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Just a note about walking:
I walked all my life. I mean I really did! Recently, I clocked and logged it and went 650 miles in a year.
But I started to develop chest pain. It got worse.
Quadruple bypass fixed it in 2021, and I suppose because I was actually in pretty good shape, the recovery was pretty straightforward.
I never had high cholesterol, never had high blood pressure. I was overweight at 5'10'/215, but did not think it would cause a problem because I was active. I walked.
Walking was not enough to overcome my Standard American Diet. The SAD, with all its sugar and carbohydrates and refined this and that, dang near killed me. I think the crux of the matter is that we have all been lied to. We should have been eating plenty of red meat and high protein stuff all along, and should never have been using vegetable oils and the like.
I am now at 180 pounds. I cook with lard and beef tallow, and eat plenty of meat. Very few carbohydrates of any sort (none at all before lunch). It's been three years, now, since my operation and I am down an honest 35 pounds and still falling slowly. I'm 78 years old. I work out at the gym 3X a week.
My message is, walking is important - I still walk - but it can't always overcome the SAD. The food industry and the government is either misinformed or has outright lied to us. Cholesterol was never the problem - it was sugar/glucose/carbohydrates all along.
Walking was not enough to overcome your Standard American Diet. Couldn't agree more. Nothing will overcome refined foods...a poor-nutrient diet. The healthiest populations have both a nutrient-rich diet and lifestyles that require them to move continuously (not just go for walks, or to a gym x times a week).
Refined carbs are unhealthy. Complex carbs, as in vegetables, are fine and healthy.
Last edited by SimplySagacious; 12-21-2023 at 09:41 AM..
Walking is better than nothing. For people who don't exercise and maybe incredibly obese, it could be considered "cardio" (my definition: any rigorous rhythmic exercise that uses aerobic metabolism).
But would you consider walking "rigorous" ? Most of us would not. Now here are some comparisons:
But I keep going back to, we need to get real about exercise. It needs to be substantially more difficult than your day-to-day life. I'm not discouraging walking, by all means keep walking. Just add in exercise when you can.
Walking IS cardio exercise, and there is very little disagreement about this. Do a google search.
The video I posted said about 10,000 steps is optimal for health, and more will not add benefit. And they DO NOT say the steps have to be running.
They key to exercise is definitely moderation. Those who do exercise tend to do too much while young, or focus too much one one activity. It's good in life to specialize in skills, but running or biking excessive amounts can wear the body out, as can bodybuilding with improper form or excessive volume. Ideally a person should do some sensible cardio 2 days a week with some sensible resistance training 2-3 days per week (especially men) ... Too much volume isn't necessarily better.
Biking 5000+ miles per year... I've seen cyclists who look pregnant because all they do is bike, and then they drink or eat a lot of sugar off the bike. Walking is definitely better than nothing. There are some studies that say most steady state cardio should be zone 2.
No, I am not completely wrong. I said for ME, and verified by what my labs say.
Walking is not enough to keep my BP and BS down, and my good cholesterol up. It is certainly NOT enough to keep in an aesthetically pleasing shape either.
Most of my fitness info comes from the Police Dept. oddly. My husband is a certified instructor, and I worked at the police (and military) gyms. The guys were great on sharing what things worked for them.
I can add this: for the last 3 months all I've done is walk (a lot for 2 weeks of that as we walked miles per day in Scotland). The result? I've put on weight, and my body looks like it melted.... I'm just not going to worry about getting back into a workout routine until after the holidays.
I walked every day, all my life, and now I am 70+. My metabolism never slowed down and I never got fat, and I never needed prescription drugs.
Maybe you have a genetic problem with metabolism, but most people do not.
Apparently walking is better if we go by the healthiest populations with much less common/chronic disease (Blue Zones). They walk almost everywhere. They don't have gyms or workout sessions or engage in rigorous exercise. They move continuously throughout the day, every day. They have healthier diets too.
Right. There is plenty of evidence that walking IS cardio exercise.
The medical industry is misleading people and causing great harm. Now they say exercise doesn't cause fat loss -- no it doesn't, if that exercise is minimal and over a relatively short period. But ENOUGH exercise every day, over the long term, WILL normalize weight. And it WILL PREVENT obesity in the first place.
And the medical industry says you have to join a gym, and/or do something strenuous. Just the thought of that is exhausting for an out of shape person! And it is NOT NECESSARY at all.
If someone wants to start getting in shape they can walk 15 minutes every day and gradually get up to an hour or more. It will take time, but it will cure obesity and the lifestyle diseases the medical industry gives drugs for.
It is NOT HARD to have a healthy lifestyle. You don't have to count calories or have a perfect diet. Just be reasonable. Don't drink sugary drinks, don't smoke, don't drink a lot of alcohol.
