Part of the reason for starting C25K was to lose weight. That is now slowly happening (and seems as much to do with less comfort eating as it is more running). With weight loss I hoped for shape change - lose the belly, slim the thighs, tone the calves.
Today as I was getting dressed I realised my belt is now doing up one notch tighter from the notch it used to strain at and, if I tried and put up with mild discomfort, would go the the next notch too.
My trousers are looser around the thighs.
My shirts aren’t “slightly strained” at the buttons. (Sounds like part of a recipe for a child’s cake!)
My watch is doing up one notch tighter - what used to be my “running” notch (tightened to ensure the heart monitor works) is now my regular one and when running I am now regularly losing heart rate data again.
Things are happening. And it’s really nice.
Enjoy your next run x
Written by
Jay66UK
Graduate
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Hi Jay, that's great! You're achieving what you set out to do and you're noticing it. Guaranteed, if you're noticing it, others will be too! Keep up the good work and enjoy your running - you can see positive results now and there's no reason to stop.
Haha! My boyfriend has a very large neck and has to buy extra slim fitting shirts otherwise they're just massive. He's short too - about 5'6" but he says his billed height is 5'10" 😂😂
I learnt how to tuck the shirt in so the spare fabric disappears round the back and invested in some of those expandy things you wear half way up your forearms to stop you looking like Dopey in a suit...
Yay Jay66UK !! makes all that hard work worth it ~ well done you! You need that boost as a reward for all your efforts 😊 I'm interested to know about your 10% increase strategy (or did I dream that??) are you basing it on adding 10% in time or distance? I'd like to try something like that ~ see, you're an inspiration! X
I’m adding 10% time to my third run each week, so two lots of 30 then an increasing run - 33, 36, 40, 44 mins. At my pace, I should pass 5k in the 44 mins. That should be next week.
Then I plan to consolidate the 5k by doing two 30 min runs (or a 30 and a 20) and a 5k every week for several weeks.
Then I might put on my big boy pants and try the Bridge to 10k.....
Ah ok you sound like you've got the logistics sorted out ~ I'm going to try adding 1minute on to each run (I can actually remember posting that I was going to do that ages ago, and never did! 🤣) starting with my next run so that by the 3rd I'll have hopefully added 3minutes - and hopefully that'll help! Thanks for your help, and whoop whoop to big boys pants!! 😬🤣🤗
I started for similar reasons but although i have noticed a general ‘firming’, i am disappointed that i haven’t turned into one of those wirey gazelles who overtake me on the coast path! I think i know why though - before i started i didn’t really drink alcohol much because it gave me evil headaches. Sadly, now can thoroughly enjoy a glass or two of wine at the end of the day with no adverse affects. Those extra calories are neutralising the benefits of the run. So no weight loss, but two new activities for the price of one!
Are there other dietary changes you can make to “swap calories”?
I recognised that I would sit and eat eg a sharing bag of Revels “because it’s open”. So I buy a large bar of chocolate and have a “strip” of blocks and make the bar last all week.
And I’ve stopped buying ice cream and get fat free Greek style yoghurts instead.
Biggest one, I’ve stopped making/buying sandwiches for lunch and have a Huel shake instead.
I gave up sugary things a while ago because i found it also gave me headaches. I don’t eat processed foods, snacks and not alot of carbs. I feel like i eat quite healthily most of the time big on vegetables and salads - just need to reduce my portion size! The problem is that my husband is quite a good cook...!
Lol that is soooo me 😂😂. I’ve swapped to those tins of diet G&T’s and a glass of red or two at the weekends. Slowly loosing the weight but I’ll be damned if I’m giving up the booze !
I seem to be investing quite a lot on the whiskey industry as well 🤔. It’s amazing what 1 dram a night does to a bottle after a week😳. I’ll have to not fill the glass to the top next time .
