has anyone successfully lost weight through walking?

jaygirl3
jaygirl3 Posts: 320 Member
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone.

I realise that walking is the exercise i love, since i got the leslie sansone dvd, i could do 10 miles at once. however i am always skeptical that i might not lose enough weight since its not high impact aerobics or like running on a treadmill. My hrm is arriving soon, but for now i do not know how much calories i burn walking.

I have tried severally to switch to other intense workouts like turbo fire or insanity or jillian micheals. however most of the time i end up doing them for five ten minutes and stopping either cos am bored or its too hard.

So i have decided to stick to something i love and can do for long, which is the walking. Has anyone successfully lost weight from walking? how much walks were you doing each day?
thank you
«1

Replies

  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
    yes... a friend of mine lost 70kg from walking and food alone. it took her a long time, but she did it. and she's a size 10-12 now after being a size 26.

    she walks alot!!! like 2-3 hours a day, and religeously.
  • jbinga
    jbinga Posts: 38 Member
    I lost about 70 pounds 8 years ago doing Weight Watchers and all I did the entire time was walk. I think I was walking 4 or 5 times a week. It's definitely possible.
  • just wanna say that your diet makes you lose weight.
    walking is good but wont tone you up like other exercises
    so if all you want or can do is walk just keep your diet in top shape and you'll see the scale drop.
  • lsd007
    lsd007 Posts: 435
    *raises hand*
  • hbrekkaas
    hbrekkaas Posts: 268 Member
    Yes! I changed my eating habits a few years ago and started walking way way more and lost 60lbs in a few months. I didn`t count calories, no weight watchers, I ate sensibly when I was hungry and tried to walk at least once a day. And not long walk, sometimes it was 15 minutes to the store and back.
  • carlxo21
    carlxo21 Posts: 143 Member
    Yes! Anything that burns calories will help you lose weight.

    Downside is that it takes way longer to burn the calories. You'll also need to watch your nutrition. I would do walking mixed with maybe running/jogging, elliptical, etc to change it up.
  • MariPars
    MariPars Posts: 52
    Absolutely! (I gained it all back of course from NOT walking) But, I walked all spring all spring/summer one year ..8 months. and I lost 60lb...Prolly a 45min walk at a brisk pace 5x's a week. I worked up to that though. I started slow. I walked through my sub. its got good terrain...cpl hills. I ate right too. It CAN be done!
  • melbaby925
    melbaby925 Posts: 613
    Walking is my go to cardio when I am in a hotel and there's no fitness center available. I usually try and find hills or soft sand - either will burn tons of calories, and I try to go as fast as I can.

    I agree with the earlier comment, that you need to supplement with other exercises to tone up. I've been using free weights and exercise bands.

    Hope that helps!
  • adjones_21
    adjones_21 Posts: 234 Member
    I walk 2.6 miles almost every other day. My hrm tells me I burn between 650-725 calories each time I walk depending on how fast and how long it takes me. You do need to do some other work outs to tone up...but yes you can lose weight from just walking.
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
    It depends on your goals I think. If you want to lose 40 pounds by the end of this year via diet and walking alone: you're likely setting yourself up for failure.

    I'm not saying that it cannot be done, or is a bad idea to only walk. Please don't misunderstand. But walking is one of the least exertive methods of exercise you could do. If walking is something you truly love, and it's all you want to do, then do it! :)
  • unhinge
    unhinge Posts: 318 Member
    I say do what you love to do because it is easier to stick with it.
    I started out walking. Just walked and increased my speed and distance. That along with healthy eating will work. I got an app for my i-touch called lolo beatburn and started to use it when I walked. It a great workout. I sprained my ankle 7 weeks ago and now I use the app. on a stationary bike to workout since I have to do low impact for now but in another month or so I will be back walking again and hope to work up to a walk/jog like I did before my injury. Good luck.
  • AZKAOZ
    AZKAOZ Posts: 35
    As long as you can do something to not gain is a plus. Walking is a great start, but walking forever may take a long time, you may have to up it up a knotch. I did walking then started walking 60 seconds and running/ jogging 90. Did this for 15 minutes daily. Now I can run a mile in 8 minutes flat. It takes time but it can be done.
  • tjutrostina
    tjutrostina Posts: 94 Member
    Definitely works...I walk for miles, and of course, need to watch food. Just that and some light strength exercises while watching TV. :P
  • methetree
    methetree Posts: 381
    several years ago I lost a ton by walking alone.

    Now, I use Leslie's DVD's which also got me strong enough to do Jillian's Ripped in 30.

