Walking, is it effective?

healthychelsea
healthychelsea Posts: 62
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello! I am 140 pounds, trying to get back to 125 (what I was about 4 years ago) and what I have been doing is walking on a treadmill at 3.5 mph on an incline of 7.5. My question is, is this enough? I sweat like CRAZY but I get anxiety that it isn't going to help me lose weight.. that I'm not pushing myself enough. I am just new to this whole lifestyle I am trying to do and just don't think what I am doing is enough.

today for example, I got up early and walked 3.5 mph for 50 minutes on an incline of 7.5, entered my weight, and it said I burned over 400 calories (which I know not really to believe 100%) but should I have done more? I want to do at least 3 miles every day that I can.

Replies

  • seansquared
    seansquared Posts: 328 Member
    Exercise is only effective for weight loss if you do not alter your food intake whatsoever. That is if you are eating 2,000 calories a day and need to cut back to 1,500 calories a day to lose weight, you can do that in two ways: either burn 500 calories daily or eat 1500 calories daily (instead of 2000).

    Should you have done more? No way to know unless we know the other factors like bodyfat % and current calorie intake.

    If you want to lose 1lb a week, though, you only need to figure out your bodyfat percentage (ask a Doctor or a trainer at a gym to do this for you) and post it here, and I can do the math and let you know what you should be shooting for in terms of calories in vs calories out.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Hello! I am 140 pounds, trying to get back to 125 (what I was about 4 years ago) and what I have been doing is walking on a treadmill at 3.5 mph on an incline of 7.5. My question is, is this enough? I sweat like CRAZY but I get anxiety that it isn't going to help me lose weight.. that I'm not pushing myself enough. I am just new to this whole lifestyle I am trying to do and just don't think what I am doing is enough.

    today for example, I got up early and walked 3.5 mph for 50 minutes on an incline of 7.5, entered my weight, and it said I burned over 400 calories (which I know not really to believe 100%) but should I have done more? I want to do at least 3 miles every day that I can.

    Have you entered all your data in the MFP diet planner? It's not the best but it's not bad.

    Yes, a brisk walk can be very effective especially early morning fasted steady-state cardio. There is information being written that discusses fasted steady state cardio in the morning actually being more effective and helping to reduce body fat than hi-paced jogging and such. This assumes of course that you're diet is in order for losing weight.

    Only burning 400 calories when exercising... try not to look at it that way. The thermic affect of training continues on throughout the day which is perahps even more important than the initial loss in calories. Make sense?
  • RCKT82
    RCKT82 Posts: 409 Member
    Walking is highly effective for fat burning. You won't burn as many cals compared to running. But the cals burned be more likely to come from fat calories. High intensity workouts burn too many cals in such a short time that your body can't sustain the energy requirement by only using fat calories, so it'll compensate by burning muscle and other sources of quick energy. So if you have the time, I'd stick with lower intensity workouts if your goal is to focus on fat loss.


    And as stated by another poster... Exercise doesn't mean much without a decent food plan.
  • sam1320
    sam1320 Posts: 24
    For me, it works but it does take a lot longer. I have to walk for 90 minutes to burn a good amount of calories. I enjoy walking though, i enjoy it a lot more than standing on a treadmill, so it seems to work better for me. Every bit of exercise adds up!
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    Walking is very effective if you're doing it vigorously enough. I don't really understand why people say they "only" burned 400 calories in a workout. You DO NOT need to burn that much every day to lose weight if you are working at a large enough calorie deficit.

    To get a more accurate picture of your burn, I suggest getting a HRM. The machines and the MFP database will give you an idea, but they probably are going to be off on the calorie estimates.

    I think the bigger issue here is your stating several times that you feel like your efforts are inadequate. You're just starting out and you're already criticizing yourself for not pushing hard enough. If you got a good workout, you did well. Don't burn yourself out and examine what it is that is making you feel like you're not doing well.
  • seansquared
    seansquared Posts: 328 Member
    Also remember that burning 400 calories is burning 400 calories. Whether you do that by walking, running, dancing, lifting, pitching tents, skydiving, or anything else is 100% irrelevant. Anyone who tells you otherwise is (1) 100% wrong and (2) may be trying to sell you on some workout plan fad.
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