Obese walking...

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TimKirkwood
TimKirkwood Posts: 44
in Fitness and Exercise
I am somewhere over 440, since the scale wont weigh me. I have been sticking to calorie counts, and I have been going to the track and walking 4.5 miles at a pace of 3 miles an hour. The NIke+ says that at my weight I burn roughly 1300 calories each time I go.

My question is, I go every few days. Would I be better to do less distance, at a faster pace every day, or stick to this plan for now because of my weight. I am not sure that I could do much more of a pace than I am at this point. And so far, with the weather and my schedule, its hard to go every day.

Thanks for any tips.

Tim

Replies

  • rjnandjosh
    rjnandjosh Posts: 168
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    you are doing great but don't over do. If you are feeling to exhausted cut your days and adjust the time and distance,and speed a little at a time.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    I think you just keep going as you are. You will make progress and it will become easier over time. Good on you for making the effort.
  • a2canadian
    a2canadian Posts: 43
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    The nature of the human body is that it adjusts fast to a certain level of exertion (same as how your stomach shrinks if you eat less for even a week or two). Try adding a little variety to your regime to avoid stagnation. In theory, adults should work out every day for at least 30 minutes a day (probably an hour depending on fitness, age, etc.) I recommend that you try walking up stairs some days instead of just constant laps of the track (if you can do stadium snakes (i.e. up one set of stairs and down the next one) for about 30 minutes you would get an AWESOME workout. Like the previous poster mentioned, don't over-exert yourself but generally that feeling of exhaustion comes because you are making progress. I am not talking cardiac arrest but a change in an exercise regime should feel challenging. If it doesn't, you probably arent getting as much out of it as you expect. Good Luck!
  • Geminieve24
    Geminieve24 Posts: 364 Member
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    I would say for now, keep doing what you're doing. Watch you cal intake and maybe in a few weeks, kick it up a notch by maybe focusing on doing three miles in 45 minutes, or adding ankle and/or wrist weights when you walk. Hope that helps.
  • jkq2003
    jkq2003 Posts: 27
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    Slow and steady are the way to do it. As your endurance increases then you will want to increase the speed.
  • Ceria
    Ceria Posts: 46 Member
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    I was in your shoes not too long ago. I agree with the other comment, Do not over do it in one walk. It would be my advice to walk 5 days per week instead of every few days. This gets you body burning everyday. You are doing great to be able to keep up a pace of 3 miles per hour for an hour and a half. If you want to increase your burn, try going off of the track and going up hill. This will increase your burn dramatically. I have found that I can burn twice as many calories walking on the treadmill at 2 miles per hour at an incline of 8 than I will walking at 3 mile per hour without the incline.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
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    I would just keep with what's been working, for now. I couldn't go very fast at all when I started walking - it was more of a waddle - but after I lost some weight and gained some stamina it felt good to pick up the speed! Congrats on your progress, that's wonderful :)
  • fzyfrog
    fzyfrog Posts: 456 Member
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    I would stick with what you're doing now. 4.5 miles is awesome - obese or not!! Over time I've noticed that as I become more used to a distance and speed, that speed starts to feel a little slow so I automatically pick up my pace. Keep what you're doing until you feel like your body just needs to go faster. Great job on your walks!! Sounds like you're doing fantastic!
  • ladybu6205
    ladybu6205 Posts: 165 Member
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    You can always change it up... some days go shorter distances with faster pace, other days go slower and longer... keeps the body guessing at what you will be doing. The longer you keep at it, the easier it will become and before long, you may be able to incorporate a little jog in there too! Good Luck and keep up the great work!
  • Bub3les0
    Bub3les0 Posts: 47
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    I would keep doing what you are doing, as you loose the weight it will get easier and you can shake things up then to keep the weight loss momentum going. Great job by the way, it will be worth it :)
  • Mvaval77
    Mvaval77 Posts: 5
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    I think you are doing great as well. I agree to not over do it. I would say, if you're going three to four times a week, that is great. Even if you cut the distance. The big thing is to keep at what you're doing and eventually begin to increase. So, give yourself room to increase/move up. And, three miles is impressive.:bigsmile:
  • jmwolffyy
    jmwolffyy Posts: 212 Member
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    Congrats on getting up and moving! I too am obese, and found that the group workouts that they provided for the contest that got me started would not work for me. They were so intense that I made about 5 minutes before feeling like I was going to die. So I have made up my own workouts out of cardio machines (my personal goal is to master the elliptical) and things like videos and Wii games. I think that your walking is excellent, but you may want something for at home for those times when the weather just won't cooperate (or when you have about 20 minutes but not enough time to get to the track). If you have a gaming system, you can do anything that has you moving (from Wii bowling and darts, to dancing, or the Kinect or PS Move). Or you can pick up some videos (if you use Netflix, you can stream them or add them to your rentals, or try the library so you don't have to buy anything unless you know it will work for you). Nothing says you have to do a full video workout, or even do it to the extent they show. I can't do a jumping jack to save my life, but I have learned modified versions that keep me moving.
    Keep up the great work!
  • Anidorie
    Anidorie Posts: 291 Member
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    woah! i knew a guy who was 570 a month ago. he had an accidnet and because of his weight they couldnt fix his leg that was broken in ten places. it got infected and they had to cut it off. his leg weight a whole 100 pounds. He is now trying to los weight in a wheelchair stuck at home. there are many reason to try to loss wieght. i say that aslong as you are doing something, its good. just dont give up trying! oned ay you might not have the oppurtunity to try anymore. best of luck
  • lukimakamai
    lukimakamai Posts: 498 Member
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    You are doing great! Mixing up the routine won't hurt...if you can, find a pool and swim laps one day a week- it is low impact on the joints which you'll like and great exercise!
  • TimKirkwood
    TimKirkwood Posts: 44
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    Thanks everyone for the tips and support. I have been very pleased with the Nike+ for my iPhone. It really does help keep up my pace and motivation. I think I will try and just do 3 miles in an hour instead of the 4.5 miles in hour and a half, but try and go more often.

    You guys all rock!
    Tim
  • lolyjanette
    lolyjanette Posts: 2 Member
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    Tim, I think you should walk at your own pace, and make sure you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Also, you can alternate your exercise routine so your body doesn't get used to the same activity. For example:

    One day you can do your walking and another day you can do some weight lifting at home for your upper body. This way you not only do cardiovascular but also strenght training for your muscles. Hope this helps.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    You do what you can when you can.
    As long as bit by bit you constantly improving.

    I used to get crazed about what the absolute best way to do something. Now I focus less on being perfect and more on being better than I was... when I'm starting to get comfortable with that I push to do a little better. taking little steps that I can work into my life and maintain has been my focus.

    For me I needed to count every little accomplishment. Silly as it sounds I know that on my way to work there are 45 stairs from the lower level train platform to street level, 30 stairs from the lobby to my office and coming home there are 72 stairs from the train platform to the overpass and 36 from the front entrance to my apt/72 from the back entrance to my apt. Keeping track has encouraged me to go out of my way to do more. I started by counting every little thing so I could see my progress. Just keep it going in the right direction.
  • Mvaval77
    Mvaval77 Posts: 5
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    This is off topic but I love your goals. So well thought out and precise. That is all.:flowerforyou:

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