has anyone lost weight by walking?

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  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    I walk at least a quarter of a mile every day unless snow or ice is on my road.

    Walking is not a huge plus to the CO part of CICO (Calorie In - Calorie Out) concept in my case but it is more of a way to stay focused on eating for better health at my age. Keeping the joints moving helps keep the heart flowing blood. Blood flowing well as well as the lymph node system I consider to be a cancer risk reduction in my case due to health issues.

    Walking is not an option in my mind. More than once it has been midnight with air temps as low as 13F. The calorie burn is just not that much but I have learned when I make everything an option it is my nature to live in a manner leading to premature death. Now at the age of 65 and apparently in better health than at 45 when it comes to my lab work and ability to move I want to keep up the trend as long as I can. :)

    Walking is a good time for me to work out mental aggression that has built over the day and helps with sleep.

    Personal I refuse to use exercise as a factor to lose/maintain weight because I see it wreck the health of so many leading to regains so walking some is my limit of planned daily movement but just living leads to a lot of moving each day typically.

    Walking not being optional mindset helps me to make sure eating my macro not optional. :) As long as I eat my macro my weight is self maintained and my lab results keep improving annually from being very poor not long ago.



  • Wickedfaery73
    Wickedfaery73 Posts: 184 Member
    edited March 2016
    I've lost 18lbs this go around so far in the last 45 days just walking and calorie counting. The first time (10 years ago) I lost by walking and calorie counting as well.
  • iecreamheadaches
    iecreamheadaches Posts: 441 Member
    That's pretty much all I do and watch my calories. (though i do have to attribute my last couple pounds to being incredibly sick right now) and I'm 3 lbs off of my 1st goal of 25 lbs. I plan to start a c25k in april and start incorporating a little jogging as well, just to give me some variety.

    I just found a free treadmill in my neighborhood. Someone just put it out with a sign. In excellent condition and it 100% works. Hoping this will help on those rainy days to come! There's also a super nice walking park (when it isnt flooded LOL) in my town and a lot of super nice hiking/nature trails (and one that's like 1.5 miles to the lighthouse and 1.5 back, its beautiful) up near my moms house where I'm sure a lot of my warms days will be spent on her community's private beach :D (its just a river beach, with a small park nothing fancy!)
  • J_Kidd85
    J_Kidd85 Posts: 36 Member
    I lost 40 pounds by walking and watching calories. It took me approximately 2.5 months. After that I joined a gym and the weight continued to fall off. So yes, keep on steppin'!!
  • kdz124
    kdz124 Posts: 2 Member
    tamicoil1 wrote: »
    I did. I started walking one spring, didn't change anything with diet, and by the end of summer, I had lost 2 jean sizes. Maintained the weightloss over winter, and lost another 3 jean sizes the 2nd summer. I never watched calories. Obviously, the extra walking used enough calories that I lost. I have maintained this weight loss for several years. I got deathly ill a little over a year ago, and now that I'm healthy and strong again, I'm trying to lose a few more sizes.

    A few things about me though- I am disabled and walk with crutches. This makes me burn a lot more calories when I walk. I worked up to 1/2 mile and 3/4 mile walks every other day. If I walked more than that, my arms, wrists and hands hurt too much to walk the next day. I also can't weigh on a scale. I've tried weighing on a big platform scale, and can't balance enough to keep the weight constant or remotely accurate. I have to weigh in a hospital bed, so I go by clothing size more than anything to gauge what I'm losing.

    well done on your walking, its surprising how much it improves your whole outlook, not just your weight and dress sizes, but it makes you feel more alive.
  • efrensgirl2015
    efrensgirl2015 Posts: 480 Member
    If you look up Shane Lynch in the Success Stories, you will see he has lost 180 pounds since last June through MFP and walking only. His story is very inspirational. In that same section, there is a story of a guy who lost 140 pounds in 6 months (that's the title of the thread) and all he did was MFP and walking too. You might want to check them out.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    I love to walk, especially on my weightlifting days. Walking a lot everyday along with healthy eating habits is the reason why I've been able to maintain my weight for the past 5 years.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    My doctor told me to walk, it's the best exercise (cardio) to get into to help start, especially at a higher weight, as it doesn't put as much strain on your body as other exercises can. I try and walk 4 or more days a week, and it helps me maintain a calorie deficit (some days I just need a extra hundred calories for that bit of chocolate darnit!).

    It's also nice to get outside now and again, clear the mental cobwebs (I use Zombies Run to walk, so also I get a ongoing post zombie apocalypse storyline).
  • Wickedfaery73
    Wickedfaery73 Posts: 184 Member
    Afura wrote: »
    (some days I just need a extra hundred calories for that bit of chocolate darnit!).

    I sooo understand that! LOL
  • Aedon2
    Aedon2 Posts: 11 Member
    I've lost 50 lbs mostly by walking but in the spring til fall when the weather is nice I cycle. All my activities are tracked and on my profile. I also log as much of my food as possible on MFP and that helps. I find just being aware of my habits helps keep me healthier.
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
    I've lost 75lbs by walking. My first walk was a total of seven minutes, I could only do 3.5 in one direction. I slowly and steadily increased my pace to a 17 minute mile. I've tried running, hate it. I love walking. Once I felt in better physical condition, I added in bike riding but living in a northern state, that option is only available half the year. I walk outside and on the treadmill. I bike outside but hate the stationary bikes.

    I agree you don't get the most calorie burn for your time with walking but the key to sustaining this new lifestyle is to find something you enjoy and to keep doing it. Walking isn't just the physical for me, its part mental, part therapy, part breathing, I can have music or not, I can do it with a friend or not. It brings a value to my life besides the weight loss. 55 more pounds to go and I plan to do that with walking too.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Just so people are clear...you could walk 20 miles a day but if you are eating too much you won't lose weight....okay.

    Walking is a pleasant way to get rid of some of the calories you are taking in but lets be frank unless you are walking either very quickly or long distances you might burn (and this is an average)80-140 calories an hour which equates to a bagel (no cream cheese) 3 piece of licorice, 4 cups of air popped pop corn (no butter), or 20 almonds...but you get what I am saying.

    Weight loss comes from cutting back on calories going in mainly....but exercise of any sort is a good thing.

    I walk all the time in the summer...3-5miles at a time.
  • SuperSizeMeNot
    SuperSizeMeNot Posts: 365 Member
    2 years ago, I walked 2 miles a day (back and forth to work.) I also drunk more fluids then I would eat. I did a 1200 calorie diet. (ate and drunk whatever I wanted but usually ate twice a day) I lost 45 pounds in less then 3 months. I went from 260 to 215,
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    Because we have dogs I walk 2-3 miles every weekday and 4-6 miles on weekend days.
    I do other stuff as well during the week, so my deficit is made up of a combination of food, other exercise (strength training, HIIT etc) and walking, but the walking is kind of my "staple", the one thing I never bail out of if I'm tired or whatever, because the dogs need their walk. Also when I was in the grips of my 3-year stretch of post-bereavement depressive hibernation, it was the one thing I could actually face doing, when I couldn't face the gym or doing anything more strenuous. I know I spent 3 years overeating and being totally inactive with the exception of walking the dogs. I think I would have gained a lot more than 50lb in 3 years (about 1.4lb gain per month) had it not been for the walking.
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