Finished my first day on couch to 5k! I feel great but found it very hard. I'm 24 but very inactive. I decided to start couch to 5k due to me putting on a bit of weight and losing confidence.
After my first run I noticed how unfit I really am! And it's given me motivation to give up the cigarettes due to my lungs feeling horrific after running. I really hope I keep this up as I don't normally enjoy excercise. And I'm really worried of finding this too hard!
If any one has any tips on staying motivated that would be brilliant!
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Lucye92
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I'm also 24 but am looking to shift a considerable amount of weight. I haven't managed to pluck up the courage to start running yet due to my size but I hope when the weight starts to fall off with the 12 week plan I'll be running 5ks in no time!
I can't give any tips for staying motivated to run but from what I've read it sounds like the running bug really catches you!
The thing that stops me from doing it is my overhang on my tummy 😷
It physically hurts, even doing 10-20 seconds of running, because it bounces up and down.
It makes me really self conscious because it moves and wobbles so much. I'm still doing exercise but just brisk dog wakes at the minute as I wanted to wait until I've lost some weight and it doesn't hurt as much to run 😕
Hi Primelle, Walking is a great start, if you read through posts you'll see lots of people start this way. Get some BIG knickers, the sort you wouldn't want to be seen looking at, let alone buying and if you can find a good sports bra, get one. Even when you're walking having the right underwear makes such a difference, and if you're comfy there's more chance of you sticking to this.
Awww, I understand. My mum has that issue. Well done for doing brisk dog walks; that's a great way to get started. Are you doing anything diet-wise to lose weight? I've lost 3.5 stones over the last year and gone down 3 dress sizes just through diet alone.
I've completely changed my diet round. I never used to eat breakfast or lunch and just used to have a stodgy high calorie meal for my evening meal usually with a dessert!
I've followed the plan 100% this week and lost a whopping 9.2lbs!
I'll hopefully gain the confidence to start running the more I lose
Primelle Hi, I'm not saying you are anywhere near as overweight as I was but I was at least 6 stone overweight. I bought a good quality exercise bike (Reebok ZR9) and set it up in front of the tv so not to get bored. I used it as much as I could starting with 10 mins the 1st time (thought I was going to die!!) to eventually being able to manage 90 mins without stopping. Once I felt more comfortable I then started cycling outdoors and it was great. I'm now trying to lose the last 1 1/2 to 2 Stone and have started C25K this week. I've only done my first run but I'm determined to keep it up.
Good luck and I think once you find what works for you when you start seeing the benefits you start feeling better about it all.
I started a few weeks ago and I've just done Week 2 Run 2. I'm 26, a size 20, and incredibly unfit. I thought I was going to die on Week 1 Run 1, and didn't manage to actually do it all until my third attempt. Because of this, I actually did Week 1's runs 5 times so I actually completed the run 3 times before moving on. You will be surprised how much easier you find it next time. I'm managing to do Week 2 without too much trouble.
Two bits of advice I have is to (1) make sure you aren't running too fast, and (2) play around with your route a bit (assuming you're running outside). It wasn't until my third run that I found a route that worked for me. I'm in a really hilly area, but I've now found a route that is pretty flat, and it's helped a lot.
Yes I too live in a very hilly area. I chose my first run at a park right near my flat it's partly up hill flat and down hill so a nice mixture and I just ran round it in circles.
Good idea to mix it up too, I am a person who tends to get bored very easily!
Thank you for your words of encouragement, I feel like if everyone else on here can do it (all shapes and sizes) so can i!
That sounds a lot like the park I run on. It's got a slight slope to it, so I run on the flat bit and the downhill, and walk on the uphill bit. I've got really tight calf muscles, which means my ankles don't bend very far. Even walking up hills can be tricky for me, so definitely not ready to run up hill!
This forum is great for encouragement. It's lovely to know that there are runners of all shapes and sizes out there.
Motivation is very individual. To stay motivated, ask yourself why you are actually doing this. What is it going to mean to you if you stay on track and complete the programme? Dig deep. For example, if your first answer is "to lose weight" then ask again what it would mean to you to lose weight. Keep going like that.
Write it down (in this forum maybe or in private if your motivation is not something you want to share with the world) and say it out loud to a friend.
Every time you have doubts about the programme and the gremlins tell you to stay on the couch and have a smoke instead, remind yourself about the reasons you have for doing this.
Thinking positively will also help you stay on track. When you feel defeated because you can't do this or that, think about all the things you have already achieved.
And use this forum for inspiration and support. Keep posting and we will see you through.
Thank you! I will try these tips and hopefully they will work.
I think I've just had that sudden realisation that I've put on weight my old summer clothes don't fit and I need to get healthier!
Nobody likes the feeling of not fitting into their clothes and that they are slowly getting bigger.
For the health side of it I am a nurse and I see so many of my patients suffer with long term conditions partly due to a poor lifestyle, so that also is giving me motivation to get fitter!
Thank you again for your advice this forum seems to be very supportive and very helpful! ☺️
Well done getting started! Although I'm only at Week 4 so by still a beginner really, my biggest tip this far is to check in on this forum every day and post when you want help/advice/to shout in delight at finishing a run - it truly is full of amazing, friendly, motivational people who reward you for your achievements and push you through if you're feeling like things are tough!
The start can be hard but everything will become easier if you run slowly an go three days a week. Believe me!. Your life will change in the body and in the mind! Ecen for me the first week was hard
Great news and well done getting off the couch. I stopped smoking in September, there's a great stopober group on Facebook, very supportive. I find watching obese, a year to save your life motivating as I think of the people who have bmis of 50 running, I think well I can certainly do this. On the the programme the trainer says get comfortable with being uncomfortable. When I started I, like most women felt really self conscious so I used to run around the sub tropical gardens in my local park - more secluded and no gazelles flying by. But, you know something? I stopped caring. Yesterday I ran 8 km to my gym, rucksack on back, through the crowds at Buckingham palace, through Hyde Park and Kensington Palace gardens. Towards the end I was sweaty and puffing like an old steam train.
Really well done! You'll get into the programme in no time and find that you love it! You'll get to much fitter. I started c25k thirteen months ago and this weekend I ran my first 10k race! I was very inactive when I started, and overweight- the plan really works, just stick with it and keep posting here for encouragement and support!
Well done...I have just finished w4 (3 mins running then 5 mins )..and to be honest when I started the first minute runs nearly killed me!..I am not finding it easy, but you will find following the plan really helps..so don't give up!
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My first day
First run!!!
First time runner 
Just finished week 2
The first day!
