Hi all. I have weighed in for the first time today and I have also done something incredibly brave or incredibly stupid! I suspect the later.
To help me in my quest to lose weight, I have signed up for the 65 mile London/Brighton walk to raise funds for the BHF on June 24/25. It is a straight 29 hour day/night walk.
I need, besides shooting, help with this.
Q: Have any of you done any walking for weight loss and if so, did it help?
Kind regards all and look after your heart and your heart will look after you.
Written by
SlimmingEagle
Restart March 2024
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What a great idea to do that walk. It is incredibly brave, you can be sure of that! And it is very kind too, so be proud!
I love walking and it has helped me loose a lot of weight a few years ago. In fact, walking is one of the best exercises there is! Just google "walking best exercise" and you'll find many articles in favour of walking, including from the NHS.
When I started walking for exercise, I was at my heaviest ever and 4 stone overweight. I started walking home from work in the evening, in my office clothes and walking boots, no big fuss. I clogged up five miles a day, which took me 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Soon I started bringing a change of clothes to be more comfortable and then started walking to work in the mornings, too (there was a shower there) I walked 10 miles a day and used the time for listening to music, which was wonderful. With time I even had to add weights to make the walk more challenging! It was a gradual process but walking became such a strong habit that I would even commute on foot in the rain and snow. I simply preferred the freedom of my own two legs over being cramped on public transport.
Overall I lost 4 stone in 18 month and I know my walking routine played a big part because when left my office job and started working from home I put 2.5 stone back on and didn't manage to loose that weight for good until this year when I made bigger changes to my life.
It is never too late Heidipop Our bodies are wonderfully capable machines that constantly adjust to changes in our lives. Walking 6 miles a day is definitely going to make a difference to your physique! Enjoy
Thanks Tanja. I am looking forward to the challenge whilst at the same time, dreading it. I will blog here from time to time to let you know how I am progressing. The challenge is a two-fold challenge. To raise funds for the BHF and to lose 3 1/2 st by June 24.
Wow that's some walk 65 miles, good luck. That will be a great motivator to keep you walking.
I did the "Walk All Over Cancer" last September which involved doing 10,000 steps every day for a month. It was really good at increasing my walking and exercise level. I raised £290 doing it too. During the month I notice how my walking got easier and quicker (I have had 2 total knee replacements over the last 2 years). I did help me to lose weight too as I became very focused on completing the walk.
Good luck with your training for your London to Brighton walk.
Briefly; 3 years ago I spent 1 week on life support in Hammersmith Hospital. My lungs were not functioning correctly following major open heart surgery. I spent 10 weeks in hospital and as one cardiac nurse put it. I was walking out the front door whereas others are not so lucky.
I had ablations and stents following further heart attacks but I survive.
Luckily, I have had no issues for 3 months now and I thought it was about time I repaid a debt to countless unknown people who conspired to save my life from friends, colleagues, family, dedicated and caring NHS staff and the grace of God.
So by walking to Brighton I hope I can help just a little at least.
Yes. I will not dispute that. The last 3 years were tough. Very tough, not just on me but my family as well. I have lost 3 1/2 stone during this time but need to lose another 3 1/2. Hopefully, by taking on this challenge, I will not only be raising funds for the BHF but focusing my energies on June 24 to be at a targeted weight of sub 16 st.
I am meant to be sub 14 st. Yeah, right. The the last time I was that weight was at my birth..........
Using the NHS Plan is a good starting point. it is educational and offers variety.
Like you Ella, I am following you to see how you get on
i walked the 500 miles on the Compostella de Santiago, i don't think i lost any weight (i wasn't doing it for weight loss though) but i was jolly fit and toned. Good luck with your charity walk i wish you every success.
Wow, I'm impressed! I combine walking with calorie controlled eating (I do the calorie controlling) because everywhere I read it says weight loss is only achievable when combined with exercise. I love walking and can manage 8 miles in a day, but the more you do, the further you can go. I have been overeating since Christmas, not majorly, but I am aware I've been doing it, but I believe the 10k a day has kept the weight in control.
Trouble is, I also think the body gets used to the same old routine, so I've had to start interval training too, every 3rd day I run 1.5 mins, walk 40 seconds - I hate it, but it has to be done.
I'd say start clocking up those steps, slowly but surely then you'll definitely succeed - and good for you, what an achievement.
Hi, I am on a fast learning curve. Running. I loathe it so I will later be doing Fartlek walking when the distances justify it. I, am starting at 4 miles per day with longer distances on a Sunday. Looking at the training schedule, my last training week is a daily 13 mile walk culminating in a Sunday 35 mile walk!!
