Weight lose on c25k

[angemarie]

Hi just on week 2 and wondered if anyone has lost any weight doing the programme??

[Hidden]

Hi Ange. I've lost weight, but I am combining the programme with slimming world and also walk to work and back 5 days a week, so doing quite a bit of exercise. Good luck on your journey. How are you finding it so far?

[angemarie in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply

I'm really enjoying it I'm used to walking long distance so it's the running I'm wanting to get right, can't imagine doing a straight 5k run so excited to get to the end

Good luck on your journey

[dagshar Graduate in reply to angemarie]

Just wait....you will be running 5k before too long! I have lost weight, but was not overweight in the first place and also made an effort to eat healthily (more than before ). I think the best bet is to combine the exercise with eating better and possibly less. All the best!

[JoolieB1 Graduate in reply to angemarie]

I am on day 3, week 5 mot morrow (20 minute run) and you will be amazed at how the body can develop fitness but I still can't imagine doing 5K let alone entering a run.

Julie

[Hidden in reply to angemarie]

Just you wait! That was my thinking as well, but with each week I feel a difference! You will too, very exciting!

[freshApril in reply to Hidden]

hiya, i am doing sw too, absolutely love it!

[LyndaM Graduate]

Hi, I am on week 9. I haven't lost any weight, but have dropped a dress size! I have been a bit disappointed that the scales don't show any loss, but I will carry on running anyhow. I don't think from the posts I have seen on the forum that you do lose weight unless you do some form of diet/eating less regime, but you certainly get more toned and feel a lot fitter. Good luck going forward on the programme.

[gary_bart]

I've lost something like 5 kg over this year and put on a bit of muscle. I try to be disciplined about what I eat, and sometimes I try to see if I can get things so that by about an hour before any meal I'm hungry, but I'm not on any "diet" as such. I think if you were counting your calories, and sticking to your recommended allowance, more rapid progress than that might be possible, but exercise doesn't burn that much fuel, even though it feels that way. I think the main fat loss benefit of exercise is that when your metabolism comes looking to eat those spare muscles you have (instead of the precious fat reserves), the muscles complain that they're sore enough as it is, without having to do all that work after being made smaller. So it might protect your muscle tissue from being consumed as fuel, which leaves only the fat available. For someone not doing exercise, the muscle tissue is "unneeded" so can be burnt off, thus saving the valuable fat.

This hunger trick isn't a pennance of some kind. It's really a pleasure to eat hungry. If you've ever been hiking, you already know how fantastic soya mince can taste out there when the next meal you've been waiting for arrives. Back home you'd give most of it to the cat, but hunger makes things taste good. It's also an attempt to rely on the body's own monitoring systems (and hopefully exercise these, and get them back in shape). I just realised at some point in time that I had probably not ever felt hungry for even one day in the last three years, and that there was probably something wrong with that. I don't think I'd be willing to go so far as to hit starvation point just for the sake of being nice and greedy when the tucker arrived, but just a little edge before a meal really improves quality of life. In an overflow of plenty we get too used to food, and take it a bit for granted (well I do, anyway).

Back to your question: You shouldn't expect to lose much weight just from exercise. To lose weight, in the end you have no option but to undereat slightly.

[rmnsuk Graduate]

Lost quite a lot of weight, but it's mostly due to eating less. Running has made me fitter, reduced my blood pressure and resting heart rate etc. all related and good but not quite the same thing.

Well done for starting c25k, it's well worth the effort.

[MarkyD Graduate]

These early runs are burning about 200 calories. 200 calories!!!! You can inhale 200 calories just by sniffing a chocolate cake. So, you'll not lose much weight on C25K without some other measures. LyndaM has it right, though... by the end of C25K you'll be trimmer and more toned, and much healthier generally. There is plenty of benefit from C25K.

[nhs2015 Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

5k get you 400 to 500 + calories so a double serving of chocolate cake !!!! With probably some custard on top!

[Hidden]

I lost 3lb doing c25k, which might not seem like much, but I also lost inches, got my blood pressure back to a healthy level, and had a much improved breathing reading at the docs by the end (am v mildly asthmatic). I've since gone on to do the nhs 12 week weight loss plan while carrying on running. I also cycle, do a little bit of strength exercising, and am generally quite active. All this combined has enabled me to finally lose the weight I needed to (1 1/2 stone). It's a long journey but c25k is a good way to start it. Good luck

[davelinks Graduate]

Yes,I've lost weight, and am getting some good comments from friends & family.

But you won't really start losing weight through the programme until you start running constant 30mins, so take it easy but keep pushing on, eventually you will reap the benefit's of you effort's.😉

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

According to experts, it is diet (being calorie deficient) that loses weight rather than exercise. Exercise tones muscles, so a combination of healthy eating and exercise will result in lost weight and healthy heart, lungs and toned muscles too (not to mention improved mental health)!

There is a great App My Fitness Pal where you can set weight loss and daily calorie goals, track food and it is free. There is a helpful forum there too.

