I started the program 10 weeks ago from a place of no fitness and seriously overweight ( almost 17 stone at only 5'4.) It's taken my body and my confidence 2 weeks to do each week of the program and am attempting W5r3 tomorrow 😳
Today I went to see the nurse for my annual health check - I've lost 10kg from my last years results and my blood pressure was declared 'perfect' for the first time in the last 5 years. 😊
The nurse then asked what I was doing differently- I explained about C25k as well as a general rethink of what I eat and trying to be more active on a daily basis. Her face fell, she shook her head and said a woman of my size and age (46) was asking for trouble doing that, I should be walking not running. I came away feeling really deflated- I wanted a pat on the back and a gold sticker and instead I feel thoroughly confused and down in the dumps! What do you lovely people think? 🙄
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Jingle_berry
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Well that was a sucky experience! I'm not a nurse (Well, I am actually, but not a general health one) but I would have thought your results speak for themselves and the fact that you're taking it slowly and have had no negative effects so far show you're a) responsible about your approach and b) coping with it physically. I'm 55 and while I'm taller than you and less overweight - although I have been heavier than you - I'm 55! Loads of people are significantly older that you. Do you feel able to book an appointment to discuss further with her or your g.p.? I would definitely want to know why she thinks it's a bad idea given your improvement and approach. Hopefully she was just having a bad day! You can have a big pat on the back and a gold star from me.
I think it's a real shame that you have received such a negative response from a health professional. As pollyp1 said - surely the results speak for themselves. It sounds like you are taking the program slowly and sensibly and have no injuries. If you are worried you could speak to a GP but I certainly disagree that age is relevant. I'm 57, when I started was early 4 stone overweight and all being well should graduate at the weekend. I feel great and most people are now telling me I look really well so he/she should know better than to be ageist. Your general health is the relevant thing surely and ensuring you keep safe and injury free. Don't be put off sounds like you are doing great.
Thank you so much. I have taken it steady and listened to my body. I liken running at the moment to going to the dentist - dread it, do it, feel extremely relieved when it's over and it's never as bad as I thought it would be 😂
Hopefully as it gets easier you will start to enjoy it more. You should feel very proud of your achievement so far. I was told this week that if you keep a new activity up for 12 weeks it will become a habit so make it much easier to continue. That means you have very nearly acquired a new and very good habit. 😀👏
I think we all like the appreciation which makes it tough when you get negative feedback. As someone told me when I posted earlier in the week about a negative comment I received - they're only jealous !! Hopefully this forum has given you all the affirmation you need.
Idiot nurse 😐if your results have improved the way they have , then keep doing what you did to achieve that! A bit of positivity from the nurse would have gone a long way but we have enough positivity here to make up for it (hopefully!)
What I think is pretty unprintable. There is loads of evidence that moderate running does you good in all sorts of ways - and your results back that up.
I am considering sending her the bill for my new trainers!!! I need to rely on my own feelings, the support from here and enjoy what I'm doing. 👍 Thank you for taking the time to respond x
Building up slowly is the road to avoiding injury and of course the nurse is right that if someone is really overweight and unfit, it is better to start by walking, gradually building up the minutes, and then at some point start combining it with some gentle jogging for example in the form of the C25K programme.
I think she might have not really understood that you are in fact building up really slowly, repeating weeks when you need to, listening to your body.
My advice would be to keep doing what you are doing - slowly and gently
Taking control of your health by exercising is something that should be applauded by health professionals, but unfortunately your experience is not at all uncommon. Of course you need to take care, and you are, so yes, you should get a gold star not a kick in the teeth. I would really like you to go back to your surgery to discuss the reasoning for this poor advice, armed with the poster that you can find a link to at healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
Once they realise that this is an NHS sponsored programme and that you are supported by a very caring community on this forum, then maybe they will wake up and give you some encouragement. This training plan has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of formerly exercise phobic individuals whose health outlooks have improved drastically for the better.
If they persist in negativity then ask for a second opinion and do keep us posted. We are right behind you. Good luck.
I did reply to you but it's gone missing 😔. You are right, thousands of people can't be wrong - if I'm the exception to the rule, I'll go back and surrender my trainers to the nurse 😊
Drs and nurses are only human and can get things wrong aswell. Each one of them has their own ideas/prejudices and you seem to have come across a nurse who disapproves of running. Continue with what you're doing - it's working! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Five gold stars from me!
Thank you so much for your positivity and fabulous replies. I agree with everything each and everyone of you have said and I'm going to carry on regardless 😀😀😀
I am wearing my gold star ⭐️ with pride and will let you knock how I get on tomorrow.
Much love and many thanks to you all 😘😍😘
Another gold star from me. It's a Nhs programme! Just go canny and you will be fine.