    So yes, keep up the walking, stick to good food choices and you will be just fine.
  • sineadangele1
    sineadangele1 Posts: 97 Member
    Walking is a great workout!! I used to walk everywhere. It was my only means of transportation. It kept me in shape (especially my bum) and Its helping me lose weight now. Try walking in areas with a lot of hills to make it more challenging and keep a steady pace.
  • pickenslmc
    pickenslmc Posts: 47 Member
    I think that for many with modest fitness goals walking is all that is required. While I appreciate that formal intense exercise works well for many, I think it can be difficult to incorporate into a lifestyle change forever. It also is much easier to stick to a program if you enjoy it. I recently started walking for groceries and other errands near my house to increase my daily activity. Congratulations on starting.
  • solflyer81
    solflyer81 Posts: 119
    I personally haaaate walking. I hate long distance. Period. I dont like nature walks and I dont like the track. In highschool I wanted to sprint and be done with it. That being said, my mom is an extreme walker. I mean super extreme. I have to jog/run if i want to keep up with her walk pace. So....if you are actively walking and engaging all your muscles (core and arms and not just your legs) and you do atleast a mile a day, you can definately lose the weight. I still hit the track and make myself do a mile of walk/jog on my days that i dont do heavy cardio and if i m in the mood i add a couple sets of bleachers (i cant jog em, but walking em still burns). The biggest key is do something you love so you dont set yourself up for failur. I hate walking so I dont depend on walking as my key form of exercise. You love walking so you should walk : ) Listen to some good music to keep the pace up, if you get lost in the music you wont even realize how fast and how much more calories you are burning.
  • MaryKatU
    MaryKatU Posts: 146
    I lost weight with walking (20-60 min, 5-7 days a week) and eating the calories MFP set for me. I also do some light toning exercieses (10-15 min, 3-5 times a week) for my arms, back an abs. For me, walking is easier to stick to than any other workout I've tried.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    Hi everyone.

    I realise that walking is the exercise i love, since i got the leslie sansone dvd, i could do 10 miles at once. however i am always skeptical that i might not lose enough weight since its not high impact aerobics or like running on a treadmill. My hrm is arriving soon, but for now i do not know how much calories i burn walking.

    I have tried severally to switch to other intense workouts like turbo fire or insanity or jillian micheals. however most of the time i end up doing them for five ten minutes and stopping either cos am bored or its too hard.

    So i have decided to stick to something i love and can do for long, which is the walking. Has anyone successfully lost weight from walking? how much walks were you doing each day?
    thank you

    My mom lost all of her weight by walking. She weighed over 300 pounds after I was born up until I was like 6 years old. At that time she started walking about 6 miles a day (3 miles one way to the end of a road near our house and then back). She's 5'11" tall and got down to around 160 pounds which is what she has been able to maintain ever since then. She never did anything else, and even today she has a treadmill in her house for when she can't go outside to walk.
  • i love walking i have lost almost 40 lbs by just dieting and walking. so HELL YESS IT DOES!!! lol
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    I have some good friends from Nutrisystem that lost their weight that way. It took awhile, but if you have patience it's doable.
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
    I lost 40 between last July and January walking and taking yoga classes, then gained 8 while I had pneumonia and moved..... It's totally possible.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    I lost 12kgs this time last year just by walking 4-5 times a week for about an hour, and watching what I ate. Then I stopped and put 7 back on. This time around, I've included walking with other exercises (elliptical, interval running) because walking bored me after a few months and I don't want to get bored!!
  • I would certainly recommend walking at an incline. I work out 3 times a week and every single time I start out with my incline at 21 with speed 3.6. After 10 minutes, I raise the incline to 24 with the same speed. After another 10 minutes, I raise my incline to 27 and 10 minutes after that, lower my incline to 2 and my speed to 3.1. Then after 5 minutes of that, I'll run with my speed at 4.0, so it's not a strenuous sprint. Just a simple jog. Then I'll walk for awhile then run again until the treadmill says I have hit 800 calories. :) It definitely works. And incline is good for the butt, too!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    Hell yeah you can! I would just say try to walk as fast as you can or if you have a treadmill, walk at an incline just so you get your heart rate up higher to burn more calories. At one point when I was a teenager, all I did were a few shape magazine strength workouts in my room and I walked 2 miles a day and I lost about 30 lbs in about 6 months.
  • epoint
    epoint Posts: 88
    Yep, although I lost most of my weight with virtually no exercise, just calorie counting (because of a health problem since taken care of.) Once I got healthy and started walking, though, not only did I continue to lose weight, but I started looking (and feeling) MUCH better. I get up early every morning and walk through my hilly neighborhood for 60-70 minutes, anywhere from 3-5 miles. Gives me a great start to the day and my energy level has gone way up. I skip 1 (or maybe 2) days a week just to give my body a rest, but otherwise I'm out there, every morning. And I've reached my weight goal and then some.
  • Kimmer2011
    Kimmer2011 Posts: 569 Member
    (raises hand) Walking is almost all I do. When I started, I was doing about 2.5 miles per hour. Now I'm up to 3.25 mph most times, sometimes faster. For me, walking has the added benefit of being a huge stress reliever, so I'm also less likely to binge.

    You should do what you love, because that's what you'll stick with.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    I've lost most of my weight through walking, strength training and diet.

    It can be done.. it may just take longer then something like running.
  • ziggy67
    ziggy67 Posts: 351
    Oh yes. Its a well known fact that if the average person power walks for 45 minutes a time, 4 times a week, he/she will lose approximately 8kg/18lb in a year without changing his/her diet in any way. I have been walking for a minimum of 30 minutes a day for about three years now and I have lost 45 lbs to date. I love walking and I follow Nina Barough's Walking for Fitness plan for weight loss, her book also offers comprehensive advice for her low impact training programmes for walkers of all levels, from beginners, to intermediate, to advanced, to short distance, to half marathon and finally full marathons.
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
    Walking was an excellent way for me to get started with my program; it's a consistent fat burner that doesn't increase the appetite or stress the body.
This discussion has been closed.