Walking, is it a myth?
lucytalbot94
Posts: 32 Member
I'm struggling to fit a gym workout in after work;
I get up at 7am, swim at 7.30 for 45/60 minutes.
My commute to work means I'm there by 9.30am, I work until 5.30pm.
By 6pm I'm home, have dinner and by 7pm I'm ready for a nap!
Once I've sat down I don't want to get changed, drive to the gym, workout and drive back again.
So, what about an evening walk? I live opposite a park and I can listen to my audiobooks as I have a trundle.
How much have you lost walking? Is it a myth that its good for weight-loss, or have you found truth in it?
I get up at 7am, swim at 7.30 for 45/60 minutes.
My commute to work means I'm there by 9.30am, I work until 5.30pm.
By 6pm I'm home, have dinner and by 7pm I'm ready for a nap!
Once I've sat down I don't want to get changed, drive to the gym, workout and drive back again.
So, what about an evening walk? I live opposite a park and I can listen to my audiobooks as I have a trundle.
How much have you lost walking? Is it a myth that its good for weight-loss, or have you found truth in it?
1
Replies
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Walking burns calories, so it can definitely help weight loss (provided the 'calories in' side of the equation is correct).
Walking was my primary source of exercise for several months while losing weight. In my case it helped weight loss in the sense that it allowed me to eat more while aiming for the same deficit/weight loss rate.
Aside from that, it also allowed me to increase my fitness level which was dire at the start of my weight loss journey. Which in turn made it possible to eventually switch to jogging/running. (That being said, I still walk now, on top of running)11 -
Ah, I never even considered that I could transition to jogging after my stamina improves! Thank you, Lietchi!!3
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Why do you think you need more exercise after a 45 minute swim and a full day at work?
I mean, sure, it's good for you - but you're not going to burn a lot of calories in a 45 minute walk...
I am older and most of my exercise is walking/slow jogging. I do it daily for one hour, but that's plenty. I am 5'8" 140 and I only "burn" about 200 calories for that one hour 3MPH walk.3 -
What are you trying to accomplish with an evening workout, whether it be the gym, walking, whatever?
You're already swimming each morning, so I doubt there's a "need" for more cardio or calorie burning. If you really want an evening working, I'd pick something that addresses a need/goal you may have.7 -
I used to think walking was not "good enough" as I didn't think it burned enough calories. The truth is, walking (especially outside) is good for a number of things. I often walk outside as I found it good for me for a number of reasons, but I never pay attention to how many calories it burns. I got out of that mindset awhile ago, and I've managed to get to a 20.6 BMI and keep it there, and I don't see myself moving up in that range a whole lot. I focus now on steps/day rather than calories burned.
What may be helpful is to add in some strength/resistance training in the morning (like 3 days a week) to swap out for your swimming in the morning.2 -
Walking on a level surface may not burn many calories, but introduce a steep incline and the story changes dramatically! With bad knees I try to avoid running when possible, but set a treadmill at a steep incline with a decent pace, and I guarantee you will be huffing and puffing in no time! (Doesn't much address the OP question about walking in a park...)4
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Walking on a level surface may not burn many calories, but introduce a steep incline and the story changes dramatically! With bad knees I try to avoid running when possible, but set a treadmill at a steep incline with a decent pace, and I guarantee you will be huffing and puffing in no time! (Doesn't much address the OP question about walking in a park...)
Just kill me now if I have to ever walk/run on a treadmill.
I'm with Speakeasy, walking outdoors is the ticket for so many reasons. Luckily I live in a very hilly area (Seattle) so I get that incline thing outside.
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Walking is great for your health, so regardless of how many calories you burn, do it if you enjoy it. I find it a good way to destress and loosen up tight muscles from a day of mostly sitting. Spending time in nature has psychological benefits as well.5
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lucytalbot94 wrote: »I'm struggling to fit a gym workout in after work;
I get up at 7am, swim at 7.30 for 45/60 minutes.
My commute to work means I'm there by 9.30am, I work until 5.30pm.
