Is walking one or two miles a few times a week comparable to going to the gym?

Not at all.
They can’t replace each other.
It’s like no matter how much water you drink, you are still gonna eat food. :-)

I walk a mile and a half home from school fives times a week, and most weeks I walk more than that, going to the library or drug store, or walking the dog, or something like that.
I have strong legs, but not much upper body strength. Walking is great exercise, especially for the legs, but don’t expect it to have much effect above the waist, but a few push ups in the morning would probably be enough to take care of that.

When your doctor asks you if you get exercise you can tell him yes, or if you’re concerned you tell him exactly what you said in your question, that you walk.

I’m a runner myself and I have been for several years but my wife and I also walk quite a bit. Yes, walking is good exercise but I wouldn’t use it as the end all, be all of how to stay in shape. For that, you might consider a routine of different elements/exercises to bring it all together for a comprehensive health program. You can certainly tell your doctor that you are exercising through walking because that is just what you’re doing.

A good standard I’ve always been told by my doctor is, exercise at least 3 times a week for a 30 minute sustained period each time. This is continual activity for the full half hour so you can get a complete cardio workout from it. If walking might end up being your sole exercise activity, walking for at least 30 minutes or more on each of your outings will do you well. Hope this helps somehow.

While taking a stroll is certainly better than sitting on the couch….you can increase the benefits by walking fast enough to get your heart rate up…

The gym is a facility for building heart-health (cardio), burning fat, and increasing strength (weight lifting). Walking alone can be good for cardio. My doc also suggested sustained walking for 30 minutes at least 3x per week—5 minutes to warm up, 20 minutes with your heart rate about 120, and 5 minutes to cool down.

Drs. Zorba Paster recommends walking 10,000 steps per day: http://www.shapeup.org/shape/steps.php

If what you’re doing at the gym is walking one or two miles a few times a week, sure.

Walking is GREAT exercise! Of course the more the better, but don’t ever let anyone discount your walking! It uses the large muscles in the legs and it’s a great way to help keep the extra pounds at bay. The gym works for people because we have evolved to a point where we are no longer using all the things our body can do. Going to the gym helps to use different parts of your body. We no longer need to do heavy lifting, row boats, saddle horses or even get up to turn the channel on the TV. The best exercise is an active lifestyle. If you have time, money and ambition to go to the Gym then that’s great, but just being active is what our bodies were designed to do. There are plenty of ways to be active without having to look at that hard body bimbo on the treadmill next to you and feel bad about the way you were created.

@Judi: That’s an awesome answer. If we ate real food, and not too much of it, either, like we used to, we’d be healthier still!

my mom walks 3 miles a day and has been doing this for at least the last 20 years or so (she is in her 60s) and she is in much better shape than me and I am 32. I need to start walking!

Absolutely walking is exercise. That’s why most people in Europe are in better health than Americans—less processed foods, and they think nothing of walking as a means of transportation.

When my husband is at work, I walk my daughter to school and pick her up. It is exactly 1/2 mile each way, so when I walk, it’s usually 5 days a week, so that is 2 miles a day, and 10 a week. If you are overly concerned about things above the waist, you could carry some 1 lb. weights with you. It is a great way to exercise.
You also want to make sure that you aren’t just walking on flat ground, you will better benefit if you walk on slight grades, and the more you get use to it, you can increase the grade of the hill that you are walking up and down. Hope this helps, good luck to you.

I think walking is a good exercise. but as it has been said it isn’t the end all. For someone in their 20’s I would say it’s not enough to say you exercise from a mile or two of walking. You could always step it up a little bit and jogging a mile or two and then walking one or two. maybe do a few more miles when you do

My dad was a pretty big dude but when he got diagnosed with diabetes he lost easily 100 pounds in a year walking but he was walking like 8–10 miles at least 5 days a week. And that was just walking no jogging on anything but he is in his mid-50’s and was pretty overweight. I would definitely say it’s good exercise though and least for burning fat.

BUT…since you are only walking right now that isn’t gonna help your heart rate very much because it just is not stimulating enough. and you can always check with the doc for futher info tho.