has anyone had success with just walking? I have some restrictions on me right now that basically say the only exercise i'm allowed is walking. i know walking is good, i know it can get the job done, but frankly - it's cold out and it's just not exciting me. i know i didn't get here over night, and i'm not going to get healthy over night, but i'm having trouble convincing myself to get out and walk in the cold when i don't feel results from it. i know there are results to be had from just walking, i really truly do know that, i'm just frustrated and would like to hear how other people have had success with *just* walking.

thanks

Are you able to go to a mall and walk around inside there? That makes it more exciting for people watching and it's warm. And no one would know you were really walking for your health vs. shopping.

I do Leslie Sansone's walking videos in my living room. It's a combo of walking in place and a few different walking moves (side steps, knee lifts, etc. but you can walk at any time and skip the other moves obviously).

All of my weightloss has been with walking, whether the videos, on my treadmill, or around my neighborhood. I am living proof!

Good luck with your weightloss. Start slow and build up your time and speed. You can do it!!

Just walking is very good for you. It is a form of cardio (if you walk at a good pace) and it helps to build endurance. When I used to live in NC and had a relatively flat (with a few minor hills) walking path, I went from barely able to walk to the corner and back to walking about 3 miles a day. Then I moved to WA and live on the side of a ridge. So far, I haven't been able to force myself to do outside walking here -- it's all on the treadmill at the gym. But my goal is to start not only walking outside, but to get to the point where I can hike on some of these trails.

But, back to your question. Activity of just about any kind is beneficial. You can lose weight with just diet alone. But even standing while doing things like email or talking on the phone are now thought to be beneficial.

The mall idea is a good one. There are a lot of malls that have walking groups in the morning where the outside doors are unlocked but before the stores open. You basically have most of the mall to yourself.

thanks guys, it helps knowing real people that have made this work. i'm just feeling discouraged by it right now, but pouting isn't going to help. maybe i'll start with just extending my usual am and pm dog walk this week and see how my body feels with that.

i have to remind myself constantly that this is about making small sustainable changes, and that there is victory in the baby steps.

If you want a game that does walking, Wii has a game called Walk It Out. People alter it by first using it walking on the balance board, then walking in place holding the hand pieces and I moved up from there using it with an aerobic step. That's how I started.

I have been at this a LONG time and I still use walking as a main form of exercise (as does my very fit personal trainer at the gym).

You just walk faster and faster as your get fitter and fitter. Use hills for interveral training and so on. Seriously, you NEVER EVER have to jump into running to get a good workout.

I can get my heart rate up to the 160s with walking. The other day my one mile pace was 13:54. Some people can't jog that fast and walking is much easier on the body than jogging.

Walikng was great for me when I started. I join everyone else....

Leslie Sansone's Walking Away The Pounds videos were great for me. If you have restrictions, the video can really be tailored to your needs. It worked wonders for me and helped me prepare to start jogging. Best wishes...........

Last time I lost weight but eating 1200 cals a day and 45 mins on the treadmill at a 3.5 incline, 3.5 speed. That's is all I pretty much did at the gym. I was to nervous to attempt any weight machines. I figured I lifted boxes all day long at work. I went from 185ish to 126 in about 10-11 weeks. But the minuit I stopped I gained it all back within a year or so.

I dunno. I just love to be outside, so that's not a discouragement to me. I know it's cold, but just think of the extra calories you'll burn maintaining your body temp! If you are already walking your dog then extending those walks is a great idea and I'm sure your dog will love it, too!

If you have a smartphone, there are a number of apps that can help you track your walking so you can monitor your improvement in pace and distance and even estimate calories burned (it won't adjust for cold weather though!). If you're bored and you have a smartphone - you can listen to podcasts or audio books or even music.

I have started running, but before that I did walking. I am running now because I want to play rugby, so it's an important part of what I need to do to be sport fit... both for endurance and sprinting.

I walk inside every day, From the frontroom to the kitchen, Its quite a distance I walk back and fourth for a hour while listening to music

I love walking! Basically that is 85% of all my exercise and it has done me well! I love walking at night with DH. My apartment complex is about 1 mile circle and we will do 3-5 laps a night depending on the weather.

I've walked 30 minutes to an hour every day this month without even leaving my house. I walk from my kitchen down a hall to my laundry area and back, back and forth. I can even do arm exercises that I'm sure I wouldn't do in public LOL. I didn't know my hubby has been watching me until last night when he said with a grin, " I love watching you doing your power walk, you are so cute" LOL

Yes, if you have the time for it. I lost about 20 lbs last time walking 2-3 hours a day. That's what I'm doing again now. I have a flexible job so they don't mind. I hate the gym. I also live near the water so 75% of this is next to the bay which helps. This is my day:

1) Walk to and from work - 1 hour round trip
2) Walk one hour during my lunch break
3) Walk my golden retriever puppy 1 hour after work

Voila!

Walking is great exercise. If it's cold outside--just layer up. Also it's O.K to walk on a treadmill--(if you have access to one.) Walking uses a lot of body parts that need activity. And yes if you walk you're burning calories while toning your body at the same time. The saying--(move it or lose it) could not a better spoken. Stay with it--start out slow--then work up to a little farther and a little faster. Good Luck.

I use a heart rate monitor when I run and I am in a C25K program. So it starts with a walk. I pretty quickly get to around the low 120s BPM walking. This is nothing to sneeze at. I have a recumbent bike and it is hard to get into the 120s on that since it is not weight baring.

But my best weight loss success by far has been while running. Well jogging actually. I quickly get into the 160s BPM jogging, even a light jog. Walking is great. But running, for me, is fantastic. It is the gold standard of any exercise I have ever done.

But the exercise you do is the best exercise of all. Walking is wonderful, do not get me wrong. I just have more weight loss success running which makes sense. I burn more calories while doing it and it has a longer more positive after effect on metabolism so I burn more calories after as well.