How many miles do I need to walk each day...

[susankenny]

...To eat whatever I want and not put on weight. I'm sick of "almost" being able to fit into "those" jeans. I'm sick of watching what I eat and never losing weight (oh! but I can gain it quickly). I'm tired of exercising and never getting ahead. I finally understand that my weight is absolutely perfect, but my height lacks:lol:. Unfortunately, I can't take growth pills, so how many miles should I walk each day to enjoy food without worries. Should I walk to the next city for lunch, or what??

 

 

Susan

[coffeegal]

I don't know about eating whatever you want, but I've heard that walking 5 miles a day is optimal.

 

Hth! :001_smile:

[bettyandbob]

I'm switching my exercise routine, because it's getting too cold. I was walking 5 miles 5 times a week. 4 of those time at 5:15 am, hence the need to change in the winter. I got good results with that routine. While I walked, did arm exercises--several reps of circles for 1/2 mile, several reps of tricep work to the back for a 1/2 mile, a few other things. I don't like getting up so early, but I always felt good when I came in after finishing and my weight went down slightly without a lot effort (no real diet, just tried to make sensible choices).

[NanceXToo]

Gosh, that would take forever. It takes me an hour to walk just barely over 3 miles! Which I do on Monday and Wednesday. Then on Saturdays I usually walk about 2 miles. And sometimes I can squeeze in treadmill time on a Tuesday evening (2 miles or less).

 

And I definitely can't eat whatever I want without gaining weight. Guess I have to walk for two hours or more for that lol.

[susankenny]

Thank you! I'm seriuosly going to buy walking shoes tomorrow.

 

RUUUN Forest RUUUUN:lol:

 

 

Susan

[goldberry]

I loved your question! It made me laugh.

 

I did have to add though that regardless of whether you gain weight or not, you would STILL not be able to eat whatever you want if you are concerned about the health of your body.

 

I grew up naturally skinny but living on Snickers and Dr.Pepper. My naturally skinny state made it hard for me to eat healthy foods or exercise properly. I had friends who were slightly "overweight" but were in better health than me really.

 

Although sometimes I wish I were still that way, at least now my weight REMINDS me of what I should be doing anyway just to take care of my body.

 

Sorry...just like we tell our kids...there are no real shortcuts!

[StephanieZ]

It's not just walking, it's also how hard are you working?

 

If you are strong enough that walking barely raises your heart rate. . . then you could walk all day & it wouldn't make much of a difference calorie-wise. You need to raise your heart rate to burn calories.

 

FWIW, walking a mile does NOT always burn the same calories as running a mile. . . there are infinite variations. If you walk hard/fast enough to break a sweat & breathe hard, then you are doing great. But a relaxed stroll won't do what you want. :)

 

(FWIW, if you can do serious hills walking, or a treadmill on a steep incline, then you can easily get a serious calorie burn going even if you are quite fit!)

 

Say you might burn 100 calories a mile on relatively level, brisk walking. . . . (this will depend on both your weight & your fitness & how hard you are walking. . .). . . that is a lot of miles and a lot of time to burn many calories. I can burn 350 or so in an hour of walking. . . But 600+ in an hour of running. Thus, I prefer to run.

 

LOL, I also prefer to run for a long time. Thus, I can eat what I want. :)

 

HTH

[susankenny]

I grew up naturally skinny but living on Snickers and Dr.Pepper. My naturally skinny state made it hard for me to eat healthy foods or exercise properly. I had friends who were slightly "overweight" but were in better health than me really.

 

What stinks is I actually eat fairly healthy. I don't even know the last time I had a candy bar (and I love sweets!), and although I do have a diet soda every blue moon, it's usually water or green tea.

 

I just want to eat freely and not worry about it. I'm not even talking restaurants or fast food, but delicious homemade recipes from awesome cookbooks!...mmmmm. I hate counting calories or skimping on pasta (whole wheat at that!). Especially since it doesn't work for me. I'm going to take up exercising more, so that hopefully (fingers crossed) food can become my yummy friend again, lol. and maybe just maybe (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) I can fit into my pants from yesteryear.

 

 

Susan

[kwickimom]

walking takes forever. If I were you I would start lifting weights. Muscle will burn more and longer, and you can workout in a shorter period of time.

[Rosie_0801]

There's a theory I've been reading about that, for women, exercising too much (so you're sore the next day) will inhibit weight loss.

