Can you lose weight just by walking?

2

Replies

  • Nailrep
    Nailrep Posts: 966 Member
    As long as you are in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. The rate at which you lose is determined by how large the deficit is thru exercise and dieting.
  • valerie521
    valerie521 Posts: 140 Member
    Years ago - I had a 1520 calorie diet
    I walked 45 minutes every day around my neighboorhood
    I was in great shape - no other exercise

    :) My doctor told me to start with 30 minutes and if weight loss did not happen to increase each week 15 minutes

    and I have an extremely s l o w metabolism. I'm getting there again

    as the saying goes ... "slow and steady... something something" wins the race I think LOL
  • kathymillard1970
    kathymillard1970 Posts: 40
    yes you can. I have lost 27 Lbs.I started my diet March 31st. I started walking 1 hour a day twice a day, now I walk 2 hours a day twice a day. I walk and my Lbs. just melt away.
  • orangelf27
    orangelf27 Posts: 1
    At University, I went vegetarian so I just wanted to warn you that you will want to have some sort of multivitamins for the lack of protein and iron you will be taking in. There will be more vegetarian options and it will be easy to control what you eat there. Just make sure that you are having the right essentials, vitamins, and minerals! :)
  • Leslie85
    Leslie85 Posts: 265 Member
    Walking is great cardio- and I'm sure you can lose weight that way...probably just at a slower pace than if you were doing something a little more high intensity.

    Also- I don't know what your goal is- but this is something to keep in mind. Last year when I was trying to get "beach ready" all I did was cardio b/c I thought since that burned the most calories, that would get me to my goal weight the fastest. This year, however, I have been doing some interval training involving weights (like the 30DS) and even though I am a few lbs heavier this year, I look so much better. I think I actually look smaller than I did last year because I added some muscle and lost a little fat.

    I know you hate weight lifting and interval training- but it REALLY does produce a better result when compared to cardio only. Just something to think about :) But if only losing weight is your goal, as opposed to toning up, then you should be just fine!
  • indrani1947
    indrani1947 Posts: 178 Member
    yes walking is great and do not eat below your BMR its not good for you so grab yourself a pack of fruit, apples are great and have one as a snack instead of a biscuit, there are lots of seasonal fruit coming in so make the most of them and even tinned veg is better than no veg. keep at it you will get there :)
  • AnnyaSB
    AnnyaSB Posts: 233 Member
    I walk my dog (a lively Doberman) a couple of miles every day and also do Nordic walking (fast walking with poles) which burns about half as many calories again as just walking does a few times a month. It is very hilly here in Wales so there is lots of incline work involved in all my walks - the Nordic walking is all done hiking up and down hills and mountain sides with a group - I can burn 600-800 calories easily in a couple of hours (I have a good HRM to check my burn rate). I am now starting on the Pooch to 5K with aforementioned Dobie and hope to take up CaniCross with her in a couple of months when we are both fitter :smile:

    I've lost 19lbs since the end of February with my target set at 0.5lbs/week which has not been tough at all - only another 11lbs to go now.

    I must say I am now rather addicted to my walks and feel really figety if I miss a day for any reason - you may well end up the same once you have got into the habit of putting on your shoes and getting out there.

    Good luck!
  • losermomof3
    losermomof3 Posts: 386 Member
    You certainly can!!!! Even if its 10 minutes a day at 2.5 you can!!!
  • s3xipantz
    s3xipantz Posts: 14 Member
    Yes you can lose weight by walking. I have lost 148 pounds by walking and watching my calorie intake.



    Thats amazing! Great job!
  • marcia724
    marcia724 Posts: 180 Member
    I've lost weight with and without exercising at all. some people have to start out with walking because they are not used to exercise. of course you can lose weight from walking! :D
  • christamt
    christamt Posts: 48 Member
    You dont even have to walk in fact you can sit on your behind all day and still lose a ton of weight.....its all about your diet. Key to everything.


