I'm on week 2 and enjoying it (if thats the right expression!)
I'm quite oeverweight, about 3 stones overweight in fact. Obviously this makes running more difficult but I am confident I can get to week 9. I just wondered if anyone had seen any major weight loss from following this programme?
I'm trying to eat sensibly, but I don't want to get obsesssed with dieting or eat too little so that I find the running more difficult.
I was 4 stone overweight when I started. It's taken me ages I've repeated weeks a lot along the way and I had a couple of weeks out for injury.
I've been tracking my weekday food using an app called live strong and I set the calorie target for what I can eat if I sit in the sofa all day doing nothing and stay the same weight, so the food isnt the main focus and is just normal I have rarely got that high and very occasionally exceeded it. I then started the get running app and I've also been swimming on the days off (increased swimming distance to 1 mile 2 or 3 times a week ).
What I've found is I'm not dieting. The focus is on the running and the swimming - i'm hoping to do some open water events next year. I've stopped eating processed stuff and my 'I'm full' hormone has kicked back in.
I'm now on my second attempt at week 7. (almost month 7 I started in April) and I have lost just over 2 stone and it's coming off steadily. I would also say I'm sure I'm a lot thinner than I was last time I was this weight but it's been a while.
All the best, keep running it is good fun - honest.
I'm hoping that something similar clicks with me. I've been dieting for 15 years and am bigger than ever, so I know dieting isn't the answer.
I'm hoping that the running will increase my confidence and awareness of my body and what I'm eating (eg, I had no idea how long it took to burn off 100 calories!) so that loosing weight becomes a natural part of this journey.
I'm so happy I've started it. Stuffing myself doesn't seem so appealing when the treadmill is looming, so I'm optimistic. Getting fit is my main focus but I would so desperately like to lose weight too.
wobbly wrote:I'm hoping that something similar clicks with me. I've been dieting for 15 years and am bigger than ever, so I know dieting isn't the answer.
Hey Wobbly!
I can only speak for myself, but I have found that calorie control is extremely effective for weight loss. IMO the problem is that people don't take on tailored plans, and often take on too much too soon.
For example, I tried to live on a diet of 1800 calories that still incorporated the foods I liked. By allowing myself some chocolate each day, I completely lost any need to overindulge in it. I ate more fruit (low calories) to take the edge off hunger and still enjoyed indiscriminate dinners. I'd also give myself a day off each week where I paid no attention to the calories. Doing this I lost five stone really, really effortlessly.
As for the running, I can only say it is part of my long-term masterplan for weight maintenance! Losing 200 calories from a run might not sound like much, but we tend to put on weight because we eat those extra 200 calories each day. That adds up to around 1.5 stone a year. Weight creeps on, so we have to "creep it off". Running can be a natural buffer against the negative effects of snacking.
I have lost quite a bit of weight. I am up to week 7, and in the last 6 weeks or so I have lost about 6 kg. However, I also went sugar free about 6 weeks ago. I thought that this would be really hard but it's actually been quite easy. My appetite has decreased a lot, and I'm feeling much better. I am careful about what I eat but I don't go hungry - if I'm hungry, I eat. And the desire for that sugary food has gone, too.
All the best with the weight loss. I found it picked up a bit as I got into the later weeks.
I'm still relatively new to the programme, and weight loss isn't one of my personal goals for it, but what I've found already is that if I've been eating trash then the running is SO much harder. For example, today we were eating lots of cake for my boyfriend's birthday, and then I went out for an evening run and I felt really heavy and sick. So for me, I've already found running to be an incentive to eat more healthily - just because it makes me feel so much better! Hopefully you'll experience a similar thing and the weight loss won't feel like a chore at all
“Suddenly, I was part of something. I was part of the running community. The more open I was about my running, the more open others were about theirs. I found out that runners love to talk about running.”