 

As for eating whatever you want, well, I guess that depends what you want, doesn't it? Perhaps if you give yourself a good vitamin and mineral supplement each morning, you will fill in any deficiencies and you'll find yourself wanting less of the bad stuff.

 

Rosie

[LibraryLover]

1000? 10,000?

[Jennifer in MI]

I started running three years ago to lose weight. I was disappointed to find that I didn't lose weight by running. I kept at it because I felt so good! I was running around 15 miles/week. But, the weight didn't come off until I started Weight Watchers. Even when I increased my mileage and trained for a half marathon, the weight didn't come off until I limited my calories.

 

Now, I am currently training for a marathon. I am NOW at a point where I can eat nearly all I want. But, I'm running four days/week, around 35 miles/week. My longer runs are now 15 − 20 miles. But, this didn't happen until I increased my mileage this dramatically!!!!

[grace'smom]

Running and a lower carb diet (nothing super extreme but enough to realize that a bread is not necessary at EVERY meal, LOL) helped me lose a bunch. But I had to get to the point of running 3 miles 3x per week and 5 on Saturdays. Then it slid right off. Now I'm just trying to keep it stable in the cold season when I don't want to run so much. It's COLD!!!

[NanceXToo]

There's a theory I've been reading about that, for women, exercising too much (so you're sore the next day) will inhibit weight loss.

 

As for eating whatever you want, well, I guess that depends what you want, doesn't it? Perhaps if you give yourself a good vitamin and mineral supplement each morning, you will fill in any deficiencies and you'll find yourself wanting less of the bad stuff.

 

Rosie

 

I've heard that's because your body retains water while your muscles repair themselves. So I don't work out too hard the day before I have my official weigh in!

[Paige]

You reminded me of this video:

[amsunshine]

You reminded me of this video:

 

 

:lol:

 

Very funny -- but so true!

[Jen in PA]

walking takes forever. If I were you I would start lifting weights. Muscle will burn more and longer, and you can workout in a shorter period of time.

 

:iagree: Doing strength training takes very little time. As long as I fit in three 20 - 30 minute sessions each week, I can eat as much as I like and not gain weight. Even better (to me), weight-bearing exercise should help me avoid some of the degenerative bone issues that run in my family.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

When I lived in France, I estimated that I walked about 4 miles a day. I didn't have a car and carried my laundry to the laundromat, carried my groceries home on the bus, etc. I basically ate whatever I wanted and drank lots of red wine and never gained any weight. I was actually incredibly toned and felt great walking everywhere.

 

Where I live now, it is not really convenient to walk. I sometimes walk to the bank and the drug store, but other than that, it is hard to get anywhere without a car.

[Jami]

walking takes forever. If I were you I would start lifting weights. Muscle will burn more and longer, and you can workout in a shorter period of time.

 

:iagree:

 

Give me short, hard, intense workouts over long hours of boring walking any day of the week. Intervals of sprints, circuit training, weight lifting--just hit it HARD and get it over with.

[jplain]

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, exercise is probably not going to allow you to eat everything you want.

 

What you do for exercise will impact your overall health and fitness, and it'll change the shape of your body. But what and how much you eat will have the biggest impact on the number on the scale.

 

You may want to investigate going lower carb and working on short, intense bursts of exercise, as described in the Primal Blueprint book and website. If that style of eating and fitness appeals to you, go for it!

 

I agree with the previous posters who've suggested weight lifting. Weight lifting will change your shape, and you'll probably be pleased with the results. However, do it for its own sake. Don't get too attached to fitting into any particular item of clothing. Case in point: my skinny jeans don't fit when I've been lifting regularly. But that's okay. I'll take strong over skinny any day! :D

Edited December 12, 2010 by jplain

[StephanieZ]

Unless you are a 1 in a 1000 metabolism anti-miracle. . .

 

then weight loss is simple. Calories in vs. calories expended.

 

You can eat less (fewer calories in). You can exercise more (expend calories directly at time of exercise PLUS increases metabolism by building muscle).

 

I vote for aerobic exercise since it helps your overall health.

 

Everyone is different, but it all comes down to calories in vs calories out. . .For me, the pounds are falling off while runnning 15-20 miles a week. The weight loss started right away upon starting daily exercise, but it has accelerated with increased mileage. It was about a pound a week for a while, while eating pretty carefully. . . Now it's more like 1 1/2 - 2 lb a week and I am eating a lot more typically. Being able to eat what I like and still lose weight is really, really nice. I just couldn't live on 1800 calories a day (my maintenance calorie allowance if sedentary) long term. By burning an extra 700-800 a day, that gives me a lot more calories to play with.

