Walking as form of exercise??

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  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    I have not had any luck with it, unlike others here. I was walking briskly 3 miles a day, 5 days a week for two years, eating like 1500 cals a day and didn't lose any weight. My heart rate went down, and I enjoyed the location where I was walking, so it wasn't flat out worthless, but it wasn't doing the job for fitness or weight loss. I had to step up my game, cut calories as much as is safe, and start going to the gym and lifting weights and using machines that I could crank up the resistance on. Even then it's slow. Maybe it's my age. I'm 45 and I'm eating 1200 cals a day under the doctor's supervision, and logging everything, and it is S-L-O-W going, but at least it's not *nothing*. While walking daily I was looking flabbier and flabbier, didn't make much sense to me, but there you have it.
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
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    I would say it depends on your current fitness level and your physical condition...

    if you weigh in at 300 lbs... walking is definitely exercise given the extra weight you are packing on your frame... same as IF a 120 lb woman loaded up a back pack with 180 lbs... THAT would definitely constitute exercise... however IF you are 160 lbs... then sure walking at a very quick pace could be (would be?) exercise... unless you are already a cardio queen and used to trucking for an hour up hill both ways...

    SO... a stroll through a mall probably not so much...

    A set distance in a timed effort ... absolutely...

    My basic philosophy is that it isn't exercise if it isn't a deliberate effort to surpass your previous effort.
  • MapDancer
    MapDancer Posts: 246 Member
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    I've never been interested in joining a gym and dislike even the thought of running.

    I use my tread mill walking at 2-3 mph. I use to do it for 45 minutes/day but now I can watch a Korean drama episode (check out First Shop Coffee Prince) and they are 60+ minutes and the time flies by!! I won't watch unless I treading so there is my motivation.

    I also go folkdancing once/week and because of 3 dogs I do a big housecleaning once/week.
  • jakesgirl05
    jakesgirl05 Posts: 84
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    Walking is my favorite! It's not hard on my knees and it works!!
  • Alli4Chocolate
    Alli4Chocolate Posts: 139 Member
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    I walk everyday. I only do a mile a day.

    I will do more in the future- I am starting out slow. I have lost weight through walking and reducing my calories.

    I will say that when I first started walking, I was stiff and my back was hurting, but now that my body is use to it,I have no pain anymore.

    Walking has many health benefits.
  • yellowsnowdrop
    yellowsnowdrop Posts: 154 Member
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    Walking and some weight training is ALL I do (I have a FitBit) I've lost 19lbs in 11 weeks by doing just that. Last week I walked 43 miles in 5 days.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    yes!!!! me. its my main exercise. I started 331 days ago
  • anewstart1011
    anewstart1011 Posts: 72 Member
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    walking is about the only thing I can do. I aim for 6000-10000 steps a day. I hit my calorie intake and step goal and I have lost 9 pounds in 24 days. It seems doable.

    I have bad arthritis in my knee so I work on walking and then take breaks when I have pain. Walk and watch tv.
  • bentobee
    bentobee Posts: 321 Member
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    For the last 3 months walking has been my primary source of exercise (I do hop on the elliptical a couple times a month). Prior to this focus on walking I was doing Jillian Michael's type workouts… but I hurt my shoulder and had to stop to heal, hence the walking. But I have continued to lose weight at the same pace.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I have lost a lot of weight AND my primary exercise is walking. However, I didn't lose the weight through walking. I lost the weight through my calorie deficit, which was primarily created through diet. Yes, on exercise days I earn more calories and I improve my fitness and health, but it doesn't make me lose weight on its own. A 30 minute walk going 1.1-1.5 miles only burns 150-200 calories for me.
  • marian4marian
    marian4marian Posts: 94 Member
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    i've pretty much lost all of my 17 pounds walking. simple. easy. 40 mins a day.
  • TheFrugalFatass
    TheFrugalFatass Posts: 58 Member
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    Map My Walk is a good one and you can also log onto it from a computer.

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