Is walking enough to lose weight?

iamdefyinggravity
iamdefyinggravity Posts: 11
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys. I hate workouts, I really do. I have a Wii and I even bought Fitness Games but I end up really tired and giving up on them. I don't know maybe I'm not pushing it that hard just yet but I love walking and so I was wondering if walking at least 4-6 miles per day would help me lose weight instead. Anyone here in the same boat as me?

Replies

  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    Hi guys. I hate workouts, I really do. I have a Wii and I even bought Fitness Games but I end up really tired and giving up on them. I don't know maybe I'm not pushing it that hard just yet but I love walking and so I was wondering if walking at least 4-6 miles per day would help me lose weight instead. Anyone here in the same boat as me?

    Yes, walking will help lose weight. Over time, you may need to increase either your speed or your distance to continue losing though.
  • morty1966
    morty1966 Posts: 250 Member
    I think it would, and as you get fitter you would be able to walk quicker. You may also find that as you get fitter from walking the other exercises won't seem so hard.

    I'd love to have time to walk that far everyday x
  • jojoworks
    jojoworks Posts: 315 Member
    walking is awesome!!! there are some good "walk to lose" dvd's and cd's out there too.

    good luck and enjoy your walks!
    JoJo
  • carolinegeorgia
    carolinegeorgia Posts: 157
    yes, me and my friends starting of walking quite slowly for 2 hours, we now walk dead fast and jog a bit for an hour, do it about twice a week, I also walk to and from work so 90mins brisk walking 5 days a week ;-)
  • Frappuzzino
    Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
    I've been walking this past month and have lost 8 pounds. :)
  • kevbrinks
    kevbrinks Posts: 42 Member
    Exercising won't MAKE you lose weight. All it's going to do is burn calories and improve you cardiovascularly. If you want to lose weight, you need to make a caloric deficit of some kind. If you walk enough to burn 300 calories, and then eat 300 calories back after your walk, you aren't going to see much in the way of weight loss.

    Dieting is enough to lose weight.
  • curleesam
    curleesam Posts: 462 Member
    Definitely! On the days I don't gym, I walk. I power walk pushing my daughter in her pram uphill till I am literally sweating. I power walk with pram to get my shopping and pack it all in a rucksack on my back. I power walk with ankle weights on or weights in a backpack. Everything is a workout and there are sooooo many ways for you to increase your calorie burn with walking. I think just so long as you are sweating or out of breath then you are doing something right.
  • eliz_in_pink
    eliz_in_pink Posts: 278 Member
    I've been walking for a month and lost 15 as you can see :)
    I've also increase my time/distance/speed every day... do this and you should see results. I've lost inches and weight.
  • curleesam
    curleesam Posts: 462 Member
    Exercising won't MAKE you lose weight. All it's going to do is burn calories and improve you cardiovascularly. If you want to lose weight, you need to make a caloric deficit of some kind. If you walk enough to burn 300 calories, and then eat 300 calories back after your walk, you aren't going to see much in the way of weight loss.

    Dieting is enough to lose weight.

    This isn't entirely true... MFP works out your calorie intake with a deficit so that if you exercise you should be eating back those exercise calories to keep yourself at the minimum calorie intake MFP has set for you.
  • ashley0616
    ashley0616 Posts: 579 Member
    Walking is a fantastic cardiovascular work out. Aim for at least an hour 3-5 days a week, and try to go as fast as you can. You shouldn't be able to carry on a conversation (just like if you were working out at the gym) and should sweat, be out of breath, etc. Remember to stretch after wards. You will probably want to increase distance or even add ankle weights or walking poles to add a challenge once you have been doing it for a while. Also, good shoes are a must or you will end up with shin splints, etc.
  • mapinkerton
    mapinkerton Posts: 147
    YES! Just don't over do it. Because if you do, you will be discouraged and not keep it up. That is what my husband does. He busts his butt, ends up sore and in pain so he doesn't continue.

    I started walking on my treadmill on 12/8 for 30 minutes at a very slow pace, no incline, and was burning around 200 calories. I now walk quickly on the treadmill for 40 minutes, with lots of incline, and burn over 400 calories. I have gradually increased the speed and incline to get to this point.

    It is now 3/3 and with watching my calorie intake and trying to eat healthier and I have lost 24 lbs! I still have a way to go, but it is a lifestyle change NOT a diet.

    Slow and steady wins the race!
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Yes, My wife lost over 40 lbs, and did just about what you are talking about. Fitness games, and walking.

    It's all about the nutrition...or as someone else said, a calorie deficit regardless of how you get there. (within reason)
  • curleesam
    curleesam Posts: 462 Member
    Walking is a fantastic cardiovascular work out. Aim for at least an hour 3-5 days a week, and try to go as fast as you can. You shouldn't be able to carry on a conversation (just like if you were working out at the gym) and should sweat, be out of breath, etc. Remember to stretch after wards. You will probably want to increase distance or even add ankle weights or walking poles to add a challenge once you have been doing it for a while. Also, good shoes are a must or you will end up with shin splints, etc.

