treadmill work out?

hey i have been trying to loose some weight for over two months now, im rather a large person (obese) as the professionals would say, i have been doing rather well with my workouts on the treadmill i brought a dvd but i got bored of it after a few weeks, i must try it again soon, as it was fun to start with,
well we have a home treadmill that has a weight loss setting it has 9 levels i have started it four days ago and so far i am enjoying it but im not sure it will make me losse weight? i do levels 1 to 5 ever day works out about 2 hours of walking a day below is my workout,
i am just wondering is this good or should i be running or jogging? i am eating a rather healthy diet and have cut down on alot of sweets and sugary foods, i am trying to eat about 1500 calories a day rather than my 3000 calories per day, any help on this subject would be helpful,xx

All for 24 mins with 1 min cool down on each level

Level 1- 146 calories burnt
1.6mph -2mins 0 incline 2.8mph -2mins 3 incline

Level 2- 164calories burnt
1.8mph -2mins 0 incline 3.0mph -2mins 4 incline

Level 3- 189calories burnt
2.0mph -2mins 1 incline 3.2mph -2mins 5 incline

Level 4- 209calories burnt
2.2mph -2mins 1 incline 3.4mph -2mins 6 incline

Level 5- 238calories burnt
2.4mph -2mins 2 incline 3.6mph -2mins 7 incline

Replies

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Walking is fine. Running is, too, if it doesn't hurt or make you hate your workouts. Anytime you're moving you're burning more calories and able to lose more weight. Your specific settings don't matter so much as just that you're exerting some energy. The harder you work, the more you burn, but the harder it is to go for longer. So find settings that are comfortable for you for the length you want to exercise and don't stress too much about getting it just right. Just being off the couch is getting it right. Changing exertion levels is also good for you. Good luck!
  • spmcavoy1
    spmcavoy1 Posts: 60 Member
    This all really depends.

    Are the calories tracked by you or the treadmill? Machines tend to overestimate calories burned, so look into getting a heart rate monitor. I love my Polar FT4 ($100).

    Weight loss starts in the kitchen, so as long as you are eating and netting at a deficit calorie count, you will lose weight. If you are adding exercise of some sort, it will certainly help.

    Who claims you should be eating 3,000 calories? You? MFP? Was that your before calorie number?

    If you are obese, 1500 may be great for you or a bit too low. It takes time to figure out what works best for you. There are plenty of BMR/TDEE calculators around.

    You ask if you should run or jog - but the question is, CAN you? Are you physically able to?

    How are you doing with these speeds/inclines? If you feel great with these, if they are easy, I say up the speeds a bit. Then work your way up to a jog or run.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    I would be more concerned about the burn numbers you're getting

    If I understand correctly, you're saying your 20 minute walk burns 946 calories? This is impossible

    The issue with OVERestimating your burns is that you allow yourself to eat more than you should and you won't lose the weight.
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    hey thank you for the reply's, i normally go by the calories i burn by what the treadmill tells me, i walk to the shops 3 times a week and thats about 60 mins there and back and i add that onto mfp and im eating more veggies and trying hard to eat grilled chicken i do have the odd day where i have something a lot nicer in flavor, also trying to snack on fruits and things that are low in calories,

    it has been a struggle with cutting down on food as i was a bit eater and would serve up massive portions and clear the plates, i was eating alot of calories before joining mfp and started logging my calories down it was around 3000 calories i have done a online calorie calculator and it tells me i should be eating around 2,410 Calories/day to lose 1 lb per week and 1,910 Calories/day to lose 2 lb per week

    about 2 months ago i did weight 18 stone which is 252lb i now weight 17stone 2lb / 17 stone 3lb about 240 lb but i am now stuck on that i am guessing the 12lb i have lost was extra water?

    as for running i can jog not very long about 30 seconds to 1 minute each go, i was doing my own exercising on the treadmill before i started this weight loss program which i was doing 3.5mph for 1 minute then i was changing to 5mph which is a jog for me for 1 minute then back to 3.5 for another minute all with no incline, i was doing this for 20 /30 minutes every night,

    level 1 and 2 are pretty slow for me i normally do 1-3 in the am i am sweating a bit by the end of that, and do 4-5 in the pm of my days they are rather tough but i push through it i also have 3kg hand weights which i use on my faster part of the levels,

    xx
  • davefred99
    davefred99 Posts: 11
    my opinion is your numbers are inflated. I go for 30 min walks with my dog on a path that has some mild inclines and declines I use map my fitness on my android phone to track it. My total distance is 1.5 miles for an average of 3 mph. MMF calculates my calorie burn to be about 150 calories.
    On my Gym days 2-3 per week I do 20 minutes on the tread mill which also has a heart rate monitor built in and I have tested it to be pretty accurate for me. I try to get my heart rate up to about 80% of my max or about 130 bpm. Every 3 or 4 minutes I check it and adjust either the speed or the incline to keep me in that 80% zone. After the 20 minute routine I do a 5 min cool down so the total time is 25 min . The machine tells me that is about a 175 calorie burn for my weight this too seems to pretty accurate for me. I log those numbers in MFP but generally do not eat back more than 50% of the exercise calories.
    My diary is open so you can see what I log for comparison.

