Walking, any bloody good?

Appleguy

I've been walking over 5km a day for the last 20 days and i have lost feck all weight. Started at 15.2 Stone tonight i'm 14.88. Been eating well too.

And was off the drink for the last month until i fell off the wagon for the last couple of days with a few parties.

How long until i start seeing any sort of improvement/result? I'm actually quite enjoying it compared to the gym.

Eventually when i get a bit fitter i'll try interval jogging bits of it.

EDIT
Any {CONSTRUCTIVE} input appreciated.

Cheers

rubadub

Appleguy wrote: »

I've been walking over 5km a day for the last 20 days and i have lost feck all weight. Started at 15.2 Stone tonight i'm 14.88.

15.2-14.88=0.32stone which is 4.5lb which is 1.5lb per week which is very good! I only aimed for about 0.5lb per week myself.

Also are you sure that it is 15.2 stone or is it 15st 2lb that your scale reads. There are 14lb in a stone so it is not the same. If you have gone from 15st 2lb to 14st 9lb then you have lost 7lb.

Either way I see no problem, I would recommend resistance exercise along with it though.

corkcomp

as rubadub mentioned your doing pretty well so far .. the key could be diet though so post up your full daily intake if you want any opinions or advice .. keep doing what your doing though, 1.5lb per week is good ... oh, keep off (or almost!) the beer though, unless you are lifting weights regularly or doing more intense cardio, otherwise it will slow any weight loss right down ..

kevpants

Walking is great for weight loss.

I lost 8lbs in two weeks getting up early and walking as fast as I could for an hour before eating. I'd been doing ultra fashionable HIIT for months beforehand and lost the same amount of weight but it took 4 times longer.

The crossfit/sprints etc got me fit which is great but good old walking kicked it's ass for pure weight loss.

Appleguy

rubadub wrote: »

15.2-14.88=0.32stone which is 4.5lb which is 1.5lb per week which is very good! I only aimed for about 0.5lb per week myself.

Also are you sure that it is 15.2 stone or is it 15st 2lb that your scale reads. There are 14lb in a stone so it is not the same. If you have gone from 15st 2lb to 14st 9lb then you have lost 7lb.

Either way I see no problem, I would recommend resistance exercise along with it though.

Scales is in Stone as far as i know and nobody has changed the measurement since. First day it read 15.2 and this evening 14.88.
Cheers for the encouragement it sounds like im doing better than i though i was. I'll keep it up.

What is resistance exercise and i'll try it?

Appleguy

corkcomp wrote: »

as rubadub mentioned your doing pretty well so far .. the key could be diet though so post up your full daily intake if you want any opinions or advice .. keep doing what your doing though, 1.5lb per week is good ... oh, keep off (or almost!) the beer though, unless you are lifting weights regularly or doing more intense cardio, otherwise it will slow any weight loss right down ..

Beer is gone again. I knew i was going to a few parties last week so 3 nights of drinking after a month wasn't the way to go.
I'm back off it now for another couple of months, gonna make a serious go of it.

My diet is rubbish. I cant cook for sh*t so i don't. And its not like i don't try last time i ruined a good pot trying to boil Pasta, Pasta ffs! Oh and i was a disaster in first year home Ec in secondary school i was actually told i wasnt allowed to do it and not given the option because i was dangerous in the kitchen. (I set something on fire by accident)

Usually wait for something to be handed to me.


Give you an idea, heres today.

Today i grabbed an apple for my walk this morning, had no breakfast.
Waited until lunchtime and had a lovely dinner handed to me. Oven cooked fresh Ray, sweetcorn, beans and croquet potatoes. I pretty much inhale my food
i eat it so fast in under 3 or 4 minutes every time. And i was still hungry after it, i asked for the portions to be cut down a bit.

Had another apple at around 5pm.

Ate nothing again until i watched a film tonight a good 5 hours later when i had a pint of Coke a flake bar and some popcorn.

If im hungry and im stuck on my own i eat a packet of Koka noodles or a form of tosted ham and cheese roll. About the height of my culinary skills.
Unless theres a bit of fish there and i'll bang it in the oven.

Huggles

Ok you are completely starving yourself. There is no need!

You should be aiming for 6 small meals a day. Please please please read the stickies at the top of this forum. You inhale your food because you are starving yourself!

Stickies. Go. Now.

corkcomp

Appleguy wrote: »

Beer is gone again. I knew i was going to a few parties last week so 3 nights of drinking after a month wasn't the way to go.
I'm back off it now for another couple of months, gonna make a serious go of it.

