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Sufficient Exercise to Lose Weight?Sufficient Exercise to Lose Weight?
spectrachic311 said: "Here's the deal with heart rate and weight loss: any time your heart rate goes up at all, you will burn more calories. Walking will get your heart rate up more than say, sitting on the bus or driving around but not as much as running or biking or whatever will. This means that in order to burn a significant amount of calories, you have to walk a LOT. How fast do you walk? That makes a difference as well. If you walk quickly, you'll burn more calories than strolling."
DBrew said: "Maybe you could add some wrist and ankle weights under your clothes for added strain. You could try to find the routes with the steepest inclines too."
klynnfosh said: "Walking is beneficial for everyone, but if it is part of your normal daily routine it is not the type of exercise that is going to help shed the pounds. You need to raise your heart rate to kick into fat burning. You either need to walk further or at a quicker pace for it to really help you. I do at least think the walking you do is helping to combat things like diabetes and heart disease that come from not doing any types of exercise at all. You just need to add maybe 10 minutes to the walk each time and that will make a difference."
napoleoninrags said: "Hmmm...this is what I thought, and it's bit disheartening, but I suppose I can't really do much about it. Most days, the only free time I have to walk for exercise would be in the evenings, and that isn't something I want to do (we are frequently told NOT to walk around in the evenings by ourselves, and I don't know anyone who could go with me) because it's a personal safety issue.
So, basically, I'd have to walk like 2-3 hrs. a day to lose weight? It's just not something I can afford, timewise.
In general, I walk at a steady pace, I don't schlep around or walk like a tortoise. I guess I'd describe it as brisk.
I read somewhere that being busy isn't an excuse not to exercise, so if you're strapped for time, you should incorporate exercise into your daily routine, i.e. take the stairs at work rather than the elevator, park further away from the grocery store, etc. so that's why I thought if I walked everywhere rather than taking the campus trolley, that would help me lose weight. When I walk, my heart rate ALWAYS goes up, it just often doesn't get to that stupid "target" heart rate. Grr. I'm stuck.
But thanks for the replies."
napoleoninrags said: "Hey, I'm a bit confused about how heart rate correlates to weight loss. If you're, say, walking 30-60 min. a day, but your heart rate doesn't increase enough, will that exercise really do nothing to contribute to weight loss?
I'm asking because I'm currently attending college. I weigh 185 right now, and I'd like to lose at least 20 lbs. by December, if possible. Unfortunately, I'm taking six classes right now and don't really have time to "work out." When I'm not going to class, I'm studying. They do have a gym here, but you have to pay for it, so I can't afford that right now. I count my calories, and keep my daily caloric intake between 1,100-1,200 daily. I did a daily calorie intake calculator thing and it said if I consumed between 1,300-1,500 a day I would lose weight, so I think as far as calories go, I'm doing okay. It's just the exercise component I'm having trouble with.
Basically, I walk everywhere I can as much as possible. I've taken to timing how long it takes me to get everywhere (sometimes I do a 10-min. walk to class, sometimes it's a 20-min. walk back to my dorm) and I generally walk about 30-60 min. a day, depending on how spread out my classes are. Unfortunately, my heart rate doesn't usually get to the target, as I tend to walk on flat ground, or downhill a lot of the time.
So, is my goal of 20 lbs. by December fruitless if I can't get to my target heart rate? Is the walking I do essentially void because of this? I'm a bit discouraged.
Thanks for any help you can offer me. :)"