By 6pm I'm home, have dinner and by 7pm I'm ready for a nap!
Once I've sat down I don't want to get changed, drive to the gym, workout and drive back again.
So, what about an evening walk? I live opposite a park and I can listen to my audiobooks as I have a trundle.
How much have you lost walking? Is it a myth that its good for weight-loss, or have you found truth in it?
If you're swimming everyday for 45-60 minutes, you're pretty well covered on the exercise front. An evening walk can be a nice way to unwind for the day though. If you built up stamina for running, you could alternate days of running and days of swimming and get a little cross train in there. If you went the gym route I'd recommend resistance training and alternating days between swim and the weight room.
The myth is that you have to be doing hours of exercise everyday to lose weight and be healthy and fit. In reality, you need rest and recovery as it is very important to fitness improvements. If you're swimming everyday for an hour I wouldn't do anything more than an evening walk to wind down for the day. Contemplating more rigorous exercise I would alternate days, not throw 2 fairly rigorous workouts in on the same day...that can be counterproductive to a lot of things.10 -
Thank you all so much for your help and experience.
I tend to be a bit impatient when it comes to weight loss (I've lost a 8kg in 8 weeks, so should probably give myself a break) and thought introducing a second, low impact workout might aid with that.
However, I also understand that swimming for almost an hour six days a week is probably a lot. I do have an office job, tho, and sitting on my bum all day has me a little paranoid!!3 -
I'll just +1 the notion that you're definitely already doing plenty of exercise. If you want to add a short stroll to your evenings, that's your prerogative, but yeah you're right, 8kg in 8 weeks is pretty aggressive.
If you're mostly worried about sitting for 8 hours, find ways to break that up and add to your NEAT while you're at work - I keep a cup of water at my desk and need to get up every hour or so to refill it and/or use the restroom, for instance, and the water cooler is on the second floor at the other end of the building. So I get in a 5-10 minute walk including up and down stairs every hour or so. If I were so inclined, I could also probably get up every 20-30 minutes and bang out ten squats or something (I'm not, I do my squatting at the gym in the morning, but I do have an office with a door that closes and a job that wouldn't be impacted if I were so indisposed for, y'know, 90 seconds).4 -
lucytalbot94 wrote: »Thank you all so much for your help and experience.
I tend to be a bit impatient when it comes to weight loss (I've lost a 8kg in 8 weeks, so should probably give myself a break) and thought introducing a second, low impact workout might aid with that.
However, I also understand that swimming for almost an hour six days a week is probably a lot. I do have an office job, tho, and sitting on my bum all day has me a little paranoid!!
Is there anything you can do on the calorie and/or nutrition front?
But something of reasonable intensity shouldn't "hurt" anything, so walking or similar would be more than fine.
But I also want to reinforce the idea that weight loss is achieved through a negative calorie balance (burning more than you eat)... and it is in NO WAY reliant on exercise. IMO, it's better to look at diet as the reason/method for weight loss than exercise.6 -
lucytalbot94 wrote: »Thank you all so much for your help and experience.
I tend to be a bit impatient when it comes to weight loss (I've lost a 8kg in 8 weeks, so should probably give myself a break) and thought introducing a second, low impact workout might aid with that.
However, I also understand that swimming for almost an hour six days a week is probably a lot. I do have an office job, tho, and sitting on my bum all day has me a little paranoid!!
Having an evening walk isn't a bad idea and isn't going to impede recovery (might actually help) but it's not really going to do a whole lot in terms of burning calories or adding substantially to your calorie deficit to lose weight (which you're already losing at a very fast and aggressive rate).
On top of my regular exercise, I walk most days. I do it to start my day because...well, it's just a really nice start to the day and lets me gather my thoughts and prepare for the day ahead...plus there's nothing like watching the sunrise with a travel mug of coffee...and my dog would go nuts if she didn't get her daily walk. I go for about 2 miles and as a stand alone, the calorie burn is pretty insignificant...but like I said, it's a highly enjoyable start to my day. It does add up in cumulative as I also work a desk job but make sure I'm getting up every hour to move a little...at the end of most days I have somewhere between 10K-15K steps plus my regular exercise.
