Just wondering if any of you have lost a significant amount of weight with walking. I don't like going to the gym with the exception of weight lifting on the machines. I can walk 2-3 miles a day and I enjoy doing exercise tapes. I just don't see myself being a "gym rat".

yes i believe you can lose weight by walking. before I got the lap band i lost 100 lbs by watching my diet of course and by walking and walking tapes. leslie sansone is great. good luck!

Just wondering if any of you have lost a significant amount of weight with walking. I don't like going to the gym with the exception of weight lifting on the machines. I can walk 2-3 miles a day and I enjoy doing exercise tapes. I just don't see myself being a "gym rat".

I think walking can work well at first - if you're very overweight and unfit and add a few hills, its hard work! It definitely puts you up there in a higher heart rate zone. If done properly it will lead to weight loss.

But its not always so great over time for everybody. Oh, it'll keep you out of the cardiac ward, its great for your general health, its enjoyable, relieves stress and you should do at least walking. But you'll get WAY better results from more vigorous exercise. Its hard to put a finger on what it does, but after five years of running, my metabolism is like a furnace. I've had my band unfilled and have become one of those infuriating people who can eat anything and not gain weight - honestly. I have no need for fill in my band.

You build up to these things though, nobody says you have to go out there and run a marathon and bench press 200kg right now. You keep challening your body. A comfort zone really means that you've stopped making gains, exercise should be a little hard. And its just very true that you get out of anything what you put into it. Exercise must fit into your lifestyle, you must like it enough to do it and the best exercise is one you willa ctually do - if that's walking, then that's fine. However, dont close your mind to challenging yourself a little more than that in due course.

The MOST important factor for weight loss though is your diet, if you get that right, then it may not be ever necessary to do any more than just walk.

You will be able to loose some w/ walking but will not be able to maintain the weight loss over time. Unfortunately our bodies need both cardio and weights to maintain weight loss. Have you ever used the exercise bands? You can do your cardio and then use the bands to workout. Once you feel good enough to move on then use weights. This can be as simple as 15 minutes daily or every other day. But to sustain weight loss you will have to eat right first and foremost, do cardio and weights.

hi wheezygirl

one thing i've learned is 85% of my weight loss came from eating properly. i didnt believe it even though when i was 270 lbs i exercised 2 hrs daily and never lost a lb.

i was taking in too many calories at the time.

so when i was banded, i journalled my food every day so i was honest with what i was eating. before journalling, little licks and bites added to alot and i never thought i was eating that much. wow...reality set in and i was able to make adjustments.

having said that...exercise has helped me shape my body and tone. it also makes me feel great. when i exercise in any given day, i am less likely to eat junk since i think to myslef "why did you go bust your butt to eat junk"

a few years ago i had a great trainer and he felt walking was the best exercise if you can get your heart rate up. i really dislike walking so i dont do it but i trust his advice.

i prefer kickboxing, cycling and weight training.

good luck on your journey. it is well worth it

josie

I lost 65-75% of my excess weight through diet alone, I didn’t step foot in the gym in the beginning. I then found out that at some point my weight loss was shifting from fat loss to lean mass being lost. Not all weight loss is a good thing!!! You absolutely don’t want to lose lean mass, in fact in order to reduce your Body Fat (I don’t mean BMI) you need to build lean (muscle) mass while shedding fat. For me, that meant lifting weights and increasing my Protein intake. Once I achieved my goal weight and Body Fat objectives I shifted my focus from weight lifting to other forms of exercise that I enjoy more. I now compete in Half Marathons, Triathlons, and long distance bike rides. It’s amazing how much more enjoyable those activities are when you not overweight. I really don’t need to watch what I eat anymore. I eat healthy, but I am no longer consumed by my diet and my weight has stayed pretty consistent over the last year.

It's good to get SOME in, but after living with this for a few months, I don't feel hours and hours of exercise a day makes too much of a difference in the actual weight loss, but it will help shape your body and keep your skin from being less saggy. I try to at least walk 3x a week. I like the Leslie Sansone DVDs too, you can watch em for free at Exercisetv.tv

Like we've mentioned above, I think where exercise REALLY makes a difference is in keeping weight off.

Thank you everyone for your input! I really appreciate all of your opinions. I think I will start with a Zumba class or go back to Jazzercise and go from there. I do enjoy using the weight machines at the gym and I could see myself doing that several times a week. I will give it my best effort and hopefully once I get some weight off I will be more motivated to become a gym regular!

Kudos to Jachut and KartMan!!! Great posts!

Brad