Expert: Ken Alan - 5/29/2006

Question

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Followup To

Question -
I have a treadmill at home. The incline isn't adjustable when the machine is in motion. I want to lose weight. I have a good balanced diet. How long should I be walking for each day, and how fast, I am a very slow walker normally?

Answer -
Hi,

Glad you're interested in doing something to become healthier.

I need to know a lot more about you before I could give you the right advise, like... have you been walking in the past, what other exercise do you do, what exercise have you done before, what is your diet like, current weight, goal weight, injuries, etc.

In general, you should walk as long as you can.  The longer you walk, the more calories you burn up.  And you can do it often during the day- 5 minutes at a time done 6 times during the day equals 30 minutes, which is real beneficial.

You should walk faster than normal but not so fast that you get out of breath.  If you have to slow down because you're getting winded, slow down a bit.  It's also fine to walk in "intervals" - slow for two minutes, fast for 1 minute, slow again for two minutes, fast for 1 minute, etc.
Walking slower for two minutes will give you time to recover from the one minute of walking faster.  This is very good for improving your cardiovascular health and good for burning calories.

Hope this helps.  Now do it, okay?
I am 11 stone ten pounds. I am only four foot seven. I waant to lose at least 2 stone. I eat muesli for breakfast, a sandwich and a yoghurt for dinner, and meat potatoes and vegetables for tea. I used to have a problem where I would eat three vanilla slices a day and sometimes drink three pints of milk a day. I have cut down to one vanilla slice a day and only drink a glass of milk occasionally. Apart from the treadmill I do no other exercise apart from walking up and down stairs to classes at College. This is because I am totally blind and can't go out on my own.  

Answer
If you want to lose weight, it is a matter of burning up more calories than you are taking in. You should walk as long as you can.  The more you walk and the longer you walk, the more calories you burn up.  

You may want to consider getting a stationary bicycle as well, to give you some exercise variety.  Consider getting together with a registered dietician in your area.  If you're serious about losing weight, it's worth the investment to help you with your diet.

Hope this helps.