I don't want to think about it so one step at a time.
completely agree that your body adapts to your new regime/diet - all diets work then all diets stop working, change things up probably more frequently than you think you need to, if you plateau for more than a week or gain, then maybe skip a meal every day for a week, or maybe eat more for one particular day, or change the exercise you do, you gotta keep trying to fool it into thinking it wants to let the fat go
Have never done walking for weight loss but have done hill walking in my younger days. For a walk of this length make sure you keep your feet in good condition and have appropriate walking shoes or preferably boots for ankle support. Comfy ,seam free socks needed too. If you are prone to blisters, a wee tip is to smooth micro pore tape on vulnerable areas before you set out. I know that sounds daft but it worked for me. NB. Don't wear jeans as they are a liability if they get wet, being a heavy fabric. You are to be admired for doing this. I just wish I was still young enough to join in. Congrats and good luck with your training be it light or intensive.👏👏👏
Apologies if my advice was not needed. I just wasn't sure from your post if you had experience of distance walking.😊
Thank you for your reply and advise. When it comes to walking, especially distance walking, I am a complete novice and will be learning the pro's and cons as I walk. What works for me and what doesn't. The one thing I have learnt is that I can skimp on anything except walking shoes so I will save up my pennies and invest in a good pair. Cotswold Outdoors offer a shoe fitting service. Not cheap but in Brighton I will appreciate them unless I have blisters!
You've made a very wise decision about investing in proper footwear. Apart from anything else they will be great value for money. I still use my hillwalking boots in bad weather though I haven't walked seriously for more than ten years. Unfortunately as far as hillwalking goes age catches up.🙁 Good luck.
i took a good walking stick which proved in valuable, but the pro's had 2! like ski sticks as much of the walk was on paths across country and rarely on roads i wish i had been told that in advance, if you want to stop and there is nothing to sit down on or lean against those 2 sticks help take the weight off your feet as well keeping you balanced when walking.
Good idea getting fitted for shoes. I did the Edinburgh Moonwalk last year which is a 26 mile walk through the night starting at Midnight. I spent 6 months training for the walk and had a few foot issues. Ended up with a good pair of running shoes 1.5 sizes larger than my usual shoes as feet swell a lot over a long distance. If you do get blisters pit vaseline on your feet before you do a long walk. Good luck on your journey 👣👣
If you do an organised walk, you'd get a loo every 5 miles! Thames path challenge offer different length walks - 25, 50 and 100km. You could try a shorter one to see what it's like?
I've done two endurance walks, the first three years ago was the Thames Path Challenge from Putney Bridge to Henley on Thames 100km non stop), last year I did the Race to the King from Arundel to Winchester (86km - hills). As far as the walking is concerned, don't underestimate the sheer tedium of walking for that long, it's far more a mental test than a physical one - although that too. If you start practicing now, you'll have no problem, but make sure you're walking often enough and long enough to be bored with it. I have a ten mile disused railway line close by and would trudge up and down that. The longest I walked before the day, was thirty miles, but I did some night walks which was really useful. You need to go at the end of a long day and walk for three or four hours, to feel what it's like. If you're doing an organised event there will be loos every 10k or so and food at regular intervals - you won't need to carry any, only water on route.
It's tough, but if I can do it, trust me you can!
As far as losing weight, not much but I looked completely different. That's what I want to get back to now...
Good luck, enjoy it and keep being bloody minded enough not to stop - that's the trick!
Bloody minded. That's the answer. If I say i will do it, I will do it. Unlike you, I have no disused railway tracks but I can walk in Richmond Park instead. So, step one followed by step 2.
Aye. You need to do the same route until you know it backwards day and night. That way, you'll cope with the mental endurance. More people drop out because of that than they do physical problems.
What sort of surface is it on the walk? Tailor the footwear to the surface - THames path I had walking shoes - flat surface mixed tarmac, stones and grass. RttK I used trail running trainers (I walked) which I found much better. If you want books get the lightest possible. Whatever you get they'll feel a tonne by the time you finish!
Oh SlimmingEagle .... stupidly I mentioned to my husband this morning, what you were doing..... and he wants us to do it too! All I have to do is move our anniversary meal and overnight stay in a lovely country hotel and rebook to do a 65 mile overnight walk!!!! I might wave to you
Don't forget you'll look slimmer even if you don't weigh less because it'll be muscle instead of fat! Well done on two hours walking - if you can crack the time, the miles will happen naturally
Good, it's not something to do alone - although you'll find loads of people to chat to along the way, it's good to have someone you can rely on at 4am!
Hi It works! I did the Full Moon walk 26m for breast cancer and I went from a size 12-14 to 8. I had to eat loads of extra to stop me from loosing too much weight. The problem is continuing with the walking timetable once you've completed the challenge. I would suggest you keep the training programme for the challenge and once you recovered from the walk then you can use the training programme for the challenge as your exercise regime. Good luck
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