Will walking really help me lose weight?

[Anonymous]

Or at least allow me to stabilize my weight? Opinions and experiences appreciated!

[Anonymous]

This depends on so much - what you are eating, and how accustomed you are to walking.

When I was 60 pounds heavier, walking everywhere and being carless never helped me lose weight. Maybe a couple of pounds (like 5) at first as my body adjusted, but nothing substantial or sustaining.

For me, losing that weight was about doing things that made me breathe heavy and get red in the face - I needed higher intensity cardio exercise. I also ate everything in moderation, though didn't eat out much. I've maintained that for several years now, pretty easily.

Walking is still a great thing to do for your body and mind, but walking didn't do jack shit for me in terms of weightloss.

[Anonymous]

You lose weight in the kitchen. No amount of exercise can outpace a bad diet.

[Anonymous]

I have hit 15,000 steps a day for a month and haven't lost anything. So I'm gonna vote no. Although if you are 100 lbs overweight and not active, then you'd likely lose something at least at the beginning.

[Anonymous]

I agree with a PP who said losing weight begins in the kitchen. You cannot out exercise a bad diet, especially if you're over 30. Walking is an essential part of staying healthy and fit, but the way I lost weight was to change my eating habits, and to drink much, much less alcohol

[Anonymous]

I used to walk as my only exercise and lost a lot of weight. I walked after every meal pretty much, so several times a day. I also ate very slowly and never too much at one time. I lost weight and stayed very thin doing that for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You lose weight in the kitchen. No amount of exercise can outpace a bad diet.

+1 this is true. you need to modify your diet AND walk/exercise.

[Anonymous]

I've been loosing on 8-10k steps a day. But I do portion controls, drinking so much more water and limiting my alcohol intake. Also very very important, my activity tracker indirectly shows the intensity of my steps based on my calories burned. So if I did just lite walking after 10k steps I'll burn just 1200 calories. However, if I'm very active in my steps example moving around frequently, power walking, dancing, climbing stairs, jogging etc I burn 2000 calories by 10k steps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been loosing on 8-10k steps a day. But I do portion controls, drinking so much more water and limiting my alcohol intake. Also very very important, my activity tracker indirectly shows the intensity of my steps based on my calories burned. So if I did just lite walking after 10k steps I'll burn just 1200 calories. However, if I'm very active in my steps example moving around frequently, power walking, dancing, climbing stairs, jogging etc I burn 2000 calories by 10k steps.

Wha? Walking 10,000 steps burns 2000 calories? Count me in!

[Anonymous]

Walking 10,000 steps in a day likely burns about 300 net additional calories (i.e. 300 more calories than you would burn laying on the couch all day).

PP is way, way over estimating calorie burn from walking. I average about 15,000 steps per day. I also play about 3 hours of pretty intense basketball per week and lift heavy 3 times a week. As a 6'3" 200 LB man, I can get away with eating about 3000 calories per day total. If I laid on the couch all day, I could eat about 2200.

It is really, really easy to out-eat exercise. I once read that Paula Radcliff (a professional marathoner) could eat back all of the calories from her 120 miles per week of running (at a sub 6:00 per mile pace) by adding one large chocolate chip muffin and a big bagel with cream cheese to the daily diet of a sedentary person. That may be an exaggeration, but (according to the calorie burn estimate from my garmin) I did once eat back all of the calories that I burned in a marathon during the ride back to my hotel from the race.

[Anonymous]

Walking is a wonderful exercise for overall posture, breathing, bone and cardiac health.

Losing weight is a food issue. The less calories you eat, the less you'll weigh.

Exercising to lose weight involved intense bouts of it because the body's metabolism needs to be revved up to burn calories more quickly. Not a fan of that at all!

[Anonymous]

I continue to believe in calories in calories out. Ergo, walking will help, IF you do not add more calories in. If you like walking, there is no reason for you to reward yourself with food for doing it. So it could help. Again, especially if after walking, you feel good, and make yourself a nice salad.

Of course you burn more calories if you are heavier, so it will help more for that then for the last 20 pounds to "goal weight".

[Anonymous]

I don't know about weight loss, but I've been working every evening and my legs look tighter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walking is a wonderful exercise for overall posture, breathing, bone and cardiac health.

Losing weight is a food issue. The less calories you eat, the less you'll weigh.

Exercising to lose weight involved intense bouts of it because the body's metabolism needs to be revved up to burn calories more quickly. Not a fan of that at all!

The fewer calories you eat, the less you'll weigh.

[Anonymous]

It can but it takes times and not increasing your eating. Many people get a pedometer and try for 10k(steps) a day, but do not take into account they normally walk 6-8k a day. So in reality they are only increasing their step count by 2-4k a day. That is only 100 to 200 calories burned.

10k(or 5 miles) will have to be in addition to what you normally walk and is about 450-500 calories.
So if you keep your current intake of calories(assuming it's not too much) and walk, you will slowly lose weight. Maybe 1-3 % of your wieght in a month.
You will feel better doing something. Just remember it took time to put on the extra pounds. It will take time to take them off.