I am also someone who long ago divorced exercise and weight loss. I view exercise and activity and being active as being vital to overall health (physical as well as mental) as well as fitness. The fact that it burns a few more calories is just gravy. In reality, for most people, exercise burns a rather small number of calories relative to the calories they burn merely existing and the calories they burn going about their day to day.5 -
lucytalbot94 wrote: »I'm struggling to fit a gym workout in after work;
I get up at 7am, swim at 7.30 for 45/60 minutes.
My commute to work means I'm there by 9.30am, I work until 5.30pm.
By 6pm I'm home, have dinner and by 7pm I'm ready for a nap!
Once I've sat down I don't want to get changed, drive to the gym, workout and drive back again.
So, what about an evening walk? I live opposite a park and I can listen to my audiobooks as I have a trundle.
How much have you lost walking? Is it a myth that its good for weight-loss, or have you found truth in it?
Walking and or any activity by itself doesn't result weight loss by itself.
One would have to look at your TDEE and how much your calorie deficit is on average in relation. If walking helps you stay in a deficit....great.
Simply put if you are walking 5k or 24k per day but you aren't losing weight, your caloric intake is too high for your current activity level.
To answer your question I walk about 25 miles per week and I've lost nothing because my goal isnt to lose weight so I eat accordingly to my activity level.
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when i was 14 through 21, i walked a lot. up hills and down, on level ground, on the beach, large indoor places - i just liked it. it burned a lot of calories because i was quite fit with firm calves, thighs and butt, and i felt great. in the later part of that period, i used to go dancing vigorously for hours without getting winded thanks to all that walking. of course, i mean walking with purpose - not super fast, but not slow and not with lots of stops.
years later, when i needed to recover from injury, i found walking did it again - i got stronger, looked better and became much fitter.
walking rocks!8 -
Walking burns calories, so it can definitely help weight loss (provided the 'calories in' side of the equation is correct).
Walking was my primary source of exercise for several months while losing weight. In my case it helped weight loss in the sense that it allowed me to eat more while aiming for the same deficit/weight loss rate.
Aside from that, it also allowed me to increase my fitness level which was dire at the start of my weight loss journey. Which in turn made it possible to eventually switch to jogging/running. (That being said, I still walk now, on top of running)
This was my trajectory the first time around.
I was working full time in the infant room of a daycare and I got almost zero exercise. I mean…. Getting paid to hold sleeping babies is a decent gig. But, I definitely got way, way, way out of shape. I bought my son a treadmill to help him, but I discovered day one with it that I couldn’t walk a quarter mile. Which was a big shock. So, I started walking on the treadmill. Inside four months I was running outside on trails with my dogs, and I was loving it!cmriverside wrote: »Walking on a level surface may not burn many calories, but introduce a steep incline and the story changes dramatically! With bad knees I try to avoid running when possible, but set a treadmill at a steep incline with a decent pace, and I guarantee you will be huffing and puffing in no time! (Doesn't much address the OP question about walking in a park...)
Just kill me now if I have to ever walk/run on a treadmill.
I'm with Speakeasy, walking outdoors is the ticket for so many reasons. Luckily I live in a very hilly area (Seattle) so I get that incline thing outside.
Preferences aside, I can promise you, a treadmill, stationary bike, or recumbent elliptical beats grinnin’ at the lid.3 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »Walking burns calories, so it can definitely help weight loss (provided the 'calories in' side of the equation is correct).
Walking was my primary source of exercise for several months while losing weight. In my case it helped weight loss in the sense that it allowed me to eat more while aiming for the same deficit/weight loss rate.
Aside from that, it also allowed me to increase my fitness level which was dire at the start of my weight loss journey. Which in turn made it possible to eventually switch to jogging/running. (That being said, I still walk now, on top of running)
This was my trajectory the first time around.
