Walking is more for mental health. Weights is where a 50+ yr old needs to focus.

Thanks for the walking reminder. Think I’m gonna start walking again!

Anonymous wrote:I'm a daily brisk walker, 45 min a day, rain or shine, hot or cold. I average 50 miles a month. It's my favourite exercise. I only started walking daily and briskly about 10 yrs ago at 40. It helps with everything, mood, and I get to.listen to.great podcasts. I eat clean and healthy, but I primarily attribute my trim figure to.daily brisk walks, combined with clean eating. I weigh the same.now at.age 50 as I did at.age 20. It's an underrated form.of.exercise. people.will scoff I'm sure, and call me.a humble brag. But I really think we.should step.away from the gym equipment and take daily walks for health. I challenge anhone.to take.a brisk walk.after dinner, and watch the weight slowly melt off
Evolutionary speaking we are designed to talk long distances, it's the perfect exercise. What are your experiences with daily brisk walks?

They bore the hell out of me. I'd much rather run or go to the gym. I also weigh the same as I did when I was 20 (I'm 50+) but I barely walk aside from walking the dog.

90% of weight loss comes from your eating habits/diet. While I'm a huge fan of walking, I love it actually, if you don't change your eating habits no amount of working out (walking, running, cross fit...) is going to make a difference, on the scale at least.

I'm a huge fan of both walking AND eating and I lost 40+ pounds (and maintained it) while doing a lot of both. I changed my eating habits in my late 40s by cutting out a lot of sugar and junk (I was eating a TON of junk and not exercising for a good chunk of my 40s - oops!) but I still eat a lot (more than my overweight husband by a good bit). I walk about 125 miles/month on the treadmill but I keep the speed and incline up the whole time (like 4.3 mph and 8-9 incline). Maybe I'm burning "100 calories" but it certainly seems sufficient to keep up with my appetite. I wish I liked some other form of exercise but I don't - just some ab work and pushups, a few barbell exercises.

I like walking outside for the fresh air and sunshine (well, not this week) but I don't really count that as part of my exercise because I don't ever end up drenched in sweat like I do inside.

I think that daily activity and movement is underrated. NEAT- that is non exercise activity thermogenesis is very often overlooked, but this is one of the biggest ways we use or don't use energy every day. People over estimate the benefits of their hour long gym session and underestimate the daily movement in their lives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You used the word "brisk" way too many time to be compelling. I was turned off after the third time.

The distinction is important. A lot of people walk daily but it's more an amble up the street with several stops, with the dog, in their pj's early in the morning.

She clearly has no sense of humor , sarcasm and understand how horribly dull she is. Due to her over explanation here to you. OP is as boring as her walks are "brisk!"

I love walking and am always posting about it. People really underestimate the value of NEAT.

90% of weight loss comes from your eating habits/diet. While I'm a huge fan of walking, I love it actually, if you don't change your eating habits no amount of working out (walking, running, cross fit...) is going to make a difference, on the scale at least.

Now the "quiet" benefits of walking are many, including lowering glucose levels, lowering stress, improving digestion.

Anonymous wrote:You used the word "brisk" way too many time to be compelling. I was turned off after the third time.

The distinction is important. A lot of people walk daily but it's more an amble up the street with several stops, with the dog, in their pj's early in the morning.

I agree with this, though I don't think walking alone is a great way to lose a lot of weight or to totally shift your fitness. But I think it's great for maintaining a healthy weight and I also think it's a good way to just keep your body in a healthy place. If walking is part of your daily routine, it's hard to let anything go too much because you will notice issues immediately. I walk about 5 miles a day between school drop off and pick up, my commute, and usually running one or two errands. I've had a variety of health issues in the last 5 years since turning 40, including a lower back issue and some foot problems. Being a walker meant I had to address those things quickly and was heavily invested in ensuring I could continue to walk. Driving/parking where I live is a huge hassle, so I really didn't want to permanently switch to driving.

Knowing you can walk 4-5 miles without pain (assuming good walking shoes and no extenuating circumstances) is a good way to check in on your overall health and know nothing is getting too neglected.

I agree that walking can be helpful because you can do it without tiring yourself out and it doesn't increase your appetite. When I went back to work in-person and started walking 30min/day as part of my commute, it didn't feel like exercise but I lost about 15lbs in a few months without consciously changing anything else (although part of it was probably less snacking since I'm not in the house all day anymore).

I do "real" workouts 2-3 times a week, but between kids and a busy job it's nice to have that baseline level of activity built into the day.

Walking is good for your mental and physical health but it’s not great for weight loss.

It’s all about genetics and hormones, sadly. I’ve greatly increased my walks but at 53 my weight keeps increasing.

In late perimenopause or menopause, your body will naturally start to pack on the pounds due to less estrogen.

I think it’s hard to be fat when you are getting 15-20k steps a day. I think 20k steps a day or the equivalent on bike or swim is a good target for overall health, plus weight lifting.

You used the word "brisk" way too many time to be compelling. I was turned off after the third time.

Walking is so good for my mind - I love being out and listening to podcasts and books and having a chance to just be inside my own head, quietly. As far as weight loss, when I walk about 1 hour a day (give or take 10k steps) I NEVER lose weight. When I bump to 15k, I start losing. This has been a pattern over the years, so I know it's not just a fluke.