Does walking actually help?

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  • jhouse16
    jhouse16 Posts: 2 Member
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    I have a friend who lost 60lbs so far with just walking and diet change...my sister in law started her 100lb weight loss with walking and diet change..

    I say go for it !!
  • sherbear702
    sherbear702 Posts: 649 Member
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    Walking probably accounts for 80% of my exercise and I've lost almost 30 pounds. Yes, it's totally worth it.
  • reddeament
    reddeament Posts: 51 Member
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    olivia_roland wrote: »
    Thanks so much everyone!!! I've lost about 10 lbs just from changing up my eating habits, so I feel like I'm on my way to getting that under control. I might research a strength routine that's easy for beginners and isn't time consuming (I'm a college student) I really appreciate all of the advice!!

    if you want a strength routine that isn't time consuming you could consider Freeletics? My friends have been on it for a while and swear by it. I recently joined and love the workouts (my body is aching the day after though hehe)
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Its not as simple as that in my opinion.

    Weight loss is a matter of having a deficit, which focuses on what & how much you eat. But calories in and calories both matter. If you increase your activity (walking) you may or may not lose weight. There are too many ifs. If you increase your activity and also increase your calories in (you may be hungrier with the extra walking) you probably won't see a weight loss. If you increase your activity AND make a conscious effort to track/log accurately what you're eating, and eat at a deficit: you should lose weight. Then again, you can do the logging and tracking and having a deficit without walking. But walking does have other added health benefits as well.
    olivia_roland wrote: »
    Ok, so I've heard a lot of pros and cons to the whole "walking to lose weight" discussion. I know walking has a lot of health benefits, but has anyone actually lost a decent amount of weight by walking? I love walking outside. The fresh air is great and it makes me feel better. But a lot of people have told me that cardio is pointless and I'm just really confused.

    Help please. Any advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
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    I guess a fair question would be- which is better?...walking for 30min daily...or never?
    Seems pretty simple to me. Anything that gets your body moving regularly cant be bad for you. As long as you are at a calorie deficit it often leads to slow and steady weight loss as well as opening the door for incorporating other exercise and improving your health.
    I agree with others that there needs to be some strength training paired with the light cardio of walking for optimal results.
    Happy walking!
  • ljones27uk
    ljones27uk Posts: 177 Member
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    walking definitely burns more calories than not walking, so will help you create a deficit. Im going for a walk this evening to burn around 200 calories.. so itll contribute towards my weight loss. making subtle changes, like walking to the shops/school instead of driving can easily add 200-300 hundred calories to your daily burn, so a good habit to get into.
  • Vtbostongirl
    Vtbostongirl Posts: 5 Member
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    I used to have this thought too. Until I met my amazing Primary Care Doctor who told me to stop running. He said that he does weight loss studies and has found that running doesn't provide many more health benefits than walking. He said that actually running does more harm to your body than walking or other low impact exercise. He himself lost over 60 pounds just from eating right and walking every day. He told me to stop running and replace it with at least 45 minutes of walking a day and that the weight would fall off!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Vtbostongirl wrote: »
    I used to have this thought too. Until I met my amazing Primary Care Doctor who told me to stop running. He said that he does weight loss studies and has found that running doesn't provide many more health benefits than walking. He said that actually running does more harm to your body than walking or other low impact exercise. He himself lost over 60 pounds just from eating right and walking every day. He told me to stop running and replace it with at least 45 minutes of walking a day and that the weight would fall off!

