Can you lose a lot of weight with just walking?!?

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  • Loudmom01
    Loudmom01 Posts: 131 Member
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    In the past I lost a lot of weight by walking. I would walk 5-10 miles a day (usually broken up into 2-3 walks because I cant walk 10 miles at once.) I would increase speed, walk up hills or increase distance to shake things up. I also thru in sit ups, push ups, squats and lunges because you can do those at anytime of day, at home, no gym membership or machines needed.
  • ohmariposa
    ohmariposa Posts: 372 Member
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    Walking is all the exercise I have done and I am down almost 50lbs since July :-)
  • leann74016
    leann74016 Posts: 242 Member
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    Thank you everyone for commenting! I work at a daycare center so I am constantly walking during the work week! Prob 5 hrs a day and i walk pretty fast all day. (have to keep up with all the kiddos haha) Just wanted a lil feedback on your thought about walking. Thank you again!! :)
  • Kimmer2011
    Kimmer2011 Posts: 569 Member
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    Almost all my weight loss has been with walking. Occasionally I bump up to a slow job, but not for long. I'd like to join a gym so I can start using weights (and because I won't walk outside when it's so cold and potentially icy), but that won't happen for a few more weeks at least.

    Get out and walk--it works!
  • plushkitten
    plushkitten Posts: 547 Member
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    Yes! Walking is great, especially for long distances. You'll really see the difference if you remain consistent.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I would also challenge you to start running even though your body is telling you different in the beginning.

    I just wanted to gently point out that running is not for everyone, and listening to your body is usually smart and important. And I say this as someone who used to be a competitive distance runner who can no longer safely run.
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
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    To answer your question yes you can. My mother, who HATES to workout, lost almost 70 lbs just from going on daily walks and eating all natural...nothing from a package. She gained some of it back, so when i move back up there in March, we can loss together.
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    a calorie burned is a calorie burned. Walk your way to a ripped physique with walking, is possible. While walking, your heart rate is lower so those calories you are burning are coming from your fat stores vs. glycogen stores. Usually when I do cardio after a workout I keep it light / low heart rate most of the time for this very reason.
  • Mickyboo1
    Mickyboo1 Posts: 67
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    I walk atleast 40 mins a day 6 days a week. Im down over 100 lbs...Works for me.
  • nbaxter1104
    nbaxter1104 Posts: 16
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    My baby is two and instead of driving, we walk the half mile to the park. and although most of them are cheesy, I use different exercise videos. My son loves to join in and try and it makes me laugh hyisterically. haha
  • singingchick1515
    singingchick1515 Posts: 12 Member
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    I have been using the Leslie Sansone DVD's...and I love them!
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    My baby is two and instead of driving, we walk the half mile to the park. and although most of them are cheesy, I use different exercise videos. My son loves to join in and try and it makes me laugh hyisterically. haha

    Sounds like a wonderful way to spend time with your baby :)
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
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    Any exercise is great, but if you walk, it has to be really, really far.
    Remember people are basically "made" to walk, our legs are longer than most animals and we can walk and jog longer than any other animal on the planet.

    What I am saying is that its good, but its very efficient so you need to do a lot of it for it to show in weight loss.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
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    I started by walking a lot, at least 30 mins per day with my dog. Now I do more vigorous exercise :-)
  • sweets2001
    sweets2001 Posts: 106
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    You sure can. Back before I had my kids all I did was walk and between watching my diet and walking managed to lose 50 lb in 5 months, so definitely doable.
  • jeni_Giedd
    jeni_Giedd Posts: 61
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    Definitely! I try to walk two to four times a day, at ten to forty minute intervals. With MFP I have also been watching how much I eat, too, of course. I blew out my knees (two years apart) and walking is about as active as I get. I don't want to jog too much until I lose another 10 - 15 pounds because otherwise I'm afriad I'm putting too much stress on my knees. I can't afford a gym, and I want to be able to just get up and do it when I can. I'm down 15 1/2 pounds already in three months!
  • waskier
    waskier Posts: 254 Member
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    I am simplifying this a bit, but your body basically burns fuel in two ways. One is the combination of fat cells and oxygen burning to create energy to fuel your body (byproduct is carbon dioxide and water, which means you pee a lot!). This is known as operating in your aerobic zone.

    The other way is when your body cannot get enough oxygen to create fuel. That is when you burn glycogen that your body stores. The byproduct of that is lactic acid, which is what makes your muscles sore.

    Walking keeps your body within your aerobic zone (except in extremes) and is about as good as you can get for fat burning.

    You can look up heart rate calculators on the internet that will let you know what your aerobic zone is. When you take a walk, bring a watch, count your heart rate for 6 seconds and multiply by ten. You will know if you are in your zone.

    As you improve you will find you need to walk faster and may want to incorporate hills to challenge yourself. Endurance athletes use this zone to improve their aerobic fitness levels. Don't think that just because you can't get to a gym you can't improve as much. I'll bet you will leave the rest of us in the dust with your weight loss if you walk every day!
  • twinmama1987
    twinmama1987 Posts: 566 Member
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    walking isnt enough for me!!!! :/ i do workout dvds. insanity/p90x etc.

    mar-jan.jpg

    i have a set of 2 year old twins at home with me 24/7
  • halphord
    halphord Posts: 379 Member
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    I have been using the Leslie Sansone DVD's...and I love them!


    I agree. I use Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home DVD's and I love them as well...GREAT walking dvd's...and much more than walking. It really gets my heart rate up and they range from 1 mile to 5 miles. If you can't go outside due to rainy weather, they're a great tool to use! I use them even on nice days because I'm just more comfy in my house. :)
  • Puddykat1026
    Puddykat1026 Posts: 164 Member
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    Walking is great. Also, there are things you can do with your kids for exercise. You can include them and they think you're playing together (it starts a young as mommy & me yoga). You can get a jump rope at the dollar store & play together. Also, Even using things around the house for weight training like water bottles or canned goods will work to change up your routine if you get bored. Also, if you have a Wii, you could do Zumba or Just Dance together or look on Youtube for videos that you could do aerobics to or even do with the kiddos.

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