Walking as exercise?

Sezmo83
Sezmo83 Posts: 331 Member
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
Just so you're aware, this is about the only exercise I have access to at the moment. The gym is too far to walk and I can't drive due to regular seizures. The swimming pool is a 10 minute walk but due to my seizures I'm not supposed to go alone. We have no access to public transport and can't afford a taxi unless it's an emergency. I've tried running but only made it 3 houses before my knee gave out (old injury). I have the wii fit which I plan to start doing daily but I actually enjoy walking my dog so figured a 45 minute walk was ideal as it gets me out of the house as well as gets some exercise.

Now I know a 45 minute to an hour walk doesn't burn a huge amount of calories but surely it's better to do that than sit on the sofa all day and not bother? Well not according to my doctor, apparently walking is absolutley useless and I shouldn't bother. Way to kill my motivation doc! Someone give me a kick up the backside and tell me I'm not completely wasting my time! Please?
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Replies

  • aamb
    aamb Posts: 377 Member
    walking is my main exercise and apart from a bit of gardening and dancing its all i do at moment.. like u we live far too far from a gym for me to even contemplate going.. i can't drive till i have a cateract removed from my eye and my hubbie is unemployed so money is tight... i have in 5 weeks managed to lose 15lbs.. so walking IS good for you!!!
  • aamb
    aamb Posts: 377 Member
    consider your butt kicked lol
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    Your doctor is nuts!

    Yes, walking is an excellent exercise! And yes, the dog will love it!

    The key here is to walk quickly enough to break a sweat as often as possible. So once the dog has done his business, you have to be going quicklly enough that he can't stop and sniff every blade of grass along the way. Very slow walking is better than nothing, but brisk walking is better for you and the dog.
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
    I've lost most of my weight just from walking and changing my eating habits. That's like 15 pounds just from walking. You can do it. It works.
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    Do some dancing when you're at home too. :)
  • gaeljo
    gaeljo Posts: 223 Member
    You burn as many calories walking as you do running, the difference is when you stop running you keep buring calories and when you stop walking you stop buring calories. Make sense? I've heard walk 10,000 steps a day or 5 miles. I think your doctor is wrong it telling you to stop walking unless he or she is aware of some medical reason you shouldn't walk. Is it related to your siezure issues??? I think you should ask more probing questions as to why you shouldn't walk. My friend has lost 30 pounds doing Wii fit and walking only, so definately keep going. Also, you might consider renting videos and doing video workouts, they are good too and there are a ton of low impact that won't bother your knee.
  • Jentorres8814
    Jentorres8814 Posts: 121 Member
    KEEP WALKING !!! An old Dr of mine told me the same thing. He said walking is useless and it only for the old. Well I've since switched Drs and my new one says walking is a great way to exercise.its low impact and in conjunction with a diet you can lose weight. Some ppl can ONLY walk due to injuries. Walking is a great way for range of motion as well. Just keep doing what feels good for you. Eventually you will be able to run !!! GOOD LUCK
  • ChristineM1953
    ChristineM1953 Posts: 135 Member
    Okay, depending on your fitness level and weight, you can burn a tremendous amount of calories walking. I walk 3.5 mph on the average and with my heart rate monitor, I burn 600 - 750 calories in 45 minutes. I set the incline and put everything into it. My heart rate generally is around 120 - 135 depending on what stage of the walk I am in. Walking tones your legs, arms and abs. It strengthens your back. It is a great form of exercise.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    Um your doctor is an idiot. Walking is great exercise, it gets the heartrate up, and is low impact, virtually everyone can do it. Just make sure you're walking at a good pace (pump your arms, it really helps) and not just strolling down the street. When I first started here 3 years ago, that's ALL I did was walk, I did 30-45 minutes a day, four days a week and the weight just fell off.
  • bluehooked
    bluehooked Posts: 80 Member
    I walk most every day, and i usually burn 300-400 cals which i feel good with and when i get home i usually cycle for roughly another 600 cals which seems to work for me. You do what you feel happy with,as i'm sure others will agree. I think out walking is a great thing i enjoy it so much.Good luck
  • Taras630
    Taras630 Posts: 85
    I walk for exercise. When I first started MFP that's all I did. I walked an hour 3 1/2 miles a day and I lost weight that way. I took my one year old with me and we both get to enjoy the view. Why does he not think it's helpful? You're doing something active? It's gotta be better than nothing!
  • ♥Violette♥4Ever♥
    ♥Violette♥4Ever♥ Posts: 457 Member
    I recommend you find a new doctor. Since December, I've dropped 42 pounds from walking as my exercise.
  • mapinkerton
    mapinkerton Posts: 147
    FIRE your doctor! Walking is great exercise! Between eating healthy and walking on the treadmill, I have:

