So I completed W1R2 yesterday and it was hard work to say the least!
I saw from a reply to my last post that losing weight is 20% diet and 80% exercise. I wonder if I’m relying too much on exercise to get my weight down?!
Has anyone else come across this?
Also, does anyone have any tips for dealing with a sweet tooth? I can’t have sweeteners e.g. aspartame, saccharin, stevia etc so I’m finding the diet aspect REALLY difficult.
Sorry if this is the wrong forum for these questions!
Thanks 😃
Well done on your 2nd run! I found after the first week I enjoyed it far more and found the start to the 2nd week easier. The only thing I would say for the sweet tooth is fruit!
Hi. You might be relying too much on exercise to keep your weight down. I think it helps to consider how many calories you are taking in and how much exercise you are doing. How long is your run - calculate how many calories you burn during your workout. I've cut out most sugar from my diet although I allow myself a treat sometimes. I lost 3 stone on a Slimming World diet a couple of years ago and I'm keeping it off by sort of following that. Basically, cut down on fats and sugars. I was addicted to sugar, and think I still am. But, for a snack, I have some jam or conserves on toast with a soy margarine spread. Or, some dried fruit. It takes time, but little by little you can wean yourself off most of the sugar.
That's just my experience. It's worth it getting good quality calories into your body, especially if you are running. Your body will reward you 
If your aim is to lose weight I would recommend a plan like slimming world. I did c25k last year without dieting and didn’t lose 1 pound. I’ve just graduated along with changing my diet and lost 2 stone. Plus each week and indeed each run is easier with each pound lost. Best of luck with the program
Hi, firstly I guess you mean 20% exercise and 80% diet, so everyone does say that you need more attention to diet. I would say that the running has improved my mental health and so also my willpower - I have other problems with willpower, I can't relate exactly to the losing weight - but it might eventually help you stick to whatever eating plan you need to implement.
Fruit - whole fruit - is a good idea for the sugar cravings, at least you'll be getting fibre and vitamins along with the sugars. Also, when I did decide to cut down on the biscuits myself, I decided out of sight, out of mind, might help, so I hide them away and am less likely to grab one as a snack.
Yes, I did mean 20% exercise and 80% diet! I may have been a bit sleepy when I posted!
Running a half marathon (21km) burns about 1400 calories in my case (depends on bodyweight) and I can say from experience it's easier to cut 1400 cals out of a 2500 cals per day diet than run 21km every day! So I'd agree with icklgui that dieting is way more important than exercise for weight loss. Of course, once you reach a target weight then exercise allows you to indulge and stay the same weight (in my case my running calorie expenditure pays for a few too many glasses of vino!). Exercise can also make you feel starving especially if you are calorie restricting at the same time. But stick with the running and follow a strict healthy diet and both things will come together eventually to deliver sustainable weight loss and a stable final target weight range.
I too am dieting and have a sweet tooth. My go to fixes are Taylor’s Rose Lemonade tea (tastes like Turkish delight), mini choc bars (Green & Blacks or Moser Roth from Aldi) when only choc will do, or whizzed up mango in 0% fat Greek yogurt.
I’m not far ahead of you, I did W2R3 today and for the first time since starting this, I feel positive about getting there. Good luck!
The bad news I guess is that the programme on its own won't necessarily burn enough calories to trigger any significant weight loss. Some folk do lose weight over the 9 weeks, but a lot don't or the losses are marginal.
It's going to a focus on diet for you until you get to longer distances I'm afraid....
Diet is the main thing, exercise helps. Running is an excellent fat burner, but like your legs, heart and lungs it will improve at its own rate and weight loss from running isn’t immediate... give it a few weeks and it will start to make a difference.
Once you’re graduate on here you may or may not be capable of running 5k in 30 minutes, most are not. You will though almost certainly be capable of running 5k (3.1 miles). As a rough estimate you burn 100 calories per mile, so a sweet pre-run snack of about 300 calories would help fuel your run as well as satisfy the sweet tooth, so maybe you can eventually use running to keep eating sweet things, on running days, a couple of hours before you run. In that case though, the running would help tone you up, but not to increase weight loss.
Liquorice tea is very sweet but zero calories (as far as I'm aware), it satisfies my sweet tooth pretty well
I started dieting and C25K at the same time, lost inches, weight and got much fitter, my diet consisted of cutting out unnecessary calories, bags of crisps, cakes, biscuits, more sensible choices for meals etc. (I spend a lot of time in hotels because of work) the simple fact is if you expend more calories than you take in, then you will lose weight, so understanding that balance helps, for me to lose 1lb a week I need to have a calorie deficit of 500 per day, try recording your calorie intake for a while and see how you get on
Shocked how much I put on!!
Weight loss and fitness
Nervous newbie 
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