    Good luck
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I think she said it's a 2 hour workout but I don't know how the minutes in the list add up to that. 900+ calories for 20 minutes would be way impossible. For 2 hours when obese, not really.

    I'd be more concerned with burn out from 2 hour treadmill workouts. That's a lot of treadmill, holy cow. I think I'd go insane. I can barely stand one. I hope you have a tv at least!
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    I would be more concerned about the burn numbers you're getting

    If I understand correctly, you're saying your 20 minute walk burns 946 calories? This is impossible

    The issue with OVERestimating your burns is that you allow yourself to eat more than you should and you won't lose the weight.

    each level is about 25 minutes i do levels 1,2 & 3 in the am and 4&5 in the pm

    Levels 1 to 3 = about 500 calories
    Levels 4 & 5 = about 450 calories
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    I think she said it's a 2 hour workout but I don't know how the minutes in the list add up to that. 900+ calories for 20 minutes would be way impossible. For 2 hours when obese, not really.

    I'd be more concerned with burn out from 2 hour treadmill workouts. That's a lot of treadmill, holy cow. I think I'd go insane. I can barely stand one. I hope you have a tv at least!

    yes i watch tv i have some shows i have recorded so watch them and the time flys,
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    +1 on the over estimating calories thing.

    And go for distance not time. More consistent results that way.
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    I think she said it's a 2 hour workout but I don't know how the minutes in the list add up to that. 900+ calories for 20 minutes would be way impossible. For 2 hours when obese, not really.

    I'd be more concerned with burn out from 2 hour treadmill workouts. That's a lot of treadmill, holy cow. I think I'd go insane. I can barely stand one. I hope you have a tv at least!

    yes i watch tv i have some shows i have recorded so watch them and the time flys,
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    I think she said it's a 2 hour workout but I don't know how the minutes in the list add up to that. 900+ calories for 20 minutes would be way impossible. For 2 hours when obese, not really.

    I'd be more concerned with burn out from 2 hour treadmill workouts. That's a lot of treadmill, holy cow. I think I'd go insane. I can barely stand one. I hope you have a tv at least!


    Edited because apparently I can't read
  • cmeiries
    cmeiries Posts: 2
    I am also a very large girl. I just started to work with a trainer. I asked her about the treadmill or elliptical and what I should be doing. She said to make sure you are in the fat burning zone. This is gaged by your heartrate. Your ideal fat burning heartrate is determined by your weight and age. Mine would be different than yours. During a 30 minute workout your heartrate should maintain at the fat burning rate. Warm up 3-5 min before the 30 min. and then cooldown 2 minutes after the 30 min. It's great to know that when you are walking you are burning fat. I hope this helps.:smile:
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    level 1 is 24 minutes long with a 1 minute cool down which is 25 minutes long i burn 146 calories

    level 2 is 24 minutes long with a 1 minute cool down which is 25 minutes long i burn 164 calories

    level 3 is 24 minutes long with a 1 minute cool down which is 25 minutes long i burn 189 calories

    level 4 is 24 minutes long with a 1 minute cool down which is 25 minutes long i burn 209 calories

    level 5 is 24 minutes long with a 1 minute cool down which is 25 minutes long i burn 238 calories

    i do levels 1,2,3 in the morning and levels 4,5 in the afternoon so my total calories burnt per day is 946 calories!
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    A person does not lose weight by working out. Weight loss is nearly entirely dependent on food. Yes, it's good to move more. It promotes fitness and does allow you to eat just a bit more, but don't kill yourself spending hours working out. Most people don't stick to it and then they get discouraged. Be moderate in your workouts and get your food in order.

    I have a treadmill at home, which I use regularly. It is very boring, which is why I have an iPad with Netflix, a Kindle, and lots of audiobooks. I'm meeting my reading goal for the year among other things.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Okay, now that I've correctly read your post-

    You're walking for 120 minutes at an average of 2.16 MPH? 4.32 miles total?