[HappyCrazyMama]

I recommend the No S Diet. http://www.nosdiet.com/ I believe you can eat whatever you want and lose weight (even without exercise) but you can't eat as much as you might want. Even with No S your meals would be small.

[Negin]

Susan, once I entered my 30s, I could no longer exercise AND eat as much as I wanted to. Before that, I could. My body changed. I have to REALLY eat less in order to lose anything. Exercise is essential for overall health and wellbeing, but once I entered my 30s, it does squat when it comes to weight loss. Unfortunately.

 

You reminded me of this video:

Fabulous video. Going to bookmark this and watch their other ones. Thank you for this.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/27/earlyshow/health/main5269114.shtml

 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/phys-ed-why-doesnt-exercise-lead-to-weight-loss/

 

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/articles/aerobicexercise.htm

 

http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

 

Exercise is important for overall health, but it may not burn that many calories.

To demonstrate the calorie intake versus exercise principle:

Elliptical training for 44 minutes/500 kcal burned=1 Honey Bran Raisin Muffin from Dunkin Donuts

Kickboxing for 25 minutes and 272 kcal burned=Grande Starbucks latte with whole milk

Jogging for 60 minutes and 470 kcal burned=1 slice (1/6 of cake) of Sara Lee Cheesecake, chocolate swirl NY style

Pilates for 30 minutes and 119 kcal burned=5 pieces of hard candy

It’s much easier to eat 1000 calories than it is to burn 1000 calories!

 

What Amount of Exercise Burns 1 Pound of Fat?

To burn sufficient calories to lose one pound of body fat, you might:

- Briskly walk a total of 35 miles

- Swim moderately fast for 6 hours

- Dance for 12 hours

- Play about 12.5 hours of golf, carrying your own clubs

- Jog for about 29 miles

At the same time, you would need to monitor your eating habits to ensure that you are not increasing your calorie-intake in line with your increased exercise! And we all know that it’s much easier to eat 1000 calories than it is to burn 1000 calories!

As you can see, it takes time and considerable physical effort to achieve any kind of rapid fat-loss by exercise alone. So if you want to burn off your last pockets of fat by increased fitness training, give yourself enough time and don't jump onto your bathroom scales more often than once a month. Also, be aware that muscle is denser (heavier mass) than fat. So while you may look leaner, your weight may show only a slight reduction.

Since it takes 3500 calories to lose one pound, if you are only burning 1000 calories a week through exercise, it will take you about 3 weeks to lose a pound– assuming you don’t eat any more food than you ate before you started exercising.

But, the benefits of exercise are worth the time and effort, even if its star attribute isn’t in the weight-loss department.

 

Exercise is important, but it may negatively affect your weight loss for three main reasons:

1. Exercise makes you hungrier, causing you to eat more.

2. Exercise causes feelings of entitlement. You may want to reward yourself because you worked out so hard at the gym.

3. Exercise does not burn that many calories. Couple that fact with being hungrier and you may eat more calories than you burned.

 

If you're looking to control your weight, exercise is the least efficient way to do it. You'd have to run for hours to keep the cookies you ate from adding to your waistline. It's far more effective to not eat the cookies. Making fruits and vegetables a larger part of your diet will help crowd out the foods that don't offer much in the way of nutrition, and that add weight that shouldn't be there. Also, as you build lean muscle tissue, your body will lessen its fatty tissue, and your shape will change. If you're overweight, you're not trying to lose weight, you're trying to lose fat. If your goal is to look and feel great, strength building exercise will accomplish this while making you fit in the process. Doing only aerobics will not.

 

For me, weight loss is more like 80% of what I eat and 20% of what I do. As with most things in life, the usual 80/20 Principle applies. My dh (and others have said this also), say that it may be more like 90% what I eat. I'm coming to believe that more and more. Yes, exercise is KEY for overall health, but when it comes to weight loss, for me, it's not the magic bullet that it once was. Unfortunately. I used to love to be able to eat that slice of cheesecake AND run 4 miles the next morning AND not ever gain.

Whether or not I lose weight is all about what I put in my mouth. If I really watch what and how much I eat I lose. If I don't I will just maintain or gain.

Exercise does help to maintain when I'm not watching what I eat, but I no longer lose any significant amount of weight without really watching what you eat, regardless of how much Jillian Michaels I do.

