Recently joined giving running a go

[Graegrae596]

Used to hate exercise and joined every gym in town then 2 years ago joined one that changed my life and saved me. I had Hugh blood pressure and depression. Doing the exercise at the gym and adopting a healthier lifestyle meant I was able to come off the blood pressure meds and able to cope with the depression. I’ve made some great friends along the way too. But I am now stuck in a rut, going to the gym doesn’t help to loose weight, just maintain as my body is getting used to my routine so my friend and PT suggested couch to 5 k so I joined and started today. Also started healthier eating with a couple of treats every so often

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Welcome.

You’re already a victory! That’s great work to get off the meds... and that wasn’t easy, you probably had to suck it up and just do it a lot of times at the start of that journey... and that’s what running can take in the beginning. You have all the right qualities to get through this plan and beyond.

The key to this is to not push hard... run at the recommended conversational pace, it will condition your legs and respiratory system better and sooner than fast running. It sounds like you have the base fitness to be able to run a lot of it fast, but you should resist this urge!

Good nutrition is the best way to lose weight, and running in itself isn’t a weight loss thing, but the two together form a formidable partnership... so you got that right too. This is another reason not to go fast... “jogging” turns on the fat burning systems that sprinting does not.

Enjoy your journey.

[Graegrae596 in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thanks. This is what I am hoping. I have always been over weight and when I asked my doctor for help I was told ‘well you come from a fat family’. I have such a sweet tooth and am not a vegetable lover so any hints/tips will be appreciated

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Graegrae596]

As a kid I hated vegetables and then at 14 I went vegetarian 😂. Shocked my family and still at 46 my father thinks it’s “a phase”. Not that I’d recommend this route.

One thing you may have already experienced is post workout hunger... it’s not really hunger, it’s your body asking for protein. My daughter lost 2 dress sizes on the plan and we learned to satisfy the “hunger” by taking a small slice off her meat that was lined up for dinner and cooking it as soon as we got in... it could be as little as 10g of chicken.

The other thing I read recently was that running after 10 hours without food activates the fat burning process for long after the run itself. We haven’t tried this as we are evening runners and it would be difficult to not eat all day, as well as bad for weight control.

When I was losing weight... actually, when I was failing to lose weight... I was watching Biggest Loser and Bob Harper asked the group who ate breakfast... maybe a couple did. He then said we should eat like a king at breakfast (post run) have a regular lunch and eat like a pauper in the evening. I tried it and the diets that weren’t working suddenly did. I still eat that way most days. I don’t know if it works for everyone, but I never looked back.

I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I’m a Heston Blumenthal fan and his “pod and chips” podcast recently had a food experiment... he had 100% cacao chocolate and to taste it, it’s bitter. Add a sprinkle of salt and it tastes sweet. So it’s possible to trick the brain and satisfy a sweet tooth without any sugar! How cool? I used to drink tea with one sugar, now I have it with a tiny bit of salt... tastes the same! Sure, salt isn’t particularly great for us, but it’s better for weight loss!

[Hidden in reply to UnfitNoMore]

That's fascinating. I run after breakfast - usually a small bowl of porridge and a yogurt/glass of milk. I'm not sure I could run on an empty stomach. From last night's dinner to run time is more than 12 hours. But that might just be what my body needs to kick in the fat burning Maybe once I've completed this program and consolidated, then I can try to fire up the weight loss.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done on getting started.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Enjoy your journey.