    I disagree totally. I think it is all about how much exercise you do and not so much about what you eat. Of course you should eat well but the more you move the more you lose. peroid.

    ps. i used to hate to work out too but you just have to find something fun and that you can get used to doing. try richard simmons! hes fun
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    I feel similarly to you about most 'exercise', but I'm more than happy to walk up to an hour or so to get somewhere. Between that and counting calories(I usually net around 1450), I've lost 40lb since last September. So yes, you can lose weight with walking as your main exercise. I have plateaued somewhat recently, but more to do with food (my mother's been staying!) than changes in exercise patterns.
  • CallmeSbo
    CallmeSbo Posts: 611 Member
    bump
  • SheilaSisco
    SheilaSisco Posts: 722 Member
    Doesn't matter what you eat for weight loss, just how much of it. You need to eat fewer calories than your body actually needs.

    Walking will help weight loss, but you'll need to control your calories too. That would be enough if you're not bothered about general health and just want to lose weight.

    How much fewer do I have to eat? My BMR is 1327 calories.

    You should never eat UNDER your BMR! The BMR is the number your body needs to function. You should eat OVER your BMR and UNDER your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) in order to lose the weight in the healthiest manner. So really, you should be eating more than 1327 a day NET in order to lose the weight without the nasty side effects of your metabolism slowing down...
  • carmelamturner
    carmelamturner Posts: 13
    Do you find yourself wondering why you never seem to lose weight and others are shedding pounds so easily? It just does not seem fair, because you know that you are working just as hard as they are, and sometimes even harder to achieve your goals. Here are some tips to help you level the playing field and get rid of those pounds for good.

    * Cut down your stress: stress is one of the biggest problems when you want to lose weight. This is because when you are tensed your body will automatically produce stress hormones that will prevent you from losing those unwanted pounds. Why does this happen?

    * Make sure you sleep properly: lack of sleep will prevent you from losing weight for exactly the same reasons. If you are tired your body will again be stressed out which will result in fat retention.

    * Eat healthy: it is important not to go on fad diets or ones that restrict carbs and fats in a drastic way. This will misbalance your body and create uncontrollable cravings, which will upset your diet and body functions. A better way is to eat in a healthy manner by cutting out junk food and eating whole grain foods. Do eat less fats and carbohydrates but do not completely cut them out of your diet.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    I lost 90 pounds in 18 months by walking (a lot of walking, mind you) and controlling my calories.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
    Doesn't matter what you eat for weight loss, just how much of it. You need to eat fewer calories than your body actually needs.

    Walking will help weight loss, but you'll need to control your calories too. That would be enough if you're not bothered about general health and just want to lose weight.

    How much fewer do I have to eat? My BMR is 1327 calories.

    How do you know your BMR is 1327? Is that from MFP?
    MFP uses BMR x 1.2 as the amount of calories to lose 1lb a week for a sedentary lifestyle. This builds in a 500 calories deficit for normal activity. If you exercise, you add those calories on to what you eat.

    So if you're BMR is really 1327

    1327 x 1.2 = 1592 + exercise calories to lose a lb a week, or 250 calories on top of that to lose 0.5lb/week.

    Sounds quite high (though not definitely wrong) , so you should check whether that number really is your BMR

    ETA: There are much better explanations than this ^^^^ out there - do a search on "exercise calories"

    Sorry - that's not right what I typed above. When your (BMR x 1.2) - 500 <1200, MFP puts on you on 1200 minimum as others have said. The BMR x 1.2 does not have a 500 deficit built into it. I blame lack of sleep last night :smile:
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,256 Member
    **....canteen food doesn't come with it's own nutritional labels.**

    That's true. I purchased a diabetes carb and fat guide...it gives you calorie content as well. Buy one and try to use it with the canteen food. You can estimate portion sizes pretty well, probably. It will give you a decent idea of the numbers.
  • scythswife
    scythswife Posts: 1,100 Member
    a lot of my weight loss has been from changing my calorie intake and doing leslie sansone's walk away the pound dvds. i love them and there are so many to choose from. from just walking to intervals its awesome.
  • Curvy_princess
    Curvy_princess Posts: 135 Member
    BUMP
  • StirFriedGiblets
    StirFriedGiblets Posts: 89
    You should never eat UNDER your BMR! The BMR is the number your body needs to function. You should eat OVER your BMR and UNDER your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) in order to lose the weight in the healthiest manner. So really, you should be eating more than 1327 a day NET in order to lose the weight without the nasty side effects of your metabolism slowing down...

