To walk or not to walk??

I work at an elementary school as an aide and office help. All summer long I swam and walked 2 to 3 miles every other day on my treadmill. Since school started back I have been exhausted after working 8 hours. I walk ALL over the school. So much so that I took my pedometer to work on Thursday and I logged 12,000 steps. Equivalent to over 5 miles. Do I still need to come home and walk 2 miles on the treadmill or can I just count that on exercise as time walked? I am really way to tired with my own kids to take care of in the evening. I still have 50 pounds to lose.

I would still walk for exercise-- absolutely. You're getting exercise, yes, and burning calories-- but you're not getting cardio work and you're not getting the mental benefits of exercise-- de-stress and all that jazz--

Make time--

I agree, walk. When your walking around the school, granted you do log in a lot of miles over the course of a week, but it's doubtful that you're walking at a pace that would really get your heartrate up. Even if you were, I would imagine you make a lot of stops, so you never really get a good, even workout. Plus, I don't know much about pedometers and if they make super techi ones, but from what I know of them, they can be highly inaccurate. I tried one last year and compared it to the distance that google maps showed me and the pedometer was way off.

Can you take a walk on your lunch break? That's what I do, I love my walks. In just half an hour I can burn around 250 calories. I would imagine your work day is hectic and noisy and busy.....so popping in your Ipod and taking a relaxing refreshing walk in the fresh air would probably be a great way to get through the rest of your day.

I'm agreeing with everyone else. The walking you do during the day does not count as exercise.

Like amymeenieminymo said. Can you walk during lunch? I use to work as an aid and that's what I did. I would have a snack during my morning break, a small lunch like salad or yogurt & fruit. Then I'd have time for a good 15-20 min walk. Have another walk when you get home. 15-20 min isn't that long. You might even be surprised to find it energizes you for the rest of your evening.