Weight increasing 🤔

[dijoxavier]

Completed W6R3 (M45 88kg) in 6 weeks of run I was expecting to reduce weight but noticed I gained 1.5 kg 😥. What is your experience ?

[Carolinemcd Graduate]

If your aim is to lose weight try follow an eating plan alongside the running. You're not likely to lose until you are doing much longer runs and bigger distances. Also don't make the mistake of thinking you can eat a little more because you're exercising. Been there!

I'm on my second round of C25k and this time doing slimming world too. Results have been good!

[Denovo]

I've only lost 2.8 kg in the nine weeks I've been doing this (just the final run left to do, female, 64 yr, 73 kg, 1.62 m height) , and that is with restricting calories to 1200-1300 a day and recording everying I eat in MyFitnessPal bar for perhaps four or five days when I needed a break from it all. On top of C25K, I also challenged myself to cover 150 miles on foot in July, which I completed on July 30, meaning that I was walking 5 miles a day on average that month. I also do weights at the gym a couple of times a week, and even when not doing the July challenge, tend to walk everywhere so walk at least a couple of miles most days.

I think the advice given in the app to have a snack after a running session can potentially cause people to eat more calories than they have used for the running. My preferred running time is in the evening so that when I return I can immediately set to making dinner and have that instead of an extra snack.

[FatBob793 in reply to Denovo]

It’s really about counting calories accurately all the time if you’re doing the exercise part right. So easy to guesstimate well below the true calories on our plate. Unless you weigh everything you’re probably under estimating the calories you’re eating. If you can’t weigh it don’t eat it. Eg take away food - no dietary info on pack or anyone else’s cooking. If you haven’t lost weight on 1300 calories a day doing the exercise you say then you’re probably counting wrong. Alternatively aim for 1000 calories and maybe get closer to the 1300.

[Denovo in reply to FatBob793]

You know, it is both patronising and demeaning to assume that someone who finds it difficult to lose weight is stupid, incompetent or cheating. Everything that goes into my mouth has been either weighed on a digital scale, measured out using proper measuring cups/spoons or, in the case of packaged food, had the barcode scanned into MFP. It sometimes takes me longer to weigh/measure out and enter into MFP all the various components of e.g. a stir fry than it takes to cook the meal.

I live alone, thus do not have anyone else cooking for me, and I do not buy takeaways or eat out by myself as I can cook more cheaply for myself. Yes, I will be going out tonight to eat with a group, because once in a while I too need to relax and enjoy a social occasion. The last time I ate out with a group was in April.

[FatBob793 in reply to Denovo]

I’m sorry you felt my comments were patronising and demeaning. I certainly didn’t mean them to be. I too find it difficult to lose weight. I’m 95kg 172cm having lost 5kg in the first 3 weeks of c25k and no more since. Week 9 Run 2 today. I didn’t mean to imply you are stupid, incompetent or intentionally cheating. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things regards weighing and measuring. Obviously I’ve got it wrong but I thought I was empathising with you. When I measure everything I lose weight but when I don’t I tend to eat bigger portions, snack and generally consume more calories. Like you say, it can take longer to weigh and record everything than it takes to cook. If you are really doing all the exercise you describe on 1300 calories you should lose weight if you sustain it. I don’t know if you are male or female tall short whatever but even a relatively small person who is that active would lose weight unless they were already lean. I’m not accusing you of lying or cheating but merely suggesting you check everything is happening at the same time consistently and persistently. You may ignore all this if you wish. Please accept my apology for any offence. I’m working through similar issues myself and am trying to be helpful. I wish you a very pleasant meal with your group.

[Denovo in reply to FatBob793]

OK, accepted

It was the reference to guesstimating that raised my hackles, all the more because of all the ******* time I spend on weighing and measuring.

I'm female, 5'4", aged 64, weigh 73.2 kg. My BMR is calculated as 1267, yet MFP won't let anyone set a daily calorie level below 1200. I've given myself the 1200-1300 range to add a tiny bit of leeway. I wear a Fitbit, which tracks calories burnt on the basis of heart rate and am aware that some people think Fitbits overestimate the calorie burn. I go up to 1300 allowance when I can see Fitbit reporting a goodly amount burnt away.

