I know from reading that I will probably not lose much weight by running as muscle is heavier than fat, but will my waist slim down noticeably as I progress? I'm not exactly huge now, but I would like to lose about 1 1/2 stone [which would make me 1/2 stone lighter than when I got married 30 years ago] and lose a couple of inches from my waist etc.
I am currently showing as just nudging into the overweight category when I use the HNS BMI calculator. If I lost 1/2 stone I would be in the healthy weight category, so the extra 1 stone would just be nice to lose.
Any thoughts?
the pic is of me a couple of years after I married my wife and is at her mature student graduation.
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newbie-nick
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Im not sure you will lose much weight while doing c25k, but you might if you do longer runs after you graduate.
Weight loss is more to do with your diet but exercise does help.
Thanks. I am now also getting back out my bike for half-decent rides too, and with starting to use smaller plates [the temptation is to fill whatever size plate you have] and by eating more healthily it will all come together - I hope!It will be a slow and steady rather than rushed, so I'm hoping that it will stay off too.
Running burns 1 calorie, per kilogram of bodyweight , per kilometre.
(or more generally, 1 mile burns 100 calories)
So if you're 80kg, then a 5km run burns... (80 x 5) .... 400 calories. When you think about that in terms of food & drink, it really isn't much. It's 4 bottles of beer, or 4 glasses of wine, 3/4 of a cheeseburger, etc etc. So 'refuelling' and rewarding yourself can easily undo all your hard work.
In other words, running, which is hard enough already, doesn't burn as many calories as you might think - so you need to run a fair amount to start seeing significant weight-loss.
Of those that do lose weight doing C25K, i think it invariably comes about due to better eating habits (diet is a much bigger factor than exercise), as they get more enthused and engaged with the program and their progress. It's a virtuous circle!
If you want a more time-efficient form of exercise for weight-loss, then slow lifting of heavy weights has been shown to be very effective. But endurance stuff like running, cycling, rowing, swimming etc... all require a lot of time spent on them to see a significant effect.
Thanks, John. I hadn't realised that there was a formula that showed such things. I shall take note of what you sat and I will do a root up change in my lifestyle. As was approach Spring, it should be a good time to start.
With cycling and diet too, I am sure I can get to where I want to be. I have set myself the challenge and the only person I will be letting down if I should fail is me.
Combine it with relatively minor changes in your diet (eg. cutting out snacks) and it can help.
If your metabolism has been getting sluggish due to long periods of inactivity, it will help a lot to become active again.
I started feeling slight changes from about Week 3, and people started commenting on how well I looked from about that time onwards. The first thing to go was the heaviness in my face.
It took more months before there was any change visible in the number shown on the bathroom scales.
Thanks. I am not too worried about the scales' numbers, more in how I feel and the removal of the wobbly bits that have crept on. If my calculations are correct, I have put on 2/3oz per month in 30 years, so that isn't too bad. The scales will move the right way one day, but the change in the tape measure is far more important to me. Thanks again and stay safe and well.
I wasn't that overweight to begin with, but I did feel sluggish, and my waist size had gone up.
I have eventually lost just over a stone, and not even Christmas's excesses made any difference. When I was younger I could eat like a horse and not put on an ounce. Running has shifted my metabolism back towards that state.
I used to be the same - or so I tell myself! However, I suspect it was the fact that we used to go walking in Derbyshire/Yorkshire Dales or the Lakes every or every-other-weekend and I was renovating a barn of a Victorian house at that time!It's good to hear that you are back on an even-keel, and I look forward to joining you.
Thanks, and I am so pleased that you are feeling better and that 2 inches have gone. I have no intention of staying in the overweight category, so it is a fleeting phase that I can put down to experience and neglect! It all started after I have cancer and I was told to eat lots before as I wouldn't want to during treatment. Then that didn't happen and the side-effect of the big C was that I found it harder to lose weight. An excuse I know, but I am determined to shift it.
I am so pleased that you are smoke-free. I have never smoked myself, but I have heard how difficult it is to quit. I really am genuinely pleased for you.
Aye. 2020/21 has been ''interesting'' in many ways. New and unwelcome challenges and then on-off of lockdown has made getting out as normal tricky. Hey ho! At least we are still here - unlike my mother-in-law* - who didn't make it, so it's best feet forwards to a brighter future?! *She was in her 80s and had advanced Parkinsons and dementia, so in many ways, it was a relief for her as she couldn't understand why she wasn't able to see her family.
So sorry to hear that, I’m in the lucky position of being able to go to work each day which has brought its own challenges not least the frequent changes, then coming home and missing family and friends outside work, but aren’t we lucky with technology? face time and video calling has helped loads
Indeed we are lucky, but perhaps too reliant on it. My wife is now home-working and our internet is woeful. As a consequence, she is often unable to get a meeting all the way to the end. A rather first-world problem, but annoying.
Hey! I have lost 1 stone and 3 pounds since starting C25K and I’m currently on Week 5. I am classed as obese and I’m 23. I don’t know if they are a factor of how much weight I’ve lost but so far my running along with my diet is helping me lose some good weight
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