When Walking no longer works.
 

I think I reached the limit to how much walking is going to work for me.
At my job, I'm on my feet and walking for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week.
At the gym I'm on the treadmill for 30-45 minutes at about 3.5 MPH (At 4 I'm doing a light jog and at 5 I'm at a flat out run) I lost almost 20 pounds the first few months that I got back ont he wagon but for the past 2 months I haven't lost much at all, And I've stalled at the same weight for the past 2 weeks.
So I think...I need to up it a little more. Maybe try jogging or running for a minute...cool off.. and do it again. I try adding the incline but still the weight won't budge.
Has the motion of walking stopped working for me? Any ideas what I should do?
Any tips? :?:

have you considered adding some weight training to your exercise? It makes a huge difference.

Try googling HIIT ... that's what that business of going fast for a short time in intervals is all about.

There might be threads about it. I'll go see.

Here's one .... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153391

I love the C25K (Couch to 5K). coolrunning.com is the link for more details I think...

I would lay off the walking for a couple weeks. Do other stuff. Weights, bike, eliptical...maybe an exercise class? Your body just might be getting used to the walking. You need to confuse the body once in awhile. ;)

I'd say you need to mix it up some. Since you go to a gym try some of the other cardio machines, add in some weight training, do some HIIT. Any of those will shake up your body some and probably get you back on the losing track. :D

I also graduated from walking recently. Speed walking is still part of my rountine but I am jogging now and doing some interval training with sprints.

Also, if your gym offers Spinning you really should check it out.

Yeah, it sounds like, since you walk so much already at work, that your body is accustomed to that type of exercise, so it won't be as productive for you long term.

Adding some weight or body resistance training is a good idea. Building muscle will help your body to be more metabolically active all the time.

Also I'll second Susan's suggestion to look into HIIT cardio. That's where you alternate running really hard and getting your heart rate up there for about 30-60 secs with 2 minutes of brisk walking to bring your heart rate down again. You do this for about 6 cycles and you'll be utterly wiped - but it's a great workout and your body will continue to burn extra calories for several hours after an HIIT workout.

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Thanks for the tips everyone!
I have been doing HIIT already for about 2 weeks now and it really drains me. I feel great afterwards. I've decided to use the eliptical and the bike more often and lay off the walking for a bit. I do weight train, but not nearly as much as I should. So I'll start it up again and see what happens.

I love Cardio Yoga for the same reason I love walking- I get a wonderful sense of serenity while doing it. Thats why I won't give up walking overall, I'm just adding to it! Walking outdoors has so many other benefits besides just the metabolic ones- do not give them up if they add joy to your life :). Add other things that seem like a gift to yourself!

I use walking for more of a stress reducer than a workout these days. mostly because the dawg is getting old and we can't go very fast. :p But I will never give up walking altogether - you just can't beat a lap around a park to watch the seasons change. :cb: