Has anyone successfully lost weight by simply walking?

I have. I integrate walking into my daily life and don’t drive, probably managing to walk several miles per day.

You can lose weight, albeit slowly, by not doing anything but walking. If a commuter parks a mile from work, and walks a mile each way morning and evening, and changes nothing else, they’ll lose about ten lbs. a year.

I am successful at walking plus a lower calorie diet. The two combined so I was losing 7 – 10 pounds per month.

@zenvelo Only ten pounds a year by walking 10 miles a week?
I’m gonna assume that is someone who is otherwise fairly active.
I lead a very sedentary lifestyle. So I would hope that if I walked that much I would lose a lot more than 10 pounds in a year.

About a 100 Calories per mile, one pound is approximately 3500.
So that means you would have to 35 miles to lose one pound.

@anniereborn: Human beings are presumably built to walk several miles a day. What @zenvelo suggests is probably more or less accurate, but the contingency is changing nothing else. That probably isn’t easy, since you’ll want to consume more food when you exercise more. Not impossible, but it probably requires controlling some other habits.

Going by @Tropical_Willie‘s numbers, assuming 270 working days/year, two miles per day, is 540 walking miles/year. This comes to burning 54,000 calories. Comes to almost 15½ pounds.

I’m a 140 lb woman and, like @Tropical_Willie says, I burn about 100 calories per mile at a speed of 3.5–4.0 mph. It’s not an exercise that burns a great deal of calories.

I eat about 1500 calories per day and I exercise 5–6 days per week, cardio intervals and strength training, 40–60+ minutes per day. I get really excited when I lose a pound a week. I regularly hit plateaus and go weeks without losing, and I drastically changed my eating and exercise habits. Putting in a little effort won’t get you big results, but a big effort might result in little result. It sucks, but that’s how it is.

I said it before and I’ll say it again. Weight loss happens in the kitchen; fitness happens in the gym. In order for walking to really be effective for weight loss, you’d have to:

1. Walk long distances. Several miles daily.
OR
2. Walk fast enough to get your heart rate up and keep it up.

Walking is good for your health, but don’t expect to see miracles because you’re walking a leisurely mile a day. You really do need to change your diet as well. If you can’t do high impact workouts, so be it, but a walk a day won’t do a whole lot for the waistline.

Walking is amazing. It is easier on your body too.

@anniereborn Adding two miles a day, (really, about half an hour of walking at a leisurely pace) is not a lot of extra exercise. It has nothing to do with being active or sedentary, it is just a bit more calories burning each day.

Here;s a link to a lot of info on burning calories while walking.

Consider doing power walking It is still low impact, but burns calories at a fairly high rate.

To go from regular walking to power walking, there are two changes that you have to make. Firstly, bend your elbows the same way you would for jogging or running. This will reduce the length of your arm swing. Once you do this, you will automatically start walking faster, because having a long arm swing slows you down.

If you want to pick up even more speed, place one foot in front of the other when you land your foot. This will allow you to really zip once you get into shape.

The way I have seen power walking described is that ordinarily we automatically change our gait from walking to jogging to running as we pick up speed, with the result that efficiency in calories per mile stays about the same. Power walking blocks this pattern, resulting in a very inefficient way of moving, which is exactly what you want to achieve in order to lose weight, since you now expend additional calories per mile.

I did power walking one time when I was working at a place that I was able to commute to using the train. The train station is about a mile away, making it ideal for doing a power walk on my way home. I really loved it. You create a rhythm that really feels good.

Absolutely! However…if you’re eating a dozen donuts a day a few mile walk will not cut it.
Eat moderately and if you walk about 3 miles a day, around 50 minutes, you will drop weight FAST!

I’m quite surprised the Littlest Hobo wasn’t a stick thin whippet by the end of that show’s run.

I lost 2 lb by walking to work every day.

When I lived in NYC I walked two to three hours daily, got very little other exercise, ate whatever I wanted, and stayed exactly the same. I would say walking is a good activity for maintaining weight but not losing it. How about swimming or paddling/using the erg machine? Those both get my cardio up quite effectively, and they’d give your feet more of a break.

Power walking did it for me awhile back. It also strengthens your core and tightens those buns.

A daily 3-mile brisk walk certainly works for me! I also watch my calorie intake.

If you reduce your calories while staying faithful to a walking regimen, you might be amazed at the results. If you walk at a brisk pace – fast enough to raise your heartbeat and breathing – you’ll get an excellent, weight-bearing workout.

But, the calorie part is essential. If you walk briskly for an hour, you’ll burn 225 – 325 calories (depending on your body size). Unless you limit your caloric intake, you won’t make any real weight-loss progress.

A couple of times.

Once I hiked or walked everyday with an ex of mine. Of course that wasn’t all we did. We went kayaking and enjoyed picnics and went to the gym on occasion as well as jogging and an active sex life. But really walking everyday I felt great. It was all outside… So up down uneven ground etc.

Also whenever I go to a city if I can forego a car rental and walk or bike also, low impact, everywhere I always come back a few pounds lighter and more toned. course I am literally on my feet for at least 12 hours sometimes hauling shopping bags or a travel bag behind me.

Another good bet is water exercise even if you don’t swim very low impact but resistance. I also love the rebound method. Pay 80 dollars for a rebounder similar to a mini trampoline you tube a work out exercise supposed to be great for your immune system too. Though my ceilings are too low for me to try it when I move I am getting one. Yoga is also great. Can boost metabolism by aiding in digestion.

Yes. It’s worked for me in the past.

Walking 45 minutes with neighbors didn’t help me lose weight very much, but O do think it os a good thing to do. When I walk a lot while on vacation or visiting in a large city it definitely helps keep pounds off when I am eating more calories. But, that is usually a good 3–4 hours of walking, and even more time possibly on my feet.

It worked for Jared Fogle.

I could lose weight if I could walk away from the refrigerator more often. Before I open it, that is.

I lost a good bit of weight(then regained it as muscle) when I was in Belize. I walked on average around 50 miles a week. I also was eating a way healthier diet while I was down there so I’m sure that played a large part in it as well.

Yes, one of my friend. But its important to eat healthy also. Walking a long mile with a large steps is one of the best exercise to lose the fat from the body.

Regular walking is one of the best ways to maintain a lower weight. Losing weight is the easy part. Don’t focus too much on it. Think about what comes after it. The more you walk, the more you will enjoy it.

The summer before my August 1991 wedding, I took a long power-walk every evening. My engagement wasn’t a happy time in my life (briefly, my in-laws ruined everything by constantly trying to force me to have the wedding of dreams), so I’d work-off my stress and frustration with exercise.

Because I’m a stress non-eater, and because of those daily walks, I achieved excellent physical condition and a very low weight. I may have been a miserable bride, but I have to say that I looked great!