    1. Lost 32 lbs. to date
    2. Got my blood sugar back in the normal range
    3. Lowered my blood pressure and the medication for it.
    4. Lowered my cholesterol and the medication for it.

    I have a plate and screws in my right ankle and a bad right knee. Jogging isn't really an option, BUT walking is!

    You gotta believe and you have to start somewhere!
  • cklbrown
    cklbrown Posts: 4,696 Member
    Walking is what I do and I have lost 21 lbs. My husband also walks and he lost 60 lbs. The key is the speed at which you walk. It must be brisk. If you can, purchase a Walk At Home video. That will help you keep up a good pace. Good luck!
  • jellyfishjen
    jellyfishjen Posts: 1,787 Member
    Is it possible to change doctors? If not ignore what he said, walking is great, it gets you and the dog out, and as someone else said walk briskly when you can. What are all those people doing on treadmills in the gyms. WALKING without the pleasure of fresh air and a chance to say hi to neighbours.
  • KimDis
    KimDis Posts: 24 Member
    My mother lost 40 lbs in about 4 months by moving from a vegetarian to a vegan diet and walking 2-3 miles twice a a day (total of 4-5 miles daily). While she has stayed within 5 pounds of this weight for over a year now, if the scale goes up even a that much we can always trace it to changes in her activity (too busy, bed rest from minor surgical procedure, etc).

    She does walk away the pounds DVD's when she can't get out. Walking does wonders!
  • MissJodyMarie
    MissJodyMarie Posts: 3
    Slap your doctor in the face! Walking is such a great exercise for your body, and the most ideal form of exercise for women who are curvy, as it balances out proportions (according to a book I own). I think the thing with walking is that people automatically think of 'leisure', and relaxing walks. To make walking a great fat burner, figure out what your optimum walking pace is by walking very fast, and stop yourself just before breaking into a jog - this is your optimum walking pace. It helps to swing your arms too as it builds momentum really easily.

    I have my own Heart Rate Monitor, and when I'm walking very briskly, I can burn 500 + calories in 45 minutes, so if that isn't good exercise I don't know what is!

    Hope that helps! :smile:
  • LeeKetty1176
    LeeKetty1176 Posts: 881 Member
    of course walking is good for you !!!

    its good for the body and mind !!!

    tell your doctor to take a LONG walk........ off a short pier
  • NoExcuseTina
    NoExcuseTina Posts: 506 Member
    walking is good...and there is more stuff you can do...you can do
    situps
    jumping jacks (low impact if it hurts your knees)
    leg lifts
    arm curls
    squats
    high knee lifts
    pushups
    dips
    ...all kinds of calisthenics!!!!!!!
  • lisaap77
    lisaap77 Posts: 123 Member
    First of all, you need a new doctor! Anything that gets your *kitten* up and moving is exercise. I have a friend who lost 100lbs in one year "just" walking on his treadmill for 30 minutes a day, religiously. You can also vary your walking, such as doing intervals like walk briskly for 2 minutes, slow it down for 2 minutes and so on. You can add dumbbells or ankle weights. You can still do plenty, so don't beat yourself up. I think you will notice that walking can make you lose weight and start to feel great and because you enjoy it, you'll probably stick to it! So please don't stop!!!
  • b00b0084
    b00b0084 Posts: 729 Member
    Any DR will tell you ,as long as you get in 60 minutes of walking a day, you met your exercise requirement for that day. What I do when I walk is I try to pick up the pace as I walk. Once I get comfortable at a certain speed I step it up, then on the return trip I slow it down gradually so by the time I get home my heart is not beating out of my chest. Stretch before you walk as well..
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Ignore the doctor, keep walking!
    It can definitely help. Make sure you walk at a decent pace - how fast is up to your fitness level.
    Great for you and the dig will love it too :)
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    any activity is worthwhile...I read in some silly magazine once that thin people eat what they burn...and if you watch a thin person all day you see them being active people, fidgety people...the ones at the office who pop out of their chair and walk to the copy machine or pace around when they talk etc...they have increased their metabolism by moving more than others...they don't know they are doing it...and they may seem like they eat a lot but they move a lot. Any moving you do out side of the norm, or with the intent of exercise is worth it. Your doctor is only "sorta right" if your stroll with the dog is at such a leasiurely pace that you are not elevating your heart rate at all....if you go for your walks and you try to push your pace just a little, or go for a longer walk, or take a course that has a hill or two to walk you are doing wonderful things for your body
  • Sezmo83
    Sezmo83 Posts: 331 Member
    Thanks everyone, I've always thought walking was a pretty good form of exercise but my doc telling me it wasn't made me wonder. I don't walk slowly, my dog is Lab size so he's more than capable of keeping up with me (he'd prefer me to walk faster I think) and we walk to the field at a brisk pace and then when we get there I slow down as we walk around it so he can have a sniff, do what he's gotta do and after about 15 minutes of that we walk briskly back. I've always done this once a day but have recently been trying to add an extra one in so it's like an hour of brisk walking and half an hour of slowly ambling around a field.