    Great advice!
  • fuzzymel
    fuzzymel Posts: 400 Member
    Most of the weight I lost was through walking alone. I joined the gym mainly to tone up.
  • liltypo
    liltypo Posts: 2
    Hi,
    Walking is good, if you keep up a good pace- 3.5 MPH or higher for a good caloric burn.

    I see some others have recommended walk to lose DVDs- look for Leslie Sansone DVDs, they are based on walking but add other simple steps like kicks and knee raises to intensify and use more muscles than simple walking. They are easy for everyone, some women I work with and I do them at the office sometimes- and we are not all gym rats.

    Good Luck!
  • amuhlou
    amuhlou Posts: 693 Member
    Also if you walk on an incline that can increase the difficulty and calories burned.
  • cjnorman
    cjnorman Posts: 93
    You can lose weight by only walking but you will lose weight faster if you include strength training. Muscle burns calories even when you are sitting still.
  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
    YES.....I've walked off (and kept off) 60 pounds for almost four years. My weight-loss journey began almost five years ago, and it was after buying a treadmill that the pounds really began coming off. I had to "force" myself to use it initially, and I walk outside as often as I can. But during the winter, it's still the treadmill that keeps the pounds off.

    When asked by a friend I hadn't see for quite some time what I had done to lose weight, I told him what I had done dietwise, and then said, and "I walked my *kitten* off." He turned me around, started laughing, and whispered in my ear...."Literally." :laugh:
  • Frappuzzino
    Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
    I don't agree with walking until you can't hold a conversation, are out of breath and sweating. That's definitely not going to make you want to exercise more. If you're aiming for an hour, walk 30 minutes twice a day instead of all at once. I power walk 15 minutes in the morning and move around the house when doing house work and that has been enough for me.

    Working out in slow increments multiple times throughout the day is better than doing one big tiring work out once a day.
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    Yes. 80% of weight loss is what you are eating. I had gotten the skinniest I had ever been in my life, a size 25 sometimes even buying a 24 which on my 5'9 frame is tiny...all by not excercising at all. Other then playing with my kids and constant cleaning. It was the first time that I ever went w/o working out.
    My goal is to get into my 26 size clothes but I am back to excercising, its more of a *me* time thing. A chance to clear my mind, think things on my mind through. Walking and running are great for that!:happy:
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    My mother in law dropped 60 pounds through walking and reducing her calories.
  • lesley1981
    lesley1981 Posts: 329 Member
    Walking is great exercise!

    With walking, my legs and bum are more toned, I can feel my fitness level increasing and it's great to get out in the air for a while every day!

    I've lost 45lbs, and my daily exercise consists of walking uphill, downhill, upstairs, downstairs and at varying paces...
  • iamdefyinggravity
    iamdefyinggravity Posts: 11
    Thanks for all your replies guys! I'm glad to have known what you think of walking and now I'm motivated as ever! I currently weigh around 207 lb and I do lift light weights daily. Hopefully when I get down to 180 or 175 I can try workouts again and not give up on them. :)
  • kevbrinks
    kevbrinks Posts: 42 Member
    Exercising won't MAKE you lose weight. All it's going to do is burn calories and improve you cardiovascularly. If you want to lose weight, you need to make a caloric deficit of some kind. If you walk enough to burn 300 calories, and then eat 300 calories back after your walk, you aren't going to see much in the way of weight loss.

    Dieting is enough to lose weight.

    This isn't entirely true... MFP works out your calorie intake with a deficit so that if you exercise you should be eating back those exercise calories to keep yourself at the minimum calorie intake MFP has set for you.

    It's true. The post is "Is walking enough to lose weight?". It's not. MFP can set up a diet plan for you, and you can follow it, but then you'd be "dieting", no? She never mentioned using MFP to control her caloric intake at all.

    In addition, while walking does burn calories, it is hardly the most efficient way. If she is walking 6 miles at 3mph, that's 2 hours of work for ~477 calories for a 150lb person, possibly less. If she goes home and rewards herself for her walk with a coke and a snickers bar, she's just negated any deficit she created with her workout.
  • SyreetaJayne1
    SyreetaJayne1 Posts: 170
    You're definitely on the right track!!! I had the same question when i started, i had to find what i loved and walking is it!!! i now walk 5 miles a day, 4 days a week at 5 miles an hour with a friend, and it's the highlight of our week! I love it, and with good dieting, i've lost 26 pounds and my friend has lost 24!!! I am looking to add strength training to tone, but so far walking is all we've done.
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
    Doing what you love will lead to success because you will actually do something if you love it.

    Walking is great exercise and one of the many that I incorporate into my fitness routine (Variety keeps me motivated).

    Charmagne
  • shannonpatton
    shannonpatton Posts: 299 Member
    Ive lost over 100lbs before....walking 3 miles a day. It can happen!
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