Is swimming good for weight loss?

celticfan32

Ive started swimming lately as i badly need to loose weight. Im just wondering is swimming a good form of excercise to loose weight or should i go walking instead?

liamo

Like all exercise, you get back what you put in. If you do the swimming equivalent of a gentle amble around the park you won't get as much benefit as the equivalent of an arm-pumping power-walk for the same length of time.

Having said that, you'll get far better results in terms of weight-loss by addressing your diet. If you fix up your diet and take up some exercise (and why not walk as well as swim) you'll get great results.

Check out the stickies in the fitness forum. There's some advice there on the subject of diet and weight loss.

Regards,

Liam

sock puppet

Depends. If you work hard and exercise enough then yes. But just from looking at some of the people I see they struggle to maintain a decent pace and take a lot of rests. Try plan what you're going to do before you get in. Otherwise you're just going to waste a lot of time.

banjobongo

Ive lost over 10K in the last few yrs mostly from swimming, so swimming, hard swimming, eg 3 pool training sessions per week, with average of 3K per swim = 9K per week, will help. However I do find running better for losing weight and ideally you should be doing both. Set yourself a target of a set amount of swims and runs per month and build it up gradually. The really important thing IMO is to stay motivated and for this purpose, targets MUST be realistic and you then MUST achieve them. If you get fed up you will lost interest and stop excercising and then you will be worse off than you are now.
In my humble opinion!

ntlbell

mix it up

walk/run/cycle/jog

most importantly fix up the diet.

celticfan32

Thanks guys for all the advice. I have had weight problems for the last 20 yrs. Im 39 now. I have tried the usual stuff like WW etc and it worked for a while but all the weight went back on. I have fairly serious health issues too. I have severe sleep apnea, high blood pressure and im pre diabetic. My GP was very concerned and she sent me up to a weight management clinic in Loughlinstown last December (2008). I never realised how heavy i was till they weighed me. I weighed in at 29st 2lbs. Needless to say i think it was a kick in the backside i needed as i have a beautiful 3 yr old daughter to think about too. I must say the staff in Loughlinstown are absolutely brilliant and very understanding. I have to attend the clinic once a month and i meet a dietician, physio and phsychologist. Since December i have lost 19lbs in weight but i know there is a long road ahead of me. My excercise at present consists of swimming 3 days a week for 40 min ( at my own pace which isnt very fast right now), walking for 20 min 5 days a week and weight for 10 min each day. I have also cut out alot of the crap but i do have bad days where i have a few biscuits.

Gael23

I dont think swimming is a great way to lose alot of weight but if you are very unfit its a good way to build yourself up to a more strenous cardio workout. As has already been suggested, mixing the 2 might be a good idea

TunaSaladBB

Swimming can help you lose weight. A good way to burn off calories is to get a kickboard and just do flutter kick with the board stretched out in front of you. Legs are the biggest muscles and are inefficient energy-wise in the water. Energy inefficiency = burning more calories than simply using arms.

Also, a strong leg kick gives you a good foundation for later swimming. Once you are comfortable kicking with the kickboard, try without the kickboard with your arms in the same position out in front of you.

Fluffybums

The main advantage of swimming for you celticfan is that it is not putting pressure on your joints (no comments about breaststroke whip kick please). In addition, if you can get your front crawl breathing right you can develop your breath control which will benefit your other forms of exercise. Try and mix up your strokes and include legs only, arms only or other drills as you get stronger, fitter and your flexibility improves. By mixing it up - you will make your swims more interesting, challenging and exercise more of your body. Absolute number of lengths is not as important as the effort put in, I used to swim competitively and a have pretty good technique (the Aussie know how to teach swimming), I wouldn't find swimming 800 to 1000m too challenging in 30 to 45 min (I am unfit at the moment) you might put more effort into swimming 400-500m so would gain more cardiovascular benefit from your shorter swim.
Well done and good luck, you've done brilliantly so far;).

celticfan32

Once agin thanks for all your support. I am going back to Loughlinstown on the 22nd of April so ill keep you updated on the weight loss. I hope to be down another few lbs. Its tough going but i know it will be worth it in the long run.

ntlbell

celticfan32 wrote: »

Once agin thanks for all your support. I am going back to Loughlinstown on the 22nd of April so ill keep you updated on the weight loss. I hope to be down another few lbs. Its tough going but i know it will be worth it in the long run.

I know it's not related to your original question but just something i found helpful is not to worry about the scales too much

weight watchers/fad diets/etc make you think there's an "end" to reach or a "weight" to reach, the important thing is you make changes now that you can continue to do for the rest of your life and also enjoy yourself.

your doing great tho keep it up

itsallaboutme!!

Hi all! I dont know if im in the right spot ive been looking around and cant find anything about aqua aerobics.
Basically I'm looking for thoughts on this for weight loss and improving fitness level.ive been watching my diet for the last few weeks and have so far lost 12lbs but seem to have gotten stuck in a bit if a rut. have taken to walking for about an hour three times a week but I have trouble with my knees and would like to add something a bit more low impact so thought of aqua aerobics. Im not a lover of the gym in fact im quite the opposite so i think i could just about manage the aqua aerobics a couple of times a week along with the walking.
has anyone tried aqua aerobics and been successful or how have you found it????

celticfan32

Well guys, just back from Loughlinstown weight clinic tonight and im down another 6lbs, thats nearly 23lbs since December. I have increased my excercise considerably but my diet is only ok. I have stopped all take aways completely but im still snacking on plain digestive and rich tea biscuits. Im finding it hard to cut these out and i know my weight loss would be much better if i could stop eating these damn biscuits. But all in all im happy with my weight loss but i know at the back of my mind i could be doing better !!!!

Stark

Biscuits are probably the worst thing you can eat. The calorie content of a single biscuit is huge, especially considering how little satisfaction you get from that single biscuit.

Tanabe

Stark wrote: »

Biscuits are probably the worst thing you can eat. The calorie content of a single biscuit is huge, especially considering how little satisfaction you get from that single biscuit.

What about disco biscuits?

AngryHippie

Tanabe wrote: »

What about disco biscuits?

MMMMetabolism
but no. Only chocolate biscuits need apply. all melty with a cup of tea ...you know. great after a cold swim. nyom.
disco biscuits plus water equals freak out, or rolling around in puddle.