I promise you that I am not in any position to go crazy - I'm just in it to improve my fitness and life! I intend to continue until my body says otherwise, then I will listen 😂😂😂
This is so disappointing but, unfortunately, not uncommon. This is an NHS programme. You are following it correctly (even more cautiously than it recommends). You are healthier, feel better and are making great progress. Ignore her. She is wrong.
You can come with me next time melly4012! I do feel better, I feel fitter and am taking more care with what goes in my mouth! Common sense tells me I'm right and she's wrong, I was just a bit wrongfooted today x
Then you knew really that it was the right thing, just needed us here to confirm it for you.
At least you're now prepared if you ever need to see a professional with a running injury they sometimes will treat you the same or fob you off. The amount of times both my boyfriend and my Dad (who are both the fittest and healthiest people) have been practically 'told off' for football/running injuries by health professionals is unbelievable. The way some health professionals act you'd think they'd actually rather we rely on the NHS as unhealthy, diseased people and waste their time with completely preventable illnesses.
Well, I used to be a nurse and I would never, ever discourage someone from being more active! This person is obviously not a runner, I would probably say take it easy and slowly, reflecting of my own experience of starting at 49 and getting overuse injuries by doing too much too soon.
I agree with JaySeeSkinny , we are all influenced by our own experiences and habits, take it with a pinch of salt, you know you
Early on I had foot pain, bit of plantar fasciitis I think, went to the doctors, saw a young locum, who advised me to cycle instead! On the other hand, one of the regular docs does 'tough mudder' runs, and my normal GP is very active, we spent several minutes talking about different stretches last time I saw her!
Thank you so much. I think you are right, I maybe didn't take enough time to explain and need to appreciate that everyone doesn't know about everything! It's not going to put me off, but if I get any injuries ( have been lucky enough to be injury free so far😊) I'll make sure i don't see her!!! See how grown up I am 😂😂😂
I think the NHS are much maligned but i have a lot of good experiences when family have been in hospital and the treatment has been excellent. Unfortunately they (NHS) suffer from the ill informed opinions of a few who seem to delight in giving poor advice and often with no foundation. I hate to get into an NHS bashing session, it's a massive organisation, and there are some "bad eggs" (very polite) in every organisation.
You have proven with your willpower and dedication to the programme that what you're doing is working. Whether it is down to C25K, your diet or any other changes that you're making should be congratulated and not discouraged by, in my opinion, a poorly informed individual. A better stance would have been to offer support for your running and offer advice about how you could perhaps stretch and strengthen in other areas to support your running.
Anyway, I've just fallen off my soap box so I'll not say any more other than massive congratulations on getting this far and good luck with W5D3 tomorrow. You'll be amazed at how your body can cope with this one just take it easy and it will come. It will be worth the smile on your face at the end.
I can fully appreciate that I don't look like a runner and no doubt took her by surprise. If I wasn't me, I'd probably advise me not to do it either, but the fact remains I have started and I will finish!!! I was disappointed with the nurses response, but appreciate that she was talking to the person she could see. I am proud of myself and maybe just need to accept that not everyone is going to pat me on the back, and maybe the one person that it matters to the most should just be me!!!
Thank you for taking the time to post your reply - I really appreciate it 😊
I was 47 and overweight when I started C25K. Like you, I have had dramatic improvements in my health indicators. That nurse is an idiot who clearly knows nothing about running, or what a great plan this is. Don't let her ignorance negate all the great work you have done.
I will certainly try! I took a moment to think back to my very first run, I didn't (couldn't) move for 3 hrs afterwards...I can now run for 8 mins! That's incredible- I will not be quitting 👍
Absolutely. I've posted before how one of the top five foot surgeons in the USA told me in 90/91 that I would be in a wheelchair in my forties because of the bone deformities in my feet.
I'm taking my second, third, fourth( you get the picture) opinion from here! Every run is a push for me, but I'm taking it slowly and listening carefully to my body. I'm enjoying what I'm doing, getting better and feeling fitter - I'm winning 😊😊
I was marshalling with a man at parkrun the other week who has been running for about 40 years. He said that you used t be able to spot a runner by their lean physique but not anymore. Nowadays he sees people and thinks- surely they can't run 5k, but they do and they do it well.
I'm sorry she wasent as supportive as she could of been. But it's not the first time Ive heard it. We always support and help on this site and I forget that no everyone is the same. It might of been jealousy on her part because you made yourself better without medical intervention. Well done on your fantastic healthy results.
