Walking and weight loss

by Leslie
(Georgia)

I'm 21 years old 5'5" height and weigh 149 pounds. I've also had three kids. How many pounds (estimate) would I probably lose in 2 months if I walked two hours a day 7 days a week pushing a stroller with my 30 pound son inside? I know not every person is the same, I know not everyone loses the exact same pounds in the exact same time frame, I just want an estimated answer please. If it helps any, when I was 16 I went from 125 pounds to 110 in a month from walking two hours a day. But that was then.

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Hi Leslie,

Ah, a fellow walker! There are so many good reasons to walk regularly it would take an encyclopedia to list them all. But we'll concentrate on losing and maintaining weight here. And specifically your 2 month time frame. If you haven't already seen it, 10 Best Exercises For Weight Loss according to my clients is here. Notice that walking is listed as #1.

So let's do some simple calculations. Got your calculator out? I used this online calculator to determine calories burned walking (moderate pace) at your weight plus your 30 lb. child for 2 hours. You burn 536 calories. After 2 months, total calories burned is 30,016. Divided by 3500 (the amount of calories needed to lose 1 pound) and you lose 8.6 lbs. at the end of 2 months.

However, you will probably lose a lot more for two reasons.

1. Walking reduces appetite. You automatically eat less. If you eat 500 fewer calories per day, you lose an additional 8.6 pounds. You probably noticed that when you were 16 and walked 2 hours a day.

2. Walking builds muscle. One pound of muscle burns 70 calories per day, while a pound of body fat only burns 3 calories per day. So by replacing body fat with calorie gobbling muscle, you burn more calories - even when you sleep. The best way to speed up your 'metabolism' is to build more long, lean muscles - the kind of muscle walking builds.

If you find 2 hours per day is more time than you can spare with 3 little ones to take care of, walk 1 hour a day. In four months (or less) you'll probably be were you want to be.

Something to keep in mind as you get older, walking as little as 30 minutes, 5 days a week pays huge dividends in maintaining weight. What my clients tell me is they have more control over what and how much they eat, and walking just makes them feel better. Many people make the mistake of thinking walking is so simple, it can't be very effective. Nothing could be further from the truth. Personally, I could never have stayed at the same weight I was in high school without my daily stroll.

Thanks for visiting my site and let me know about your progress!
Barbara