PS. I have been using MFP for 10 weeks and lost a stone, just on week 5 of C25K

Julie

[Rlear Graduate]

You should measure yourself in key areas as this is where you'll see the difference. Oh and get a free heart rate app for your phone. Use it every morning for a week to get your normal resting heart rate. Try doing it as soon as you've finished a run, during the walk. The figure should be close to 220 - your age. The closer the harder you're working. Shouldn't be higher though. But you may not see much difference until you get to week 7.

[COVEY2009 Graduate]

Ive lost 18lbs but was was 266 lbs when i started (6wk), you will burn calories especially if you are heavier as it takes more effort to move. I am also reducing the calories i take in, but i'm up to 3x25min runs a week thats a lot of calories going in the right direction (i walk and run for 1hr15 in total that's about 900 cal per session based on my weight). You will see more rapid weight loss if you do it in conjunction with a reduced calorie diet. Initially you may have weeks where you lose nothing as your building up muscle and muscle weighs more that fat!, but then you'll have more muscle to shift the fat. Good luck what ever you do

[Rignold]

Stick with it and make part of your lifestyle and you will lose weight, and do so consistently. It may not be dramatic but dramatic weightloss is never sustainable.

I am afraid the previous poster's point about building muscle is not the case, though. running does not build muscle. Resistance training builds muscle.

[COVEY2009 Graduate in reply to Rignold]

While you're not going to turn into a body builder after just a few days of running, your body will slowly begin to build muscle and burn fat. While this is great news for your overall fitness and race times, you're actually gaining weight by supplementing low density fat tissue for high density muscle tissue.

[Coddfish Graduate in reply to COVEY2009]

Err, have you looked at Mo Farah recently? Agree you will reduce body fat but you won't build muscle without resistance training.

[Rignold]

You do not build muscle running. If you did, ultra-distance runners would have massive legs. They do not. They have very skinny legs. Look at the champion marathon runners. They are wiry, tiny and have sparrow legs. Running does not build muscle. Muscle is built by progresive overload and hypertrophy.

artsonearth.com/www/images/...

[Coddfish Graduate]

I have lost a stone over 7 or 8 months of running and swimming without changing diet. Clothes that had got too tight fit comfortably, I have probably gone down at least 1 size. Most of the change in shape happened fairly quickly. My blood pressure also dropped quite a lot.

[Curlygurly2 Graduate]

In May I ran 12 times, covering over 60K, I burnt a grand total of 4,450 calories. Bearing in mind you have to deduct from that what you would have burnt anyway just by existing, probably about 1,000, (see Rigs post last week, thank you Rig) you can see that if I had made no other changes to my food intake I might have lost the grand total of......one whole pound. That's in a whole month of running 3 or 4 times a week. That said I have lost about 8 kilos in the last year or so, but I find running actually kills my appetite, whereas the swimming I was doing before made me so ravenous I would have eaten a rabid dog....

[ActonHighStreet]

Without wishing to brag, I've lost a huge amount of weight since starting C25k/eating sensibly. For me it was just a matter of counting the calories in and counting them out again. If you eat 3500 calories more than you should, you'll gain a pound, if you create a 3500 calorie deficit (say by doing a week's worth of C25k and eating 1600 calories a day), you'll lose a pound.

When I was big, the science of calories was intimidating ("I've run for twenty minutes and all I've burned off is the equivalent of one pint of beer-no fair!") now I'm smaller the calories are my friends ("I'd have to drink nineteen beers just to put on one pound!")

(NB Couch to 5k does not recommend nineteen beers as an RDA).

[sallyannie Graduate]

Hiya, I am dieting as well on week 9 lost just over 2 stone so far want to get another 2 off before xmas.

[lisaboyle36]

I was so interested to read everyone's comments here as one of my main reasons for starting the program was to lose weight. I'm on week 5 and have lost 5 pounds but have found such a love for running that the weight loss has taken second place now. All I want is to keep running LOL. I've definitely lost inches off my waist though as clothes are looser. I've been following Weight Watchers and still walk home from work every day.

Overall I'd say the running will help you stay focussed on building a healthier lifestyle. You'll not want to eat loads of fatty foods because that would waste the hard work you've put in to the exercising, I feel. Good luck on your plan.

[davelinks Graduate]

I lost about 6lb while doing the programme, excercise is more the key to losing weight than diet, but combine it with a healthy diet. I've really noticed over the last couple of years that drinking plenty of water throughout the day is beneficial in weight loss..

[Jol_Keen Graduate]

Did CT5K and graduated before without any dieting and just became fitter and more toned. I fell out of the habit of structured runs and lack of self discipline after completing the plan and put on weight and lost fitness.

Restarted CT5K this summer. I have lost a stone and quarter since mid July, I was 17 stone, I aim at a calorific intake 1800 per day and cutting down on my sugar and junk food consumption. I burn 500+ calories 3 times a week on CT5K and lots of walking on non run days. Working for me.