    There is so much more you can be doing with that two hours of your time. Up your intensity (as in double it if you can), as 2.16 is a cool down as it is. Better yet, forget the cardio and get yourself into the weights.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I am also a very large girl. I just started to work with a trainer. I asked her about the treadmill or elliptical and what I should be doing. She said to make sure you are in the fat burning zone. This is gaged by your heartrate. Your ideal fat burning heartrate is determined by your weight and age. Mine would be different than yours. During a 30 minute workout your heartrate should maintain at the fat burning rate. Warm up 3-5 min before the 30 min. and then cooldown 2 minutes after the 30 min. It's great to know that when you are walking you are burning fat. I hope this helps.:smile:
    The difference between the "fat burning zone" and the higher heart rate levels is insignificant enough that I wouldn't worry about it. Both burn fat. Yes, the fat burning zone burns more fat per calorie but at higher levels you burn more calories and therefore more fat.

    I agree that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Really what exercise does is allow you to eat more and still maintain a defecit.

    In my opinion, you should be working out at the highest intensity you can manage. If that's level 2 for now, great, but aim to work yourself up to the higher levels. Running > walking. You burn more calories in a shorter period of time and increase your endurance, too. Strength training should be a complement to a cardio workout, too. The best workout regimine, IMHO, is running every other day with lifting weights on the days between.
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    i was wondering if this was to slow to burn fat i do speed up to 3.6mph but even that seems pretty slow, i might see what levels 6, 7, 8 ,and 9 are like if they arent too fast i might try them and see what they are like levels 4 and 5 are ok and get my pulse racing and makes me out of breathe and i can feel the burn in my legs, which i guess is good,
  • rebecca7488
    rebecca7488 Posts: 15 Member
    i have been looking a website about treadmill walking and i think i shall try to do something like this

    5 minutes warm up 3.0mph at a 0 incline
    50minutes at 4.5mph at a 5 incline
    5minutes cool down 2.0pmh at a 0 incline

    i will adjust the incline if it becomes to hard or easy and the same with the speed. also i will keep my 1500 a day calorie diet as i am enjoying it,

    will let you know how it goes when i do it and how many calories i will burn, i think i will try to push my self, exercise isnt ment to be easy it is ment to make you sweat and you are ment to fel the burn ,

    wish me luck :) xx
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    i was wondering if this was to slow to burn fat i do speed up to 3.6mph but even that seems pretty slow, i might see what levels 6, 7, 8 ,and 9 are like if they arent too fast i might try them and see what they are like levels 4 and 5 are ok and get my pulse racing and makes me out of breathe and i can feel the burn in my legs, which i guess is good,
    There is no "too slow to burn fat". If you like doing 4 miles in 2 hours, stick to it. If you would rather do 4 miles in one hour, do that. The latter would burn about the same, if that helps.

    If you're at an exertion where you can't speak even in short sentences, that's too much. If you're at an exertion where you can sing or speak long passages freely, you should work a little harder. It doesn't have to burn or be painful. Just get your heart rate up some and most importantly pick something you can stick with. Good luck!
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
    im not an expert this is just my opinion. also im semi-new. but..

    its true you can burn calories doing any intensity or duration
    but for the maximum efficiency you need to find out your heart rate zone and then stay in that zone for at least 20 minutes.
    If you have all day long to work out and you don''t get bored then any movement is good for you.
    But if you are like me and want to take the most efficient scientific logical approach to save the most time and effort, use any type of heart rate monitor and use the results from that in your math.
    My elliptical trainer has one built in. If your machine does not then you can get a harness heart rate monitor thing.
    Doing this will give you accurate numbers. I found MFP database numbers to be giving me WAY to much credit for my activity.
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
    hey i have been trying to loose some weight for over two months now, im rather a large person (obese) as the professionals would say, i have been doing rather well with my workouts on the treadmill i brought a dvd but i got bored of it after a few weeks, i must try it again soon, as it was fun to start with,
    well we have a home treadmill that has a weight loss setting it has 9 levels i have started it four days ago and so far i am enjoying it but im not sure it will make me losse weight? i do levels 1 to 5 ever day works out about 2 hours of walking a day below is my workout,
    i am just wondering is this good or should i be running or jogging? i am eating a rather healthy diet and have cut down on alot of sweets and sugary foods, i am trying to eat about 1500 calories a day rather than my 3000 calories per day, any help on this subject would be helpful,xx

