I used to drink a bottle of wine a day and didn't take any exercise. I started on C to 5K 6 weeks ago and gave up drinking alcohol in the week.
I'm only on week 3 of the plan as I haven't been able to get out as much as I hoped. I'm drinking plenty of water and eating healthily but I'm not losing any weight?
Why? When? How?
Thanks.
I reckon 5 km is about 500 calories or 56 grammes (by my maths) running alone doesn't do much for weight loss, then you've got muscle gain - muscle weighs more than fat etc atc.
I think the biggest reason for my weigh loss (nearly 30kg) is logging everything I eat in myFitnessPal.
I didn't lose any weight early on the programme - it wasn't until I was running 30 mins regularly that I lost a little bit without doing anything about diet, but it's just been a little bit (about half a stone) and I'm afraid I'm going to have to restrict my intake of food as well if I want to lose any more. On the plus side, all the weight I lost was abdominal fat, so health benefits are very good! I've been a bit "oh well, I've been running, I can have that cake" when in fact I know I really shouldn't. I've started this week to cut out the rubbish, so hopefully a bit more of the flab will go. I think, like crox says, you need to know what you're eating so write down everything - even just in a diary or notebook - and I reckon you'll soon spot where you could cut out some unhealthy foods without too much difficulty.
Thanks guys. I'm on a good, healthy diet, while I don't keep a diary, I eat lightly and absolutely no junk or added/refined sugar.
I'd suggest you keep a log just for a week. You'd be surprised at what you might be inadvertently consuming. If you find you genuinely don't eat any "naughty" foods then portion control is the answer. Colleague of mine has lost loads of weight by eating off a smaller plate and no other action - still eating any food she likes, just less of it. Hard going for first few weeks then she got used to it and finds she can easily manage on less food.
Yep purplestreak has hit the nail right on the head, more often than not if your diet is a good healthy balanced one then its the portion size thats wrong. I've been using a smaller plate for over a year and it worked for me. Take out the tape mearue and take your measurements now before you go any further too, you will find your body shape will change, you will become much more toned and look slimmer although the scales might even show an incease in weight to begin with which is due to muscle toning.
I know how you feel. I have been following weight watchers for about 6 weeks, although I do lapse at weekend by having a few extra beers and a takeaway, but on the whole I follow it very well.
I have just completed week four of C25K and 'touch wood' I'm finding it manageable, plus I do Pilates twice a week too. I initially lost 3 lbs (probably water) but over the past 4 weeks I have lost nothing! It's a bit disheartening but I intend to carry on as it can only be doing me good 
Take out the tape measure it tells the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Muscle weighs more than fat but fat looks more than muscle. You are now on a win win routine, I promise.
I totally understand how you feel as I've been thinking that same - just finished W5 and not a pound has shifted. I've read before that you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound in weight - bearing in mind we probably burn around 200-250 calories with each 30 minute session, it's going to take a minimum of 14 sessions to just lose one pound!!! So all things being the same, the end of W5 should mean a pound loss in weight. I'm trying to not get too demoralised by that as I have a lot of weight to lose, but it's taken many years to gain the weight so I know it's not going to disappear quickly. I definitely have noticed that I'm starting to feel more toned, I'm sure you will too in the next week or so. Also muscle at rest burns calories whereas fat at rest doesn't, so in theory as the weeks go by and you build muscle, that will also burn more calories. Good luck with your running and weight loss
Thanks to all of you. I'm not getting demotivated just a bit impatient !
I was consistently losing weight for almost a year before starting C25K. Once I started running, I actually gained a pound and then didn't loose anything for a month and a half even though I could feel myself becoming smaller. After the first month and a bit I dropped about 5 pounds right away.
From what I've heard, when you are working new muscles your body surrounds the muscle with water to protect it but it is temporary. Even though you may be losing fat, the scale doesn't show a loss because of all the extra fluid.
It'll be okay, lots of people seem to have this problem when they first start a new program but it is temporary. Keep doing what you're doing!
I'd second using a tape measure rather than the scales. I've lost absolutely nothing! But those jeans that I haven't been able to wear for the last two years not only fit comfortably but may even be a little bit big! I still weigh 4kg more than the last time I could wear those jeans, but they also fit a lot nicer than they did last time too
I have lost 24kg (over 50 pounds) so far in 2013 and I lost the vast majority of it before I started C25K. I would say 90% of weight loss is due to diet and not exercise. If I run 5km I burn around 350 calories, and can eat a chocolate and wipe that all out! I started losing weight when I logged all my food into an app and saw how much I was really eating. I then calculated my BMR and gave myself a calorie limit that gave me a 500 calorie daily deficit, this allowed me to lose weight slowly and consistently.
The tape measure is also a good way of checking because I have gone from 38 inch waist to 30 inch and since starting C25K my waist has reduced but the weight is now fairly stable. As everyone above has said this is because I am losing fat while I am also putting on muscle, so dont get too hung up on your overall weight. Also check how your clothes feel, i.e. are your shirts/jeans looser?
I'm another advocate for keeping a diet log with something like MyFitnessPal. I was wondering why I wasn't losing weight until I recorded everything I ate and drank on MFP; it was a bit of an eye-opener! Since then I've lost the weight I've wanted to.
I gained 4lbs in the first 2 weeks, but guessed I was building muscle mass, and since then I've lost that and another 6lbs, just about to start week 7 tomorrow. I use myfitnesspal to log my food choices and keep an eye on my intake. I do have another 34lbs to go!
I agree with those above who have suggested logging. I have been doing exercise for about 18 months with minimal weight loss even though I eat 'good' food, no junk and minimum alcohol. I joined my fitness pal and started weighing and charting my food and boy was that an eye opener, I was eating far too much food (not a huge surprise in itself but which of my healthy foods contained the most calories was surprising) So now I have started to lose a little weight on a regular basis by only making small changes. It took me about 50 years after early childhood to get to this weight so hopefully it won't take that long to get it off!
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