Replying to someone else has prompted me to post this question to you.
You eat a Big Mac - and happily consume the 508 calories.
How far do you need to run/jog to burn it all off?
[EDIT: this NOT about Big Macs or eating badly - it's about expectations of weight-loss re: C25K]
according to one of the many 'accurate' calorie calculators for me it would be 30 minutes at 7 mph (5.6 km).
Too far, just be strong and avoid!
No problem for me, can’t stand em, give me a trimmed steak and salad please.
I agree with you. My boss dropped off a couple of Venison steaks for me today. That'll go nicely with some Asparagus and a poached egg!
7.5k or about an hour, depending on which run/app I look at 😱😱😱😱😱
Little reality check moment, thank you 😊
Is it with fries 😂
Would you like to supersize that?
Give me fish 'n' chips anyday 😁
So true! Fish and chips every time.
And if I had to choose, it'd be a BK rather than a McD for me. I'm not a fan of gherkins and mustard, etc. I only have fast food burgery things when there's no alternative around and time is tight. It must be over 18 months since I last had something like that.
Same, prefer bk also, think last one I had was at an airport in China 2 years ago 😁
I burn about just over 100cal a mile!!
Which is exactly what the approximate rule-of-thumb states.
It’s really difficult to say because you’d burn calories eating & digesting the Big Mac too, as you burn calories just by existing.
So it’s not as cut & dry as how much exercise you need to do to eliminate a food consumed, & the best way to lose weight is by diet. Exercise is good for health & going alongside a healthy diet but calorie restriction is key for weight loss.
As I sit here typing this with my beer washing down my Chinese for dinner...! All in moderation I say!
Hi,
You've missed my point a little, but perhaps I could have worded it a bit differently.
My post is aimed at those who start C25K thinking it will make them lose weight. As you say, a change in diet/lifestyle is key. You'd be surprised how many put on weight during C25K, not just by increased leg muscle mass, but also by getting their 're-fuelling' wrong, so taking on more calories (rewarding themselves?) during the week than they've burnt on their runs.
Main point: a lot of people don't realise how few calories are burnt when running .
"It’s really difficult to say because you’d burn calories eating & digesting the Big Mac too, as you burn calories just by existing."
> It wouldn't be too difficult to calculate an approximate 'net' calorie intake for a 508 cal Big Mac, assuming a base calorie consumption during waking hours... I'd hazard a guess and say based on a consumption time of 5 minutes, it would be around 480.
In which case, I'd ask... how far would you have to run to burn off that 480 calories? 
cc mrrun
Good question but there is no exact answer apart from - the only way to burn excess calories is through change of lifestyle. It's one of those where you either want it, or you don't. Running can burn loads of Macs if we apply ourselves (although, I need to confess, I have never eaten a Big Mac and it's very unlikely that I ever will 😬).
Although nutritionists will disagree, it really doesn't work like that.
If you're eating an otherwise healthy diet (ie., very few Big Macs) it doesn't matter in the slightest how many miles (or whatever) are required to "burn it off". Of the calories in that burger, maybe 30-60% will have been stored as some combination of glycogen and fat, and your body will burn that off, at leisure, in order to maintain its setpoints for glycogen and fat.
If you eat Big Macs as a matter of routine, your metabolism will be seriously messed up, and again it doesn't matter how many miles are required to burn it off; you will still be maintaining excessive amounts of bodyfat, because your body needs it to buffer the relentless stream of Big Macs.
Good answer re: the science of of what the actual make up of the food is, but my point has been missed somewhat.
Main point: a lot of people don't realise how few calories are burnt when running, including many who start C25K hoping for weight-loss. It's not about Big Macs specifically.
Oh, sure. I've noticed that. TBH I wish people who are seriously overweight would not even attempt to run. I see so many people here who have done themselves a serious injury by pursuing what is really a very modest goal (a 5k run is, or should be, a bare minimum fitness level) by jumping in too soon.