But Americans are taught by their uninformed MDs that it's difficult and expensive to be healthy, so they might as well just take the drugs.
They don't have gyms? No gyms in Okinawa, Sardinia, or Ikaria?
Just about a few things they have in common is that they're islands and mountainous in temperate climates that can grow a lot of produce, plenty of sun.
Now, do you really think that people who go to the gym here in the USA are the ones that are fat? Or is it the fact that 50% of Americans don't exercise at all, will take the elevator to go up one flight of stairs, and their car to go grocery shopping at a store 0.5 miles away?
There is nothing wrong with going to the gym, but it takes time and costs money and you probably have to drive there. A busy stressed out person without a lot of money probably won't bother. But they COULD EASILY go out and take a walk. With about the same benefit as the gym.
Just a note about walking:
I walked all my life. I mean I really did! Recently, I clocked and logged it and went 650 miles in a year.
But I started to develop chest pain. It got worse.
Quadruple bypass fixed it in 2021, and I suppose because I was actually in pretty good shape, the recovery was pretty straightforward.
I never had high cholesterol, never had high blood pressure. I was overweight at 5'10'/215, but did not think it would cause a problem because I was active. I walked.
Walking was not enough to overcome my Standard American Diet. The SAD, with all its sugar and carbohydrates and refined this and that, dang near killed me. I think the crux of the matter is that we have all been lied to. We should have been eating plenty of red meat and high protein stuff all along, and should never have been using vegetable oils and the like.
I am now at 180 pounds. I cook with lard and beef tallow, and eat plenty of meat. Very few carbohydrates of any sort (none at all before lunch). It's been three years, now, since my operation and I am down an honest 35 pounds and still falling slowly. I'm 78 years old. I work out at the gym 3X a week.
My message is, walking is important - I still walk - but it can't always overcome the SAD. The food industry and the government is either misinformed or has outright lied to us. Cholesterol was never the problem - it was sugar/glucose/carbohydrates all along.
That's right, walking is not enough. People have been misled into thinking a low fat diet, with "heart healthy" vegetable oils, and plenty of carbs, is the best plan. Total BS! The grocery store shelves are full of low fat yogurt with sugary jam, and instead of natural butter they sell fake butter made with canola oil.
Low carb, intermittent fasting, and some kind of cardio exercise (plus some weights and stretching) is probably all most of us need to avoid drugs and surgery.
RE: Walking vs. Running. Again, I believe it all comes down to VO2 max:
"..Those numbers make sense, given running’s effect on fitness. In a 2014 study, Dr. Lee and his colleagues found that regular runners — including those jogging slower than 6 miles per hour — were 30 percent fitter than walkers and sedentary people. They also had a 30 percent lower risk of dying over the next 15 years.
Even though he’s an enthusiastic proponent of running, Dr. Lee suggested looking at walking and running as being on a continuum. “The biggest benefit occurs when moving from none to a little” exercise, he said..."
Some people in those countries have adopted modern life: factory foods and drinks and more sedentary lifestyles and diets. Chronic disease is increasing among them.
Americans are advised to go to gyms or otherwise "workout" because of their lifestyles and diets. They are more sedentary and consume factory foods and drinks. They overeat and are more stressed. And chronically sicker.
As I said, the healthiest people in the world move continuously throughout the day, e.g., they take the stairs, they walk or bike almost everywhere, have low to moderate impact activities like gardening, for example. They don't use gyms or workout sessions. They eat a nutrient-rich diet and prepare their own meals from scratch.
And I think high impact exercise can cause injuries, and who needs that. Also, walking is better for the spine and keeping the muscles in balance. You can walk very fast if you want and get the heart rate pretty high.
They key to exercise is definitely moderation. Those who do exercise tend to do too much while young, or focus too much one one activity. It's good in life to specialize in skills, but running or biking excessive amounts can wear the body out, as can bodybuilding with improper form or excessive volume. Ideally a person should do some sensible cardio 2 days a week with some sensible resistance training 2-3 days per week (especially men) ... Too much volume isn't necessarily better.
Biking 5000+ miles per year... I've seen cyclists who look pregnant because all they do is bike, and then they drink or eat a lot of sugar off the bike. Walking is definitely better than nothing. There are some studies that say most steady state cardio should be zone 2.
I read the article and I agree with it. I think you came to the wrong conclusions from the article. I ran for 25 years using a heart rate monitor. The key sentence from that article is:
Quote:
The average runner runs too fast on their slow days and too slow on their fast days.
not that "The key to exercise is definitely moderation."
The article is written for someone who is a serious runner, not your average person who is trying to do some exercise. Very few people have to worry that they are exercising too much or too hard.
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