Is walking enough exercise?

Hi everyone    It's my first time posting here.  I was wondering if walking is enough exercise for the body to help burn some fat?  I have become an avid walker and do about 2 to 3 miles (brisk pace)  per day if the weather is nice. I've noticed that I'm dropping inches because my clothes are fitting looser even though I have a tough time getting those darned scales to budge!!  With maybe the addition of some weights for arm toning, in your opinion, can one get this weight off by walking? I have the Leslie Sansone DVD's for foul weather but her voice really gets on my nerves! LOL!! Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi Karen! Yep! Earl

You bet - walking is a great exercise for you!!  Commit to something you like that you can do not just to get your weight off but to keep your weight off and to stay healthy!!  :)

I just was reading your post and notice we have the same birthday!!!!!!!!  I just wanted say hi, I am new here too.  I got board already with walking.  So I joined a gym.  Good luck and keep up the good work.  Maybe we can keep in touch. Jenna

Hi Karen, walking is a great exercise especially if you get your body in your target heart rate zone for an extended period of time. You are doing a great job of building up the muscles in your legs etc. You however may want to consider doing weight strengthening for the upper body and abdominals. It will tone and build muscle. Keep in mind that having muscle helps burn more calories over all. Maintaining the muscle burns the calories. Consider looking into a personal trainer and if you cannot swing that financially there are books out there that help you learn how to do weight strengthening properly. You can purchase a few hand weights rather inexpensively and do those at home. What you are probably experiencing right now is you need to shake up your routine and challange it more then you may get the scale to move. It is probably too used to what you have been doing for a while. Christine

Hi Karen: Walking is awesome.  Back in the days when we didn't have cars, people walked to get their daily chores done.   Walking takes care of the cardiovascular end of your exercise routine, but strength training should be added to reap all the health benefits from your workouts.  One thing that can tone you arms while you walk is just pumping them high while you walk.  This also has a tendency to bump up your speed a little bit.  When pumping your arms, make a loose fist and don't swing your arms above shoulder level.  If you're sweating in the crease of your arm, then you know you're going at a good clip. Since you're walking outside, there are TONS of things you can do to add toning exercises while you walk.  Think of your walk as an expedition.  You're not just walking - you're discovering a new park, a new part of your neighborhood, etc.  I always try to find stairs and go up or down them while I walk.  If there's a hill, go up it!  This will town your gluteus maximus (aka butt) and hamstrings.  If you find a low bench, you can REALLY tone your legs by using it as a step.  Facing the bench, try this for 2 minutes: Step up with left foot, followed by right (UP - UP) Step down with left foot, following by right (DOWN - DOWN) Repeat that up-up-down-down motion for two minutes to begin with.  Eventually, you can find different step levels (maybe one is a curb, one is a low bench, one is the edge of a planter as the park)  and by adding those you're well on your way!   Hope this helps - let us know how it goes!

This is great...thank you!  I appreciate all the replies.