    All for 24 mins with 1 min cool down on each level

    Level 1- 146 calories burnt
    1.6mph -2mins 0 incline 2.8mph -2mins 3 incline

    Level 2- 164calories burnt
    1.8mph -2mins 0 incline 3.0mph -2mins 4 incline

    Level 3- 189calories burnt
    2.0mph -2mins 1 incline 3.2mph -2mins 5 incline

    Level 4- 209calories burnt
    2.2mph -2mins 1 incline 3.4mph -2mins 6 incline

    Level 5- 238calories burnt
    2.4mph -2mins 2 incline 3.6mph -2mins 7 incline

    Sounds like you are on your way to living a healthier lifestyle. In my experience I started by setting a set amount of time for cardio. It didn't matter what speed, angle, or type, just that I put in the time to build the mental commitment that I was going to spend an hour doing cardio no matter what(develops the healthy habit). After a while of simply walking on an eliptical I started to push myself at my own pace to improve by doing an extra mile in the same amount of time and so on as I built up endurance and strength. I also would mix up the type of cardio whenever I was feeling bored, but rowing on one day or doing a bike on another. Eventually when I went from 270 down to 220 I started using a treadmill because I knew I had weak knee's and shins from a decade of non-activity. Fast walking(3.5 mph) on a treadmill was a lot tougher than running on an elliptical. I could run at a pace of 7mph on an elliptical for 2 hours by this time, but I could only fast walk for a little longer than thirty minutes on a treadmill before my knees and shins began to hurt. Over time when I reached 200 lb's I could run/ jog on a treadmill at a pace of 6.8mph for 45 min before switching to a 15 minute cool down. It was at this time I started to run outside and again switching from a treadmill to pavement was a difficult process as other muscles were engaged for stability. I could barely run for 20 minutes on pavement before being completely out of breath and my legs killing me.

    This is all to say that it takes time and there are benefits for each type of cardio and depending on your weight it might not be reasonable to expect yourself to simply be able to start by running on a treadmill. The most important factor for weight loss is the amount of time you sustain your heart rate at an elevated rate. I would keep mine between 150-160 and gradually as I lost weight and built endurance I simply had to move a bit faster to keep my heart at that pace. Good luck.
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    As long as you're eating a calorie deficit you'll lose weight. That's what makes you lose weight.

    As far as the calories you're burning on the treadmill, I would invest in a heart rate monitor, because what the machine estimates can be farily inaccurate.
  • HeydrichSS3
    HeydrichSS3 Posts: 4 Member
    You burn the same calories walking a mile as you do running a mile, you just burn them faster running. Also some argue that you burn calories longer AFTER running than you do AFTER walking. I dunno enough about that to comment. But I can tell you tracking distance is much more accurate than tracking speed.
  • tracystire
    tracystire Posts: 17 Member
    You cannot out train a bad diet - so food and food quality intake is vitally important to a healthier you! And, honest to God, ditch the treadmill!! They are NOTORIOUS for over estimating your calorie burning by up to 30%!! Instead, you can spend a fraction of the time doing a short HIIT workout only 3Xs per week and a fun 30 minute activity the rest of the days -the last thing you want to do is overdo it and hurt yourself. Just Google it or punch it in on Youtube...there are tons of FREE ones to do out there. Personally, I recommend Turbulence Training workouts only because I know FOR SURE that they work - I am also an "obese" person - 9 weeks in and down at least 2 sizes in clothes and feeling great!
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
    You cannot out train a bad diet - so food and food quality intake is vitally important to a healthier you! And, honest to God, ditch the treadmill!! They are NOTORIOUS for over estimating your calorie burning by up to 30%!! Instead, you can spend a fraction of the time doing a short HIIT workout only 3Xs per week and a fun 30 minute activity the rest of the days -the last thing you want to do is overdo it and hurt yourself. Just Google it or punch it in on Youtube...there are tons of FREE ones to do out there. Personally, I recommend Turbulence Training workouts only because I know FOR SURE that they work - I am also an "obese" person - 9 weeks in and down at least 2 sizes in clothes and feeling great!

    HIIT workouts are nice, but they might be a bit too much mentally for someone who is just starting out. As long as they put in the time at this point, that is all that matters.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    You cannot out train a bad diet - so food and food quality intake is vitally important to a healthier you! And, honest to God, ditch the treadmill!! They are NOTORIOUS for over estimating your calorie burning by up to 30%!! Instead, you can spend a fraction of the time doing a short HIIT workout only 3Xs per week and a fun 30 minute activity the rest of the days -the last thing you want to do is overdo it and hurt yourself. Just Google it or punch it in on Youtube...there are tons of FREE ones to do out there. Personally, I recommend Turbulence Training workouts only because I know FOR SURE that they work - I am also an "obese" person - 9 weeks in and down at least 2 sizes in clothes and feeling great!

    HIIT workouts are nice, but they might be a bit too much mentally for someone who is just starting out. As long as they put in the time at this point, that is all that matters.
    I agree with this and I'm a treadmill hater. :laugh: Given that the OP is fairly new to all of this, owns a treadmill and relieves the boredom by watching TV while she's using it, there's no reason not to continue to use it for the time being. Eventually, boredom will set in and then it'll be time to find something new, exciting and more challenging.