss while swimming then walking.

    Also people are forgetting that you cannot build muscle on a deficit.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    Weight loss is creating a calorie deficit, which can be done with eating alone, or with a combination of eating and exercise as long as it's at a deficit.

    Make sure you are honest about the intensity level of any exercise that you do. You might swim like an athlete swimmer and burn a ton of calories, but if you are just leisurely walking around the park that wouldn't be a fair comparison would it?

    Invest in a good heart rate monitor to help track your intensity.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    You can lose all the weight while swimming or walking. You can also lose all the weight by sitting and watching TV. Just pay attention to your deficit, whether it is a product of just food intake decreases or physical expenditure increases is entirely up to you.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Is there research that shows you burn more calories in water because of temp regulation?

    I've seen several studies that tracked for increase caloric burn in cold weather, but found nothing statistically significant across those studies.
  • 59gi
    59gi Posts: 307 Member
    Calories are not created equally, eat healthy unprocessed foods. Calculate a deficit of 500 calories per day and move(swim, walk,

    dance and lift weights, clean the house, wash your dog LOL) and foremost, be patient.
  • itodd4019
    itodd4019 Posts: 340 Member
    not going to get into all the yada yada, but wanted to throw out there a thing to watch for with swimming

    It makes you feel crazy hungry, if you swim distance of any type. It is more dehydration. Especially when you get a public pool that is typically near 85 degrees. You are sweating like crazy but don't realize it,.

    Drink during your laps, and you will be less likely to binge eat afterwards.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Calories are not created equally, eat healthy unprocessed foods. Calculate a deficit of 500 calories per day and move(swim, walk,

    dance and lift weights, clean the house, wash your dog LOL) and foremost, be patient.

    Calories are a unit of measurement. They are all equal, that is not debatable.

    Definition:
    cal·o·rie
    ˈkal(ə)rē/Submit
    noun
    either of two units of heat energy.
    the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C (now usually defined as 4.1868 joules).
    noun: small calorie; plural noun: small calories
    the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 °C, equal to one thousand small calories and often used to measure the energy value of foods.
    noun: large calorie; plural noun: large calories
  • ashenriver
    ashenriver Posts: 498 Member
    Is there research that shows you burn more calories in water because of temp regulation?

    I've seen several studies that tracked for increase caloric burn in cold weather, but found nothing statistically significant across those studies.

    I do not have any research links myself, but its the same theory for being out in cold weather. Your body wants to be warm, so burns more fuel to keep body temperature up and it works harder when its cooler out. One reason why winter survival kits usually have chocolate and high calorie food and drink. It doesn't look like a huge difference, but if the OP stated she was swimming for hours at a time a few days a week. That adds up.

    After a quick google search this is what I have found.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/366425-how-swimming-in-cold-water-helps-burn-calories/
    http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67803
    http://www.jci.org/articles/view/68993
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3113548/
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3650516/

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