What is so frustrating is to hear so many people say, including NHS last time I looked, that a woman needs about 2000 calories per day to maintain weight, so eating anything below that will cause weight loss. I dream of the luxury of having 2000 calories to spend each day! To achieve that, I would need to walk nearly 8 miles every day without fail or do the equivalent in other forms of activity, which obviously is not sustainable with trying to work and everything else.

I've read how upping protein intake can help weight loss, but that is difficult to do with so few calories to play with. On days when I really try, e.g. add pea protein powder to things, use lentil pasta and protein-enriched bread, loads of tofu, tempeh or seitan, etc., I can sometimes hit 50-60 g protein in a day, other days I struggle to get above 30 g or so. One web site suggested that, at my current weight, I need to consume 100 g protein per day for optimum weight loss, but that is totally impossible.

[FatBob793 in reply to Denovo]

I don’t know what your BMR should be and have not used MFP. What weight would you like to be? Seems you have much less weight to lose than me. Regards protein, isn’t the idea that if your meal is protein rich you will feel full for longer. The bottom line is still the calories you consume versus the calories you burn. You don’t mention meat or dairy as a protein source. Are you vegetarian or vegan? I’m vegetarian or pescatarian. Don’t you eat quorn? I did 8 weeks on 600 calories a day about 2 years ago and lost 14kg and another 6kg in the 8 weeks following, then as my calories increased I slowly stopped losing and started gaining weight again. Before starting c25k I was back to 100kg where I started. I found I preferred protein rich things like quorn, beans, lentils and fish with microwaved vegetables when I only had 600 calories a day and maybe a yogurt with berries. I was inspired to do this by a Michael Moseley documentary about curing type 2 diabetes by following this diet for 8 weeks, although I don’t have diabetes. I think the latest advice is 800 calories a day. This is a temporary diet and not sustainable long term but i found it forces you to make nutritious choices. Your diet of 1300 is closer to “normal” whether it’s 1500 or 2000 for a woman depending on your lifestyle. Sounds like you should be eating 2000 to fuel the exercise you’re doing. I don’t think it’s a good idea to use any supplements. If you want a sustainable diet long term then you shouldn’t need any. If you want to shed weight more quickly and then return to something sustainable you might consider 600-800 calories a day for up to 8 weeks or however long you can stick it. Or whatever combination works for you, like 5-2, 3-4 etc. Anyway, I’m no expert. You just happened to raise a topic I’ve been thinking about and I chose to share my thoughts. If only I had the will power to follow my own advice.

[Denovo in reply to FatBob793]

BMR is basic metabolic rate, i.e. the amount of energy burnt just by being alive. In order to slip into what is considered a healthy BMI (body mass index), the maximum I can weigh is 66 kg for a BMI of 25, so at minimum must lose 7 kg, although I would prefer to be nearer 62 kg therefore would like to lose 11 kg. I'm still in a better place than I was four years ago, when I weighed 85 kg. Managed to get down to 67 kg about a year ago, but then piled it back on to 76 kg when life became complicated to organise and highly stressful for various reasons. 76 kg was my weight when I started C25K and as said above am now 73.2 kg.

I eat plant-based most of the time, because that has worked wonders in getting rid of respiratory problems I had for the last 25 years. For protein, I eat some quorn, also tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans of all kinds and peas, various soy-based products including milk and yogurt, pasta made from lentils or peas, protein-enriched bread, hemp and pea protein powders used e.g. to thicken soups and stews, nutritional yeast, laverbread, quinoa, small amounts of nuts and seeds, and as a rare treat, fermented cashew cheese. I also eat a lot of vegetables, which not only provide a bit more protein but also fibre. I usually restrict fruit to once a day and mostly to berries, with apricots, peaches, apples, pears occasionally, banana maybe once a month or so. Occasionally I will use these fruits in a smoothie with green leaves and/or carrot and/or beet, soya milk and/or yogurt and protein powder.

