Too Much or Not Enough?
 

okay well...for the past 2 days ive been getting up at 5:00 and walking an hour and then walking another hour at 7.....someone told me today that thats over working which is not good either??? Is there truth to this??? And Is it true that to be successful at loosing weight you MUST walk 30 min to even do anything?? And if that is true.....are you suppose to walk LONGER then 30 min to actually start burning fat???....SO CONFUSED!!!!! Please help!:?:

Good for you for getting out there and walking! If you're feeling good after walking 2 hours and you have the time to do it, then why not? As long as you're not going to injure yourself or burn out, then I think you should go for it. I believe the guidelines are now 60 - 90 min. of exercise most days, which can be broken up in segments throughout the day.

My rule-of-thumb is to do what you can do, and as long as you continue to lose weight, then that's perfect. Once you reach the point where you don't lose weight, then you need to lower your calories and increase the intensity and/or duration of your exercise. Often you need to find additional ways to move your body because it becomes used to the same exercise.

I try for 35-60 min. of cardio six days a week, and weight lifting 6 days a week plus stretching. It works out to the 90 minutes of exercise the guidelines suggest. I also do different things (bike, run, elliptical, water aerobics) so that my body won't get used to a routine.

No it's not too much as long as YOU feel fine. Listen to your body.

I think the standard recommendation is 10,000 steps a day and if you don't walk around much other then your 2 hours of walking you're probably getting slightly over 10,000 but it really depends on your stride. (10,000 I think is 3-5 miles)

Exercise is accumulative so 30mins at a time is fine... which is why they encourage us to do things like park farther from the store, take the stairs, etc. that being said I'd encourage you to make sure your walking more then at a leisuerly pace to get more benefit out of it. A leisurely window shopping stroll is better then nothing, but walking 3-4 miles an hour briskly is much better for raising your heart rate and will help you burn quite abit more calories.

Thank you two!!! I guess ill stick to the same ole thing.....i try to walk an hour and the eliptacle for an hour....to kind of mix it up so i dont burn out on the same thing....and if i do ill have to rely on somthing else! Thanks!!!

I wish I would walk that far, I usually walk instead of take "breaks" from work. I usually go for 15-20 minutes each time, but they are far from a "power walk" more like a plain ol' walk. But I see it like this, at least I am moving, and not sittin on my duff at work.

I often feel like I should get up, like you early to walk, but then I am so tired in the morning that I just want to sleep until the alarm goes off.

Congrats to you for making the effort to walk!

You know ive been talkin about gettin up and walkin for about 4 months...and just now this week did....and you wouldnt BELIEVE how much better im feeling.....and to have that time for myself before work makes for a good day!!! Kind of lets me gather my thoughts....and prepare myself for the day....and i honestly think im going to continue getting up!!! It has made my day sooooo much better....and it keeps me from tempting myself throughout the day knowing that when i get off work that ill be goin back to the gym!!!! But your right.....walking 15-20 min when you go is much better then none at all....my first 5 lbs lost was by doing that....and drinking 180 oz of water a day....and i still ate what i want...just smaller portions! SO you are on the right path! But you should seriously try gettin up an hour early to walk!!! Its really a big benefit!!!:D

Walking is great isn't it?

I once lost about 40lbs by walking exactly as much as you are... work was 3 miles away and I would walk there and after a few weeks of that I would walk both ways which was about 2 hours.

I started up my exercise program 3 months ago just walking.. Started with about 2 miles and now I usually do about 4ish... about 6 days a week. Only thing I do besides that is Walk Away the Pounds DVDs and I just started throwing them into my mix because it was too hot outside.

20mins is good too. It doesn't have to be quick. Quicker just quick ends up burning more, but the important thing is get your body moving.

Wow. Good for you. Walking is phenomenal exercise. I don't think 2 hours is too much. I think it sounds just great.

But to answer the question that I've highlighted, I'm not sure if walking alone will get you the results that you are after. You haven't mentioned a food plan. Do you have one? Have you altered your calorie consumption at all? For optimal, longterm results one usually has to not only exercise, but eat a healthy diet as well.

Congrats on making the commitment to exercise. Walking, IMO is just one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves. :)

you know i tried the weight watcher thing....and im HORRIBLE at counting calories....i usually try to eat somthing for breakfeast...sometimes its not always healthy (this morning i had an egg mcmuffin from mcdonalds) but on days like today i eat a green salad and lucky for me im not a fan of dressing so i dont use dressing......but i usually try to eat scrambled eggs for breakfeast...and chicken or turkey and some type of greens or fruit for lunch...and i usually dont get to eat dinner till around 8 so always something small and light.....(grilled chicken.....or a plain omlet)......i dont think thats many calories.....and i bought these toasted almond packs with 70 calories and 3g of fat from the grocery store and i snack on one of those between lunch and dinner......is that a healthy diet??? or do i need more calories??? or less?? like i said im horrible with actually counting calories:?:

You might humor yourself and sign up for one of those food tracking free sites online. (DailyPlate. Spark Pe0ple. Fitday.) You don't have to enter food everyday (although I recommend it!) but it will give you a place where you can add up a typical day so you can just get an idea of where you are at. Sometimes people are really surprised at how quickly it totals up! Don't forget drinks those sodas add up really fast.

Your diet sounds fairly decent / healthy to me though so you don't sound too far off track. Simple things like switching to egg whites... will help yout cut out a lot of calories without trying too hard.