I was working full time in the infant room of a daycare and I got almost zero exercise. I mean…. Getting paid to hold sleeping babies is a decent gig. But, I definitely got way, way, way out of shape. I bought my son a treadmill to help him, but I discovered day one with it that I couldn’t walk a quarter mile. Which was a big shock. So, I started walking on the treadmill. Inside four months I was running outside on trails with my dogs, and I was loving it!cmriverside wrote: »Walking on a level surface may not burn many calories, but introduce a steep incline and the story changes dramatically! With bad knees I try to avoid running when possible, but set a treadmill at a steep incline with a decent pace, and I guarantee you will be huffing and puffing in no time! (Doesn't much address the OP question about walking in a park...)
Just kill me now if I have to ever walk/run on a treadmill.
I'm with Speakeasy, walking outdoors is the ticket for so many reasons. Luckily I live in a very hilly area (Seattle) so I get that incline thing outside.
Preferences aside, I can promise you, a treadmill, stationary bike, or recumbent elliptical beats grinnin’ at the lid.
HA! I had never heard that saying, "Grinnin' at the lid." Thanks for that...now I'll have to find a way to work that into conversation.
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I think walking is great. Not only is it good for the body, it is good for your mental health as well!
To help with the idea of getting home and not wanting to do anything, I tend to go for my walk and eat afterwards. I don't give myself time to sit down when I get home from work because I also know, I won't get up either!3 -
I heard an interview with a college swim coach where he talked about why swimmers eat so much. He said when you swim 1 mile, it’s an equivalent to running 4 miles. If you’re pushing yourself in your 45-60 minute swim workout then you should be covered as far as activity goes, and if you’re paranoid because you have an office job, then you can get up and move around or stretch or do something in your office periodically through out the day. Also, if you’re overdoing it with exercise and not getting enough rest, then your body will hold onto as much stored energy as it can.3
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An evening walk is a great habit to get into. 🙂4
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Or you could make walking useful, I walk to work everyday so I don't have to pay for public transport or a car. I walk about 1 hour everyday, helps me stay lean.3
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NorthCascades wrote: »An evening walk is a great habit to get into. 🙂
Heck yeah. I can't really do it unless I want to wait until about 10PM but an evening walk with the fam in fall to early winter is golden and one of my favorite family fun times.3 -
An evening walk is a brilliant idea. People are saying you don't 'need' a walk if you have swum in the morning, but if you've been at a desk job all day, then instead of sitting again in the evening, you get to use your muscles and gently physically destress from the day. You get to enjoy fresher air, nature, and to improve your bone density, which swimming doesn't do. If you spend some of the time walking briskly then you will boost your metabolism too. It's a gorgeous way to listen to audio books.6
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TBH, I don't really think of a daily walk as exercise. I don't usually log it unless it is well over an hour and uphill. I think of it more as a mental destress and a chance to be in nature.4
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I've lost 36 pounds through walking, yoga, and proper nutrition.5
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Add me to the list of people who don't connectexercise and weight-loss. I exercise because I enjoy it - the specific activities I do. I don't do them for calorie burn. If it becomes something I do to lose weight (or now maintain loss) then they become a sort of job and obligation and lose a lot of the fun. I also have trouble when something happens like injury because I then feel like I'm 'failing' on top of just not getting to do fun things.
That said I have some active hobbies that I truly love as well. For me it's all just play. Or, well, I guess sort of me time and quiet time and thinking time and a chance to unwind when it comes to walking specifically.
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it sounds like you have cardio covered with your daily swim. Have you thought about adding in strength training? Or what about yoga or pilates for flexibility? Walking is great. . . I go out for walks several days a week. Just trying to give you some more options to chose from!2
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Walking is a good start, but the more you lose, the less energy required for it. Unless you’re increasing pace. Have you thought about getting up earlier? Like get up at 4:30-5am, then hit the gym and maybe move swimming to the evening. Just an idea (from someone who gets up at 3:30am to workout).1
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