When do you start seeing "results"?

[KellyAnn]

OK, I know we're supposed to be all about being "fit" and having energy but I really want to lose some weight and I have been counting on the treadmill to help with that. I'm up to at least 4 miles per day and have lost maybe a pound. I do know that I'm building muscle in my legs and that weighs more so I'm trying to look more at the way my clothes fit and less at the scale.

Still, this is my 7th week and I'm not seeing a whole lot of results. For those of you who have been at this longer, have you seen much in the way of results (like have you lost a pant size or many pounds)? And, if so, how long have you been doing this, what is your daily average (miles and/or hours)?

I look at the other treadmill desk blogs and they all seem to taper off after a few weeks so I wonder if everyone gets tired of it and quits after a while?

[Hopeful]

I hope others reply to this. I would like to see some responses.

[bdrhoa]

Guess I never replied to this before...

I personally lost 6 lbs in my 1st month. That month I was able to be on the treadmill almost all day, every day. I was probably doing 9-10 miles/day.

Since then, my schedule has been sporadic and I've probably been averaging 4 miles 3-4 days per week. Last time I weighed myself I had put back on 3 lbs or so.

Ironicly, once I get back to programming every day, I expect to see better results. But I need to work on my eating too.

Having said, that, I'm not too concerned about sort term weight loss. It took me 20 years of working behind a desk to get to be 40 lbs over weight. It might take some time to get it off. And the one thing I know for sure is that this just has to better for me than sitting at a desk 8 - 12 hrs every day.

BTW - I wasn't able to watch 20/20 last night. I hoping it got recored. Did the show suggest an answer to this question?

Hang in there everyone!

[catfiend]

The show didn't really answer the question but.... The people from the one company all lost some weight - I think the range was 12 lbs to 24 lbs - in the six months that they followed them. The weight loss didn't sound like much but the before/after pictures were eye opening!

[L Melo]

I haven't even started yet, but I will tell you that no matter how much exercise you're doing, it's really easy to compensate for those extra calories burned with what seems like just a bit more food. Unless you're tracking your calorie intake in some way, you may be eating more. The body's natural tendency with expending more energy is to take in more energy (in the form of calories---food). It could be as little as an extra helping at supper or a little more on your plate, and all the calorie deficit you created from the walking will be equaled by the calorie intake.

[Melody Joy Buller]

So true! I am hungry ALL the time since I started doing this a month ago. It is taking every ounce of resolve to try and eat meals that go farther, instead of just eating whatever is on hand. But it has to be working, I've lost about 4 pounds.

[Claudia]

I don't think you lose any weight if you were already exercising. Even if you were overweight. It's only the people who were a lot overweight and not exercising much. Those people always lose weight easily, even when they just start walking around the block. But the treadmill desk is better than sitting all day, that's all, for a lot of reasons.

[Andrea]

How can this be? Weight loss is a calories in calories out game. If you add activity, keep calorie intake steady...you should lose weight, right?

[Melody Joy Buller]

Yes, that's true. Dr. Levine said that people using a treadmill desk have the potential to lose about 57 lbs a year, though. So, that is very slight amount over 1 lb a week. You may not see the results as quickly as you were initially thinking.

I think what Claudia is thinking about is the fact that people with a much larger body mass burn calories at a faster rate (because more calories are required for them to move their bodies).

[Barbara BC Gleason]

Uh-oh, I see no one has responded to this for a while! I personally lost 3 lbs the first week alone, and was able to do between 3-6 miles per day, depending on when I had out of office meetings, etc. And this week, my miles have increased as well as my average pace, based on tasks that need fine motor results, versus gross motor results (I'm a designer and illustrator, so there are times I have to keep it slow or my lines get really messy!).

So, I think I've probably lost another few lbs this week, so we'll see! But, this beats last year! In winter here in the Northwest, it's rainy! I meant to say rains often though sometimes only softly. So, doing this is great and a vast improvement over the 10 lbs I gained last winter! My outdoor exercise options decrease lots in winter here, in other words, between Nordic Walking that requires poles that hold still on the ground (not likely on slippery pavement conditions) or Trikke riding which also requires dry pavement! Oh well!