I love reading your posts. Well done on your weight loss, stick with it. you are doing great. Loosing weight is a bit like bailing out a swimming pool with a bucket, as you bail out the swimming pool the shallow end appears first, but the deep end takes a heck of a lot more bailing out. When you loose weight some areas of the body loose their 'excess' faster than others. Typically the face slims quite fast, but other areas (for women it's typically the thighs and backside) take a long time to slim down. Be prepared for some areas to slim quickly, but some body fat seems to linger for ever. It's normal.
Sorry, it's not my intention to sound negative. It's just something I was told once by a personal trainer when I was loosing weight. It just makes so much sense to me. I hope it helps you too.
I love that swimming pool analogy! I find that encouraging message, as well. Every time I go on reducing plan, as I am now, I seem to slim out at the edges while the middle holds on to it’s real estate as long as it can! Right now, my wrists, ankles, and neck are rocking it. My tummy, on the other hand… 😂
Brilliant news Jay! There is so much misinformation out there about weight loss it actually makes me quite angry. You're approaching it sensibly and giving good advice to others too x
Aww thank you! Most of what I know I've learnt from my own mistakes. Things like stopping eating biscuits and chocolate but substituting for about 4 bananas a day and a load of fruit juice then wondering why I wasn't losing 😂
Same here, played golf yesterday and decided I have to buy some new golf trousers as all my current ones are starting to look silly, they are so big on me. The new belt I bought in January, that fitted perfectly, is now two notches too big. I’ve lost 10lbs since starting C25K, and it is continuing to come off at the same slow and steady rate of about a pound a week.
Lots of comments from friends and family, my sister-in-law has started to jokingly call me “the svelte one”
Well done Jay. Apparently once you start running over an hour it drops off even faster, so by the time you get through the bridge to 10k program your Deep End should be virtually drained! 😆
I didn’t start c25k to loose weight, although I was hoping to see it as a happy byproduct, so I haven’t changed my diet. I don’t weigh myself very often, but I think I was around 17:12 at Christmas, got as low as 17:06 but am now heading back up towards 17:10 again. But, since January I have lost 2.5 inches from my chest, waist, calves and thighs, so like you, all my stuff is starting to fit with less bulging. 😊
Still got some to loose off the moobs, might try to cut beer out for the duration of the bridge to 10k 😭 but to be honest I was disappointed to see id lost it off my thighs and calves. I always thought I didn’t carry much weight on my legs, turns out I was wrong. I lost an inch off my head too since I started, yep, I was a fat head. 😆😆😆
🤣🤣🤣 I have a very asexual user name 🤣🤣🤣 I was mucking about measuring myself and put the tape under my chin and over the top of my head. The last place I put weight on is my head, so I know if I tap my head and can’t feel bone, it’s time to lay off the McDonald’s
That’s fab it’s so good to see results isn’t it. I like the sound of your 10% plan too. I think I’m going try that. I’ve been doing slimming world ( just the diet not the classes) and had lost 3 stone but reached a plateau. Running has kicked started my weight loss 🤸♀️. So I’m feeling chuffed too.
I just sat down in the smallest room at work and banged my bum bone on the loo seat. And instantly thought of your post! 🤣🤣🤣
Brilliant Jay! Finding similar things. Seemed to happen all of a sudden. What's with the watch though, didn't think I had weight to lose on my wrists, but fastening the Fitbit one notch up too 🤔
It’s a great feeling isn’t it? Especially when people notice you’re shaping up/ slimming down. I’ve discovered 3 friends who’ve all downloaded the app months ago to help weight loss but haven’t started for fear of negative comments whilst running. Encouraging them to just go for it as I did. 10kg down and feel great! Also selfies at weekly intervals are quite motivating 😊
Fantastic well done slow and steady . I use my fitness pal. And of course this wonderful c25k app . All free .I'm a cheapskate. Lost about 8 pounds so far and my summer clothes now fit me. Hurrah.
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My very first run versus this morning’s run...
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help for a newbie please
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Not goodbye