My diet is rubbish. I cant cook for sh*t so i don't. And its not like i don't try last time i ruined a good pot trying to boil Pasta, Pasta ffs! Oh and i was a disaster in first year home Ec in secondary school i was actually told i wasnt allowed to do it and not given the option because i was dangerous in the kitchen. (I set something on fire by accident)

Usually wait for something to be handed to me.


Give you an idea, heres today.

Today i grabbed an apple for my walk this morning, had no breakfast.
Waited until lunchtime and had a lovely dinner handed to me. Oven cooked fresh Ray, sweetcorn, beans and croquet potatoes. I pretty much inhale my food
i eat it so fast in under 3 or 4 minutes every time. And i was still hungry after it, i asked for the portions to be cut down a bit.

Had another apple at around 5pm.

Ate nothing again until i watched a film tonight a good 5 hours later when i had a pint of Coke a flake bar and some popcorn.

If im hungry and im stuck on my own i eat a packet of Koka noodles or a form of tosted ham and cheese roll. About the height of my culinary skills.
Unless theres a bit of fish there and i'll bang it in the oven.

apples are good, so what if you cant vook, you dont really need to .. buy tines of tuna in water, mix with tomatoes and bagged salad like spinach etc - buy some proper wholegrain bread .. have porridge for breakfast (anyone can cook porridge!) forget the coke man, you would probably double your weight loss by dropping this, chocolate is okay ONLY in moderation .. popcorn is better than crisps but again in moderation ... IMO if you sort your diet out you will see fast results ...

cojomo2

Appleguy,

Breakfast is very important, it kick starts your metabolism for the day. As mentioned, 6 small meals is the way to go, as it keeps your metabolism on its toes.

If you go long periods with nothing but an apple, the body thinks its being starved and can begin to store fat..so my advice is to eat every 3 hrs. Make sure all your meals are balanced , try eat some complex carbs,healthy unsaturated fats and lean protein.

You are probably as fit as you are going to get from walking, maybe try some basic interval training, even its a fast walk for 5 min, followed by a run for 2 mins and repeat.

Finally as mentioned, add in resistance training(weights/resistance machines). This will help hold on to any muscle you have and also hopefully add to it. Remember, muscle requires calories to exist, fat does not.So by slowly adding a bit of muscle to your frame, your body will use up more calories, even when you sitting on your ass.Also, your body will continue to burn extra calories many hours after a weights workout, as your heart rate will be elevated slightly,plus your body uses calories to repair the damage that you have done to your muscles during a workout.

Remember don't starve yourself...just eat whole, unprocessed ,clean healthy foods.No need to be feeling hungry all the time and slowing your metabolism..

Good luck

Appleguy

Huggles wrote: »

Ok you are completely starving yourself. There is no need!

You should be aiming for 6 small meals a day. Please please please read the stickies at the top of this forum. You inhale your food because you are starving yourself!

Stickies. Go. Now.

Ok i'll have to deal with these one by one. I know i'm supposed to be eating more regularly but i don't know what to be eating every three hours to be honest.

And i dont think it constitutes starving myself really because i'm not doing it on purpose. I didnt eat for a couple of hours after my apple yesterday because i wasn't hungry, you know what i mean. I wasn't not eating because i was thinking, god want to loose some weight.

Appleguy

corkcomp wrote: »

apples are good, so what if you cant vook, you dont really need to .. buy tines of tuna in water, mix with tomatoes and bagged salad like spinach etc - buy some proper wholegrain bread .. have porridge for breakfast (anyone can cook porridge!) forget the coke man, you would probably double your weight loss by dropping this, chocolate is okay ONLY in moderation .. popcorn is better than crisps but again in moderation ... IMO if you sort your diet out you will see fast results ...

Unfortunatly tuna is the only fish i cant eat, i hate it. Wholegrain bread can be done and porridge. Ill cut fizzy drinks and replace them with water and juices. I usually drink a pint of juice on an average day.

Chocolate and crisps are not a weakpoint of mine. I could go without them.

Appleguy

cojomo2 wrote: »

Appleguy,

If you go long periods with nothing but an apple, the body thinks its being starved and can begin to store fat..so my advice is to eat every 3 hrs. Make sure all your meals are balanced , try eat some complex carbs,healthy unsaturated fats and lean protein.

You are probably as fit as you are going to get from walking, maybe try some basic interval training, even its a fast walk for 5 min, followed by a run for 2 mins and repeat.