    The doctor telling me not to bother was nothing to do with my seizures or anything else medical, just that it's pointless and won't do anything to help me lose weight and get fit. We're moving in a few weeks so hopefully my next doctor will be far more supportive than this one is. Changing doctors isn't an option until then unfortunately.

    Nice to hear a lot of others have lost weight by walking. I won't give up and will take the mutt for his walk =) Thanks all.
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
    Dr's like this give other dr's a bad name.

    This doctor is a QUACK, and sounds like he would rather have a life time patient, than see you get healthy. I would take any advice from him with a grain of salt and start looking out for your health more than depending on that quack.

    I'm another who lost weight before by just walking.

    Next time you want to jog. Instead of trying to go jogging/running, walk at a good pace then toss in a 10 sec jog. Walk again..... Then another 10 seconds.
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
    That is HORRIBLE that he said that. He is an IDIOT! The doctors i work for would love it if all their patients would walk 45 minutes per day. The more briskly you can walk, the better. Start out where you can, and increase as you get more fit. You are doing great!
  • distant_dreamer
    distant_dreamer Posts: 33
    if thats all u can manage at the momemt then its better than doing nothing. i'm sure if u walk regualrly and can do some hill walkin to get the heart rate pumpin then its a good starting point and u will see some of the weight fall off.

    i get annoyed by dr's attitudes, mine said swimming wasnt that gd an exercise, said i should be doin cardio to get the heart pumpin and fat burnin but surely doin any form of exercise is better than sitting on the sofa doin nothin??

    sorry rant over!!! :wink:
  • _SpeshK_
    _SpeshK_ Posts: 496 Member
    I know a LOT of people who have lost 100-200 lbs just from walking alone! If your body is moving, especially when you didn't use to move, then you are burning calories! GAH and it's good for your heart, too! Tell your doctor to suck it!!!
  • cmmull67
    cmmull67 Posts: 170 Member
    Not counting those who walk for "legal" reasons (i.e. the state asked them not to drive for awhile...lol), how many overweight daily walkers do you see? I'm talking about those who are out every morning or evening, gettin' it, with a good giddy-up in their step? Not too many, unless they are part of this group (the get-back-in-shape group). I tore my knee up while in the service, can't run. I walk though. Started doing 4-5 daily walks with the dog in February. We go at a fairly brisk clip, between 3.5 and 4.5 mph, depending on our energy levels, for at least 45 mins. Both of us have dropped huge amounts of weight, and walking is my only main exercise.

    So, tell your doc he needs to toss his MD papers, and get a new career.
  • fitnesspirateninja
    fitnesspirateninja Posts: 667 Member
    Walking has also been my main form of exercise. I've lost almost 35 pounds since November 2010. Your doctor is totally crazypants.

    I recently started going to Zumba, weight training, and gardening, but I'm confident that I would continue to lose with walking alone.

    ETA: I keep tight control of my diet, which seems to make a difference. I rarely go over my calories, eat lots of fruits and veggies, complex carbs, lean protein, etc...
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