As far as I understand, keeping a high protein intake minimises muscle loss during dieting, thus promoting a change in the muscle:fat tissue ratio in favour of muscle, which in turn will increase BMR. The very low-calorie diets result in more muscle being lost than fat tissue so the BMR drops which means yet another decrease in calories is required for simple maintenance. That is unacceptable to me, not just because it means remaining on a permanent diet, but because muscle is important for running and generally for dealing better with life as well as for being able to burn more calories. I have started doing weight training to develop a bit more muscle as well as to maintain bone density. Also, there is the risk on very low calorie diets that the body will go into starvation mode and adapt to low calories, so when the diet is stopped, much of the weight is gained back very rapidly. The consensus seems to be that very low calorie diets should only be used in exceptional medical cases, e.g. to get someone to an acceptable weight to undergo essential surgery or in cases of life-threatening morbid obesity. Minimum recommended levels for dieting vary from 1200 to 1800 calories per day, so I am going as low as is medically/scientifically recommended.

[FatBob793 in reply to Denovo]

Depends on which scientists you listen to. Do you like the food you’re eating? I haven’t heard of some of the things you mention let alone tried them. I don’t think it’s necessary to eat such exotic foods unless you enjoy them. The starvation mode is what you’re going for with 600 calories and you do need to get enough protein to prevent losing muscle. I was doing hiit training with a cross trainer and weights while on 600 calories a day. The weight came off quickly at first and more slowly as I progressed. The exercise was difficult but always is for me. I stopped exercising the day I finished the 8 weeks. If you’re overweight you burn mostly fat before muscle but since you’re only a little over your ideal weight it might have a different effect on you. 62kg seems very light if you are 5’4” and have any strength in your muscles. Are you sure you’re not striving for someone else’s idea of what you should look like rather than looking in the mirror and setting realistic goals based on yourself and what’s right for you? Sorry if that’s too personal, I hadn’t intended to get into all this. I believe I’ve found what will work for me but find it difficult to will myself to implement it. If something else works better for you that’s great. I hope you succeed in being the healthiest you can be however you get there.

[MarkyD Graduate]

1 run in C25K burns the same amount of calories as 2 pieces of toast. So on its own you’ll not lose much weight during the program. Most of the weight loss reported on this forum comes from combining running with calorie controlled diet and a healthy-eating approach to life.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Gaining weight is to do with a calorie surfeit, not running. Reduce your intake. This is mentioned in the guide to the plan healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[FatBob793]

I lost 2kg first and second weeks, 1kg third and stayed the same since. Doing Week 9 Run 2 today. For me it’s all about toast. I eat a healthy diet but seeded bread with peanut butter and jam has an absurdly huge amount of calories. I feel good generally after running although every run is a struggle to complete. I’m going to keep running 5k x3 a week and reduce my calories ie no toast for a while and expect I’ll lose some weight then. We probably know the foods we can’t eat if we want to lose weight but it’s not easy doing without when we’re doing all this exercise. I did 600 calories a day for 8 weeks before and lost 14kg plus another 6kg in the next 8 weeks but I feel better now after running for 8 weeks although I’ve only lost 5kg. (I slowly regained the 20kg over about 2 years).

[icklegui Graduate]

in this list of FAQ posts: healthunlocked.com/couchto5... - there is one about weight loss, which nicely explains a few things, such as that micro tears created when running can cause you to retain a bit more water, and that this will even out over time (the healing of these micro tears makes your muscles stronger). I would really also like to emphasise that 1.5Kg is hardly anything compared to anyone's regular fluctuations.

If you combine your running with a reduction in calorie intake, you should start to lose weight. Running helps your mental health immeasurably so it might even give you the extra boost to stick to meal plans, cut out snacking, etc (or whatever aspect it is you might find tricky).

Also, MarkyD's assertion that your C25K runs burn about 2 pieces of toast is just an "average" - if you weigh less, you'll use less energy to move yourself round. I don't know what the average is based on, but I'd look into a proper calculator for your calorie needs and burns where you can put in your own weight, sex, etc.