    Your primary care doctor also runs research studies?
  • michaelafoor916
    michaelafoor916 Posts: 710 Member
    edited January 2016
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    nothing that gets your heart going and being active will NOT hinder weight loss. period. that being said, you still need to stay within your calorie limit. weight loss is achieved through diet. fitness is achieved through working out.
  • jkrause9005
    jkrause9005 Posts: 11 Member
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    I've lost 68 pounds (and have reached my goal weight) and my primary activity is/has been walking. As others have said, walking alone will probably not be enough for you to lose weight, but when it is combined with healthy, portion-controlled eating, it certainly helps! Plus you listed many of the physical, psychological, and emotional benefits of walking. Keep it up!
  • yvie63
    yvie63 Posts: 193 Member
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    I lost 120lbs (gained 12;ns over the last month due to holidays) and the only real exercise I do regularly is walking.. it is a good, natural exercise that can be incorporated easily into your day and is great for mind and body - I aim for 10000 steps a day and sometimes do substantially more. So yes, it is totally possible to lose a decent amount of weight by just walking and keeping your calories under control!
  • amillenium
    amillenium Posts: 281 Member
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    I don't walk to lose weight...it is just something I do because I enjoy being outside. It relaxes and destresses me.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i lost my first 20 pounds through mostly walking. I do a lot more now (gym, weights, jogging) but that's personal choice and the fact I learned i really ENJOY these things.

    plenty of people have lost all their weight with walking.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It comes down to your diet. Period. That being said, my main form of exercise for 3 years has been walking, although now it's usually on the treadmill with a 10% or more incline instead of outside, as it burns more calories (unless it's really gorgeous out).
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
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    MommyMeggo wrote: »
    I guess a fair question would be- which is better?...walking for 30min daily...or never?
    Seems pretty simple to me. Anything that gets your body moving regularly cant be bad for you. As long as you are at a calorie deficit it often leads to slow and steady weight loss as well as opening the door for incorporating other exercise and improving your health.
    I agree with others that there needs to be some strength training paired with the light cardio of walking for optimal results.
    Happy walking!

    I agree - is it better to walk or do nothing? I can't imagine anyone would say do nothing over walking! In my week I typically do a run/walk combo 3 days a week, and the days that I don't do that, I make sure to walk at least 30 minutes at a moderate to brisk pace. These are both in addition to using my elliptical 3-4 days per week for 30 minutes. While none of these cardio workouts result in TONS of calories burned, it's still calories burned that goes toward my deficit and therefore contributes to weight loss.
  • WinterSkies
    WinterSkies Posts: 940 Member
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    OP, if you love walking, don't let what anyone says stop you from doing it! Cardio is not a pointless exercise. Any exercise that burns some calories and allows me to eat a little more and stay at my deficit goal is good by my books :)
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Walking was a great start to exercise for me. I lost about 30 lbs with watching my diet and walking. I started at 30 mins, then up to an hour and then I started working on my speed... and then I moved on to running and doing other exercises as well. Actually, I fell off the bandwagon for quite a while, and I've started walking again to get back in the swing of things. Any exercise is better than not doing anything, and if walking is what you like doing than go for it. Interesting enough, I've seen some walking hiit programs... I haven't done any cuz I'm just remembering about it now, but try googling it (or maybe pinterest?). I'm sure you can find something, if you feel like making it more challenging/mixing it up.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    You lose weight by eating less calories than you burn. You can lose weight without exercising at all.
    Exercise is good for your health and you can eat a bit more as you burn more calories. The exercise that is best for you depends on your goals and what you like to do.
    Walking burns calories. Fast walking burns more than slow walking. It is an easy exercise because you can do it anywhere and need no special equipment or skill. A beginner can start walking right now.
    If you are concerned walking isn't enough for you then just do some other exercises a few days a week.

  • AnjaliSD
    AnjaliSD Posts: 42 Member
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    I imagine one of the benefits of walking is that while it's less efficient in burning calories, it also tends to results in people spending more time doing it. So the same person who can only go for a 30 minute job, might be able to go for a 1 hour walk, which means an extra 30 minutes spent not thinking about snacking, and more importantly 30 less minutes spent sitting.

    If popular news sights are to be believed, sitting is bad for us, and can't be undone with exercise. So maybe the best part of walking is that it keeps your body active without tiring you out?

    Also all the stuff people have already said about how moving uses calories, and weight loss being about calories in vs out.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
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    I started this whole thing by only walking. It kicked my butt. When I first started running I could only run for 60 seconds, so I did walk/run intervals. I still do them for long distances, because it's a great recovery interval. So I guess my answer is; I am a strong believer in the benefits of walking as exercise.

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