    I went on this website here http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced and put in my info and got Basal Metabolic Rate as 1490 calories and my TDEE is 2104. How many calories should I expect to eat if I want to lose two pounds a week? Thanks for your help!
  • Lula16
    Lula16 Posts: 628 Member
    you can definitely lose weight just by walking. Thats how I started my fitness journey 2 yrs ago. I walked 5X week for 40 mts and within few months I lost 8 lbs. At the time, I wasnt even watching how clean I ate and I still lost weight.
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
    I lost my first 80 pounds by doing nothing more than walking and the occasional aerobic DVD. So yes, you can lose weight by walking. :happy:
  • bicoastalgirl
    bicoastalgirl Posts: 85 Member
    Yes. I lost my first 19 pounds just by walking and logging food. I lost the remaining weight when I added in running, and later circuit training.
  • mashanda
    mashanda Posts: 120 Member
    Yes you can! I have seen it done.
  • StirFriedGiblets
    StirFriedGiblets Posts: 89
    Just make sure you don't snack on chocolate or crisps a lot between your meals at uni. And vegetarian options may not always be healthier then other ones so don't assume. I bet you spend half your time eating pub lunches anyway, lol. It's almost inevitable. It's much easier to cook for yourself though to make sure you get healthy, good tasting food. You just have to make time for it. I'm a picky eater/have dietary issues so no way could I have gone catered.

    Your diary doesn't look too bad to me. I'm not a 'clean' eater either. I prefer to eat 'normal' foods in smaller quantities then living off purely fruit/veg which I'd never be able to maintain. I see you have the same thing for hot choc as me - the weight watchers one and options ones are quite nice and fewer cals. Maybe try replacing some of those choc bars for fruit?

    Unfortunately the uni I'm going to only offers catered accommodation apart from one college which is too far away from the science site. I know what you mean bout hot choc, my mam got tesco value one and I am totally hooked! I bet there's some secret drug they've put in there to make me addicted :laugh: Thanks for the suggestion bout replacing choc bars for fruit I'm going to try my hardest to do that
  • StirFriedGiblets
    StirFriedGiblets Posts: 89
    If you want to really get a good idea of how much good your walking is doing you, I recommend getting something that can time you and catch your speed. I know I have "runkeeper" on my iphone. It's great because it'll tell me how fast and how far I walked. Makes it much easier to plug the exercise back into myfittnesspal.

    Also, my mother lost about 10 pounds walking the dog every day twice a day. She had a much better nsv though. When she started walking she could barely keep up a very slow pace for 15 min. By the time I came home for spring break she was walking upwards of 6 miles daily (just with the dog) at a moderate pace without breaking a sweat. Even if she never lost a pound, I think we can all agree that she was doing way better healthwise.

    Ah yes I have an app called Noom or something which keeps track for me. I'm thinking I might start walking home from college or walking down the promenade with the dog - both of those walks are around 50 minutes each so it's pretty handy
  • ebenso1
    ebenso1 Posts: 39 Member
    Absolutely! I have lost all of my weight with walking. I try to walk 3 miles about 5 days a week. It is good exercise if you get your heart rate up and keep it up.
  • StirFriedGiblets
    StirFriedGiblets Posts: 89
    At University, I went vegetarian so I just wanted to warn you that you will want to have some sort of multivitamins for the lack of protein and iron you will be taking in. There will be more vegetarian options and it will be easy to control what you eat there. Just make sure that you are having the right essentials, vitamins, and minerals! :)

    What sort of vitamin/mineral supplements do you take? Do they cost much for you?
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    Yes. Next question.

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