Far better to get your diet right, lose some flab, and ramp up your exercise slowly. Unfortunately a lot of people think that if they "burn enough calories" they'll become slim without making any changes to their eating habits.
In many of my posts, I state that C25K is achievable for 'almost anyone' - only those with limiting conditions such as clinical obesity should see their GP first and obviously lose weight before pursuing it.
Happily, there are quite a few for whom C25K becomes a gateway to a healthier lifestyle.
Just don't eat it in the first place and then you don't need to burn the calories off!!
The nearest I can get to that 508 calories is a 7K run I ran back in April when I burned 515 calories, I think it does also depend on your weight, I am 10st 8lbs, 5ft 7inches in height, however if I was 14st 6 feet in height, I think a 7K run would be more than 515 calories.
Just to put my two pennies worth in. Back in the middle of July I seemed to have some sort of epiphany. It wasn't a conscious thought just a thought at the back of my head that "if I don't do something about my weight/fitness now, I'm heading in totally the wrong direction". So I started (for probably the 4th or 5th time) the C25K programme and also massively overhauled my diet. Cooking fresh each day (whether it's an omelette or defrosting home batch-cooked lower calorie meals or protein and salad or whatever). Since that time I have lost 22 pounds and counting. Now I've tried every diet going - I'm your classic dieter - followed the programme until I returned to "normal" eating which generally meant all the weight I'd taken off went back on but also with a little bit of interest! So at 13 and a half stone, it was time to radically look at everything. My approach to food is hugely different. I enjoy it but it's fuel. I stop eating when I'm full (that was radical, I can tell you!!), eat better, eat when I'm hungry. All the things you're told but never listen to. I can honestly say that the whole point of this is not to lose weight and then go back to normal (old, bad) habits. It's to hopefully, in my mid-fifties, give me a fitter future and to feel better about myself. And also to keep up with a 21 month old grandson who's the original whirlwind and showing all the signs of becoming a bigger whirlwind as he gets older! Oh and I have never finished the C25k programme but my next run tomorrow is Wk 8, run 3 so I'm within touching distance! I hope some of this makes sense to people who might be struggling but I'll repeat that if I can do it, anyone can do it
How wonderful! I think the vast majority C25K weight-loss stories have involved a change in eating habits - the C25K is actually a gateway. For me... I now eat very consciously knowing how it will my running.
I'm 13.5 stone, 6 feet tall. I run 6k regularly and my watch tells me I've burned somewhere around 510 calories. However, if you did nothing it would burn quite a lot of those just keeping your heart beating, your digestion system working, and keeping you breathing. So to burn off the entire extra 508 cals in a Big Mac I think you'd need to run for quite a lot longer!
My post is aimed at those who start C25K in the hope that it makes them lose weight.
There are 2 answers - one is a rule-of-thumb and the other is the more scientifically correct one.
Rule-of-thumb: running at a moderate pace (?) for 1 mile burns about 100 calories.
So 5k (3.1 miles) burns 'only' 300 calories - about half a cheeseburger meal or 2-3 bottles of beer, 2-3 glasses of wine - you get the drift. But actually, it depends on your weight.
So, more accurately, various lab-based studies by exercise physiologists have shown that running burns:
1 calorie, per kg of bodyweight moved, per kilometer
So if you're 60kg and jog/run about 3km, you're burning 180 calories (the split between fat and glycogen being burnt depends on the intensity of the run).
So to burn 508 calories (that Big Mac), a 60kg person would need to run 8.5km.
Kudos to Instructor57 , FlyByMe99 , LulaHula , AlMorr , Maz1103
Re: C25K and weight-loss, running (or any cardio exercise) is generally not great for weight-loss. Why? Because you have do many hours of it per week to burn sufficient calories - and C25K isn't giving you that.
Rowing, cycling, swimming, elliptical, walking etc are all similar I'm afraid (some differences of course).