Finally as mentioned, add in resistance training(weights/resistance machines). This will help hold on to any muscle you have and also hopefully add to it. Remember, muscle requires calories to exist, fat does not.So by slowly adding a bit of muscle to your frame, your body will use up more calories, even when you sitting on your ass.Also, your body will continue to burn extra calories many hours after a weights workout, as your heart rate will be elevated slightly,plus your body uses calories to repair the damage that you have done to your muscles during a workout.

Remember don't starve yourself...just eat whole, unprocessed ,clean healthy foods.No need to be feeling hungry all the time and slowing your metabolism..

Good luck

Ok this makes no sence to me can you give some examples please
"eat some complex carbs,healthy unsaturated fats and lean protein."

Oh and i dont feel hungry all the time, i eat when i'm hungry. And i can put in some interval training somewhere along the line alright.

When should i be aiming to be down at 14 stone? Weeks or months? Target weight is about 10 to 11 stone for somebody my age with my frame.

Huggles

Hey OP

Just on the Juice, if you are drinking a pint of Juice it might as well be coke, loads of sugar in juice, I would stick to just water.

Appleguy wrote: »

Unfortunatly tuna is the only fish i cant eat, i hate it. Wholegrain bread can be done and porridge. Ill cut fizzy drinks and replace them with water and juices. I usually drink a pint of juice on an average day.

Chocolate and crisps are not a weakpoint of mine. I could go without them.

Appleguy

****ing hell i cant do anything right. I though juice was supposed to be good for you?

JackieChan

Appleguy wrote: »

Ok this makes no sence to me can you give some examples please
"eat some complex carbs,healthy unsaturated fats and lean protein."

Oh and i dont feel hungry all the time, i eat when i'm hungry. And i can put in some interval training somewhere along the line alright.

When should i be aiming to be down at 14 stone? Weeks or months? Target weight is about 10 to 11 stone for somebody my age with my frame.

Appleguy, how long it takes to get down to 14 stone really depends on your diet/exercise. Its taking you 20 days to loose .32 stone. I would say that it would take another 6-8 weeks to get there, but this can be improved by weights/resistance + the healthier eating.

I've gone from 14st 2lb to 13st 3lbs (-13lbs) in 6 weeks from watching my portion sizes,eating healthier and doing weights at home 2 maybe 3 times a week.
It's a lifestyle change for me so I'm not particularly bothered about how long it takes for weight to go down(probably another stone for me to go)

Imposter

Appleguy wrote: »

****ing hell i cant do anything right. I though juice was supposed to be good for you?

Have you read the stickies?

If you are trying to get your weight down diet is extremely important - probably moreso than exercise.

- Cut out sugar and unnecessary carbs (Fizzy drinks, juices, sugar, alcohol, white breads, white pastas, white rice...)
- If you must eat carbs go with complex carbs as well as fruits and lots of veggies.
- Eat more good fats and proteins (see stickies).

Calculate your maintainance calories and eat about 10-15% less than this.

Exercise: Resistance training is better than walking/running/cycling. That's weight training to you and me. There are loads of bodyweight exercises that you can do that are a good starting point. Again see the stickies.

Cooking is easy. Just play around with stuff. Google even the simplest stupidest thing if you can't do it yet. Give yourself a month and you'll be flying!

JackieChan

Appleguy wrote: »

****ing hell i cant do anything right. I though juice was supposed to be good for you?

The problem with Juice is that it is full of natural sugars. Certainly a glass of juice(about 100cals per 250ml glass) is better than a glass of coke due to the nutrional content. The problem is that you want to loose weight, extra sugars=extra calories.
Eating whole oranges gives you extra benefits than just the juice,eg fibre

My view of what is healthy and what is not has changed over the last few weeks!

cojomo2

Apple guy,

examles of complex carbs:
vegetables, brown rice,fruit(whole, not juice!), wholemeal/multigrain bread,oatmeal,riveta..basically, look at the nutritional info, look where it mentions 'carbohydrates'..it will give you a figure(eg 10grammes), then under that it will say 'of which sugars' and it will give another figure (eg. 7 grammes). In this case, the product contains 10 grammes of carbs, of which 7 grammes sugars. You need to pick foods where the majority of the carbs dont sugar. The example I gave above would be a 'simple carb' food.

Have a look at the nutritional info on a loaf of white bread vs. a loaf of wholemeal bread..you will notice they both contain about the same amount of carbs but the white loaf will have way more carbs that sugar.

complex carbs are healthier and keep you feeling full for longer, their energy release is sustained over a longer period of time compared to simple carbs.

