Walking and running?

Question

I am trying to loose 15 pounds at 1pound a week. i am walking 5 miles a day brisk for 5 days a week. I want to work up to walking 3 miles and running 2. should i keep increeseing miles or will i be ok. i exersise for and hour and a half every day. is running more effective thatn walking? what is a good regimine to loose 1 pound a week consistantly?

Answer 1

In order to lose one pound you need a caloric deficit of 3500 calories. This can be done either by a reduction of calories or by burning it.

According to a metastudy of over 2000 other studies, about 80% of weight loss is attributed to diet rather than exercise.  For some people, an increase in exercise means an increase in eating.  Something else is that fat is more dense than lean muscle by about 20% which means that as you exercise, you may get skinnier but you can weigh the same.

Rule of thumb is to multiply ideal weight by 10 and that is your minimum calories you need for basic functions but does not take into account exercise.  So if you want to be 180, you should be eating around 1700 to 2100 calories.  Much less and you risk putting your body into starvation mode where it slows down its metabolism and starts burning lean muscle while keeping its long term energy storage (fat).

Fat burning zone according to one recent research study is that you need to have your heart rate above 120 over 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes your body produces the enzymes to burn fat.  It sounds like you are right on target to what you want to accomplish.  Hope this helps!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Running is just as effective as walking, you just burn more calories faster.  If you go a certain distance, running or walking, you'll burn the same amount of calories, just in a different amount of time.