In fact, the weeks I exercise more, I step on the scale and gain usually. And it's not muscle mass. I'm just briskly walking.

I now tell myself to exercise. Not necessarily for 90 minutes a day and sometimes not even every day, since it's often unrealistic and not possible. But I tell myself to exercise for health. I no longer exercise for weight loss. If I want to lose weight, which is a perpetual goal of mine, I have to eat MUCH, MUCH less (which is what I'm currently doing with the hcg diet). If I want overall health and longevity, I have to add regular and consistent exercise.

 

As a good friend reminded me:

“If you can exercise only and drop the pounds, count yourself blessed. You are not the norm.”

She also said this (and she's very trim, slim, and healthy - gorgeous actually):

"... my exercise goal is forty minutes, four times or more a week. When I exercise for an hour or more, I'm exhausted for the rest of the day and have an insatiable appetite."

 

Exercise does help burn calories -- you just can't eat more because of it.

Also since exercise may trigger hunger you need to focus on not only the calories you are consuming, but also making sure the calories you do consume are going to fill you up. Foods high in fiber, protein and healthy fat, are low enough in calories that you won't be sabotaging your workouts.

 

Someone else wrote this:

There’s a Gary Taubes video where he talks about how when we increase our exercise, our appetites naturally increase to adjust. Conversely, when we reduce our caloric intake, our bodies naturally reduce their energy output to adjust. This is not something you hear much about though, because it flies in the face of "conventional wisdom".

[Mom0012]

Unfortunately, I think there are very few people who can eat whatever they want no matter how much they exercise (unless it is to an extreme like training for the Olympics).

 

I think weight loss is far more about intake than anything else. Exercise is important, but intake is even more so. You can only burn so many calories with exercise, but you can do a lot of damage in a short time with a cheesecake in front of you.

 

I would look more at what you are eating. For me, if I don't limit my carbs and mostly stick to whole grains, as well as have some substantial protein at each meal, I have horrible sugar cravings. If I ate a donut or even oatmeal for breakfast, I would be craving food all day. I'm not talking about something real low carb like Atkins, but just switching carbs to mostly whole grains or veggies and then having protein like cheese or meat at each meal and avoiding sweets. When I eat like that, my appetite plummets and I really don't think about food at all until I am truly hungry. Then it is easy to maintain my weight with minimal exercise. And I do have cheesecake,ice cream or whatever on lots of special occasions. It's just not an every day thing.

 

Lisa

[Peela]

I know what you mean but its an awful way to live, dont you think? To be measuring exercise by how much weight its burning up (or not), to feel guilt for everything you eat? I dont like living like that.

I love to walk...but gees, not that much! I love to eat, too, but it doesn't take much to start stacking on the kilos/pounds.

I have just done 3 months of Weight Watchers and it has taught me a lot. That I really dont need to eat as much as I think I do :) And I do enjoy being that bit lighter (especialyl for summer here). I like Weight Watchers because I can follow my reasonably healthy diet based on fruit and veg and wholegrains and some protein, and WW makes sure I am not eating too much of it. It's doable and it works.

[mytwomonkeys]

I recommend the No S Diet. http://www.nosdiet.com/ I believe you can eat whatever you want and lose weight (even without exercise) but you can't eat as much as you might want. Even with No S your meals would be small.

 

 

i am starting this! i actually saw it in another thread & started adhering to it last week. so EASY! i've even written it on my chalkboard in the kitchen as a reminder, lol. i do run & walk a lot already, but i'd like to lose 10 pounds to really be much leaner. it's so simple, i can't believe i didn't think of it before. so thanks to whoever shared this. love it!:D

[flyingiguana]

One nice thing about exercise is that it gets you away from the food. You might only burn a couple hundred calories on that walk, but you'd be farther from the 500 calorie cake.

 

The key is planning your walk so as not to go past any yummy bakeries. And leave the wallet at home.

[Pretty in Pink]

If you've got time to walk all those miles then you've got time to do some strength training, too. I think that would help. Have you tried Shred?

[Melissa in Australia]

I was walking for about 2 -2 1/2 hours a day, covering from 6-10 km. I could eat and loose weight at that distance. I then started working towards my teaching degree, and devoted that time to study instead. I have put all the weight I lost back on (6kg) weight back on. I am 2 kg over my weight for height now.. :-( I have been using a exercise bike while studying for 60 min a day, but have decided I need to walk as well. I am walking for 1 hour a day now.

 

Running is not an option. I have had too many big babies to run.