Example of lean protein:

When I say lean, I mean sources that contain little fat.

Eg. egg whites , chicken breast, turkey breast, cottage cheese,white fish,lean cuts of red meat...

Examples of healthy fats:

Olive oil,flaxseed oil,sunflower seeds (in a saled etc),fish such as salmon or mackeral contain both protein and healthy fats,..basically just look at the nutritional info..stay away from saturated fats/trans fats

As a guide, you should be geting about 40-50% of your calories from carbs,25-35% from protein and 20-30% from fats. This can change with your training tho.

Appleguy

Right i'm stuck in a rut with this now. I'm down to 14.6 and its not going anywhere for days.

Time to introduce running?

Whats the best way to loose about 3 - 4 stone? I'm open to suggestion if some other way will be faster.

I'm eating better now too

cojomo2

Appleguy wrote: »

Right i'm stuck in a rut with this now. I'm down to 14.6 and its not going anywhere for days.

Time to introduce running?

Whats the best way to loose about 3 - 4 stone? I'm open to suggestion if some other way will be faster.

I'm eating better now too

Hi Appleguy,

Yeah,time to bring on the running. In my opinion, you cant go wrong if you
-stick to a healthy diet(mix of complex carbs,healthy fats and lean protein)

-Don't eat too little, eat around 2000-2200 cals a day, try to break that up into regular small meals, this will keep your metabolism active

-Regular exercise, its important that you change your routine every few weeks,if you keep doing the same stuff, your body becomes more efficient at this and your results will dwindle..

-Have a cheat meal once a week..if you deprive yourself of chocolate/pizza etc you will eventually go mad and go on a major eating binge.

You will be surprised how fit you can get in a short space of time.So, start off with the interval training, up the interval time or increase the pace every couple of days.

Personally, I started running about 3 yrs ago when my mate dragged me out for runs with him, the 1st few times I couldn't complete the run(about 5k) without stopping for breaks or walking part of it. The advice he gave me was to take as long as I needed but NOT to stop/or walk any of it. So I followed this advice and found myself just jogging at a redicously slow pace at times, just to allow me to cath my breath, at which point I'd pick it up again. About 3 weeks later I was able to do the whole run at a decent pace, without stopping.

Its difficult tho, I would be in bits after it, but the sence of personal achievement is amazing...I then began to time myself on the runs, and aim to beat it next time..which helps to motivate you.

Let me know how get on

neuro-praxis

cojomo2 don't advise him on an amount of calories to eat - you don't know what his basal metabolic rate is.

OP, go to www.fitday.com and register a free account. Work out how many calories your body burns at rest, based on your weight, height and body type (forget your activity levels - most people vastly overestimate how active they are). Then SUBTRACT 500 calories a day and there you have how many calories a day you should be eating in order to lose 1lb a week. (By the way, you sound very impatient from your posts. 1lb a week is a good steady weight loss. Also, only weigh yourself once a week.)

You can then use the website to calculate how many calories you are actually eating in an average day.

Diet is key for weight loss. Exercise is key for health. So try to exercise, pushing your body hard,, in any way that you enjoy, 4-5 times a week. Do some cardio (running, walking, bike, rowing, football etc.) and some resistance (weight lifting). The weight will fall off you.

Appleguy

I started Jogging two days ago. I'm finding it hard though. Its the same route as the walk 5k alltoghther.

I cant run the whole thing to start off thats just ridiculous.

What i have started doing is:
stretch, walking about 200m and then starting a slow jog for as long as i can, usually about 5 minutes.
Then i walk for about 2-3 minutes and go again until i have to stop.
Then walk again for about 5 minutes. Another jog for 5 minutes walk for 2-3 and then a jog again back to where i started. Warm down.

I'm going to do this for a week to see how it goes. Then try doing it slower but covering the whole 5k.

Is this the best thing to do?

I will add some weights around the middle of September when i have more time. 1 hour a day is all i can give at the moment. Would you say 3 evenings in the gym for some resistance training would suffice?

Tzetze

Appleguy, you might want to check out the couch to 5k run program. I've been doing this combined with a change of diet and am very happy with the results so far.

www.c25k.com

Kdylass

I normally walk every lunchtime but have the Monday blues today and really struggling to motivate myself - I know I'll feel better once I'm back, but its the 45 mins in between now and then that I am not looking forward to:(