For many, C25K becomes a gateway to generally healthier lifestyle whereby you become more conscious of what you're putting into your body. That way lies success!
An excellent post. Although simply walking is highly recommended exercise, most people actually put on weight when they take it up because of the social side! You are either walking in a group and end in a cafe with coffee and cakes, or you get home and give yourself a lovely sweet treat reward for your efforts! 
Love this post. I’m an emotional eater for sure and I’ve lost 10kg with a further 20kg to go. I’m about to start wk 7. My best days are the one where I eat three main meals with no snacks in between. Eat the Big Mac, don’t snack!
I’ve never eaten a burger and do try to eat sensibly but I’m kind of disappointed that running 5kX2 plus 1X speed intervals plus FITx 3 a week I still haven’t lost much weight than when I started all this just over a year ago. I have Though got my waistline back and feel fitter and more toned (I’m 66).
See my post above. 2x 5k and 1x speed intervals - just isn't enough enough time on your feet to burn a significant amount of calories - that's the point I'm making. Not really about the burger, but that you need run more than you think to burn enough calories to start losing weight. If weight-loss is important, then lifting weights seems to be the most time-efficient exercise to do so.
So you are fitter and toned and can see your waistline! What's not to love about that? 
I’d still like to see the scales go down a bit for all my hard work 🤣. I’m borderline obese (According to the doc) as I’m Just over 9st and only 5’ in height!
Same as me, I am nearly 65. I blame our age 😩😭
Yes I’ve heard we need the fat to protect our bones. 😂
Love it 😂😂😂😂
The real question should be "how long does it take to get the vile taste out of your mouth? "
It’s all very well saying 7/8km to burn a Big Mac off. But if you had it for your tea and had a sensible lunch and breakfast. Then there’s no reason to think your body wouldn’t burn it off naturally without exercise.
Agreed! If that 508 cals is part of your daily 2500 intake, and you're expending about the same , no problem.
But you miss my point. See my post above.
An excellent post, I lament that I have not lost weight since starting C25k 8 months ago, I don’t eat Big Macs, or in my opinion over eat. Despite me running a total of over 15km 3 times a week and cycling on the other days I have not lost an ounce. I follow the 16:8 diet plan. I have even given up alcohol for November and still not lost anything 😂 What has happened is I have toned up and my body shape has changed. I blame my age.
Vegetarian, so I don't care. 🤷♀️
If you tried to eat 508 calories worth of vegetables and/or legumes, you wouldn't be able to fit it on your plate, and probably not in your stomach. You would also be doing your heart and blood pressure a favour compared to a big mac.
What I would say is that I lost three stone a few years ago before I started running. Running has helped me to regulate my weight and saved me from a lifetime of yoyo dieting.
It isn't really about the burger (though I know there are some great veggy burgers around). The post is about the unrealistic expectations some have re C25K and how *much* running is actually required to burn a significant amount of calories.
My question could have been more direct, e,g.
"how far do you think you have to run to burn 508 calories?" OR
"how many calories (or what equivalent food stuff) do you think you're burning in, say, Week 5 of C25K?"
But your own very impressive weight-loss shows how effective C25K can be as a gateway to healthier lifestyle - not necessarily the running itself.
I take your point completely, I just turned a bit green at the thought of a big mac. 🤢
I do think the whole calories in/calorie out equation is too simplistic, although it's helpful if you're already eating a healthy diet. 200 calories worth of haribo will not have the same effect on on your body as 200 calories worth of fruit and vegetables. And isn't there an 'afterburn effect ' whereby your body continues to burn extra calories for 24 hours or more after vigorous exercise?
I just ran 10.5k and burned 598 calories according to Garmin (which is always right 😉).
Edit: I've just checked and one Morrisons Scottish shortbread round that I was thinking of having with my coffee has 105 calories, so not even 6 biscuits worth of running! It's true: you can't outrun a bad diet.
Great post with many valid points and some very funny comments.
Think the overall thought is to just keep running 😊
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