Well done to you. could be many reasons Nurse not give right advice. Apart from the Nurses own experience often find that Health professionals are under pressure to "dish out advice" and don't have time to listen to patients who have had positive experience of such programmes as C25K. Their bosses should at least make them aware of their own NHS C25K website ! I know in the back of my mind I was wary of running given the prevalence of warnings of dangers of running if too overweight etc. But this C25K is a balanced slow build up with appropriate warnings to "listen to your body". I consciously through better diet and extra cycling (which I did regularly anyway) reduced weight from 13Stone to about 12 ish Stone over a couple of years before undertaking C25K. Wish I had started it earlier ! But surprised myself building up to 30 minutes running and losing another 10 lb into the bargain over the 9 weeks. Still doing my 30 minutes 3 times each week and building up a minute each week. I may not go as far as building up to 10K due to time pressures but have definitely felt the benefits physically and mentally. Sometimes tempted to say to Doctors who told me to shed a few stone to "look in the mirror" but thought better of it. Prefer approach of winning friends and influencing people. Not to make snap judgements of people. Doctors and Nurses as others have said also have their own pressures personally and professionally.
The huge support ( and sparkly stars) I have received on this forum has blown the nurses comments out of the window! I'm sure it was just concern, but it has not put me off! In fact, onwards and upwards! Thank you for taking the time to respond- it is really appreciated x
Look at all the gold stars you have accumulated in just one post! You're definitely doing it right Put them all in a virtual bag and take them with you on your next run to remind you that we're all behind you 100% 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Oh no! That would have totally deflated me as well. Keep going. You've been approaching it ina very responsible manner and you have learnt that your blood pressure values have improved and you already knew that you had made great progress, running for 8 min, so you are definitely doing the right thing.
When we land on a running foot, our ankle, knee and hip joints, they have to take the force of around 5 times our body weight, which is substantial and when you take a look at your anklesand knees, they do look fragile to have to cope with this. This is why we are running slowly and trying to land lightly, running on soft surfaces rather than concrete, and of course losing weight will help the joints immensely and that will come over time. In the meantime running as we do on c25k is strengthening your joints, it is also strengthening the leg muscles which takes pressure off the joints. One of the main reason we harp on about squats, is that they strengthen your thigh muscles which takes pressure off the knee. I also run with patella knee straps fastened around the leg, just under the knee cap to prevent tracking problems and take glucosamine sulphate for the joints. When we're overweight, it is the joints and perhaps the bones of the feet which need the most thought but these are not reasons for notrunning.
I'd like to tell you about a man I know who weighed a great deal more than you do. He was diagnosed with diabetes, took up running to lose weight and is now very lean and a running coach. He has no diabetes. If he had not taken up running, where would he be now I wonder. Now he runs marathons, back then he could not walk without lumbering from side to side and would be out of breath just walking very slowly down the street. You be proud of yourself and keep running.
I am by no means any medical expert, although my wife does sometimes call me Dr.Bob (a conversation for another time) but if your body can do it, then it will. You know your body better than anyone who's read a book or two on anatomy. It would be so much better if she would have encouraged you, and helped with some useful advice. Don't let it put you off the running.
Great stuff......I have one of those stubborn streaks too, I don't allow it to affect me very often as most of time, just want a quiet life, but every now and again.......!!!!.
Keep up the good work and just think that the nurse was a numpty !
I had a doctor visit yesterday. He was thrilled with my weight loss and with the exercise I have been doing (C25K having completed up to W5R1, spin classes, kickboxing, dance class). I'm 60 years old, have lost 33 lbs ( sorry, I'm in the U.S.so I don't know what that is in stone), still have about another 30 to go, but my bloodwork is excellent as is my blood sugar. The doctor said to keep up the good work. If I were you, I would disregard what the nurse said to you, and keep on going with the program. Great job!
She's jealous because you're getting results! You're doing brilliantly - ignore her "advice" but I can understand feeling deflated. Good job you've got this site eh? I thought I replied to you last night when I was in bed but obviously not.. sorry.
I just had to reply to this post and compliment everybody that's posted a response to this thread. I work for a healthcare professional professional body (not nursing) and on another, more general forum, we see really vicious NHS and healthcare professional bashing from the posters including bad language, naming of the professionals and threats. Here it's completely different. Although nobody agrees with what the nurse said, it was a pleasure to read the measured and supportive responses. Clearly this a forum of adults.
Also, well done Jingle_berry , you are an inspiration to many.
It's all been said,but I just have to add another gold star 🌟.
We know that running is high impact and therefore there is a danger of a whole host of injuries or problems, but taking it steady as you are,you will be fine.
Fear of damage and injury has made me perfectly happy with regular 5k runs and a max of 10k.
You are doing amazingly well - KEEP WITH THE PROGRAMME and reap those results - you are amazing 🏃👌🏃🎉
That would have really wound me up! I started the program at 58, slightly tubby then, much fitter now. You now have a new opportunity as continuing to run sensibly, doing the programme at your own pace, will not only continue to improve your health and fitness it will also be a very satisfying response. A most appropriate message for that nurse which I am sure you will be able to deliver in style.
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sorry.
Meals + other exercise? (Confused)
Phone jogged in pocket - confusion!
A very confusing run Wk6 R1
Landing confusion - heel or mid- foot?
