Has anyone lost weight doing the c25k?

[Jenny1974]

I don’t feel i have

[dinkydalt]

Hi I have lost nearly half a stone over 8 weeks. I was and still am overweight but a slow steady pace has made me sweat and I'm really feeling the benefits.

My wife however lost a lot of weight during covid. She used to go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week but hasn't for a while. C25K has helped her and she's gained weight !

[markbrom in reply to dinkydalt]

I didn’t lose weight exactly but I felt a lot better and found I could do more (or was more motivated to) exercise generally which lost me a little weight.

[Jenny1974 Graduate in reply to dinkydalt]

Well done. People keep saying running isn’t for loosing weight but I have never seen a larger person winning the marathon. They all look like whippets

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Jenny1974]

Yes, marathon runners do look like whippets. Do you know why?

Marathon winners* (and anyone who runs them consistently under 3 hours)

(1) have been running YEARS and YEARS - they are highly experienced and consistent

(2) they run THOUSANDS of miles and hours in training every year.

A typical marathon plan for recreational runners (like you and me) will have you running anything between 300 (483 km) and 600 miles (966 km). That's the equivalent of 100-200 (5k) parkruns over the course of 10-16 weeks.

As for elite and good club runners - they will typically run between 2500 and 6000 miles a year -and THAT is why they are skinny ... and THAT is why recreational runners are NOT.

On purely running (so no changes in diet) recreational runners simply don't run enough to burn enough calories to lose a significant amount of weight.

C25K for a typical beginner who will reach 3.5 km in 30 minutes in Week 9

Week 1 - about 1km (0.6 miles) each outing - that's 3 km in the week

Week 2 - similar (6 km in total so far)

Week 3 - similar (so 9km in total so far)

Week 4 - about 1.2 km each outing (making 12.6 km in total to this point)

Week 5 - about 4 km in the week (16-17 km so far)

Week 6 - about 6 km in the week (22-23 km so far)

Week 7 - about 7.2 km in the week (30 ish km in total)

Week 8 - about 8.5 km in the week (38 km in total)

Week 9 - about 11 km in the week

... making a GRAND TOTAL of about 48 km (ok, a range of 45-60 km) - about 30 miles across the 9 weeks.

If you're 60 kg, then you've burned about 3000 cal from running alone in 9 weeks. That is a TINY amount compared to your DAILY recommended calorie intake.

It doesn't matter what cardio exercise you chose - running, cycling, swimming, rowing, elliptical, dancing, zumba, spin etc .... the point is that you have to LOADS and LOADS of it - HOURS and HOURS across the week for it impact significantly on your weight.

That's why something like weight-lifting is far more TIME-efficient - you get more bang for your buck.

HOWEVER, if doing cardo (endurance) ... and you combine that with significant and healthy changes to your diet ... then you give yourself a great chance of seeing good progress and there are many good examples on this forum.

* Marathon winners are a terrible advert for weight-loss - you've been conned by the iceberg effect!

[Instructor57 Graduate]

There are certainly people who have lost weight doing the program, but remember, it is not a weight loss program , however combined with a healthy diet it is certainly possible

[Jenny1974 Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

Yes I am combining with healthy eating, an extra spin class and some dog walks so fingers crossed!

[Wavy-chick28 Graduate]

It isn’t really for weight loss but I found over time I was more toned , it also makes you think about your overall health so I have lost 2 stone from eating healthier and keeping up my activity over the last year! It’s a start don’t be disappointed keep on running !

[Roxdog Graduate]

I didn't lose weight, but was more toned at the end of cto5k. I didn't do it for weight loss. Once I'd graduated and started running further, that's when I noticed weight loss.

[Frenc Graduate in reply to Roxdog]

That toning bit’s brill! I swear my thighs don’t jiggle quite as much as they did. 😃

[Cmoi Graduate]

Hi Jenny1974 , same here as Roxdog .

It helps if you can look at it longer-term: 22 months after starting C25K I'm 6-7kg lighter than when I started, having gone from an "overweight" to "healthy" BMI range. Probably dropped a dress size too - stuff I was struggling to fit into is now comfortable or even loose!

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Why would you expect to lose weight doing C25K? What were your expectations?

As Dr Michael Mosley said on his recent 2-part Channel 4 program "What Made Britain So Fat" ...

... 'exercising is a lousy way to lose weight'. Why? Because you have to do a LOT of it for it to have significant effect. I mean hours and hours per week. Most people can't afford that time.

In case you weren't aware, weight-loss, is driven mostly (80-90%) by what you eat and drink. Physical activity contributes only 10-20% .

Making sustainable changes to your diet will have a far bigger effect that doing a bit of jogging (or even running) over 9 weeks

As far as running is concerned you burn 1 calorie for every kilogram (kg) of bodyweight for every 1 kilometer you run (1 cal per kg, per km).

So if you weigh 60 kg and run (jog) 5.00 km, then you are burning (60 times 5) ... 300 calories. So, bizarrely, the bigger and heavier you are, the bigger the effect!

Think about what 300 cals looks like in terms of food and drink - it really isn't much at all. That's the point. You've have to be running 5k every day for it START to have an effect on weight.

If weight-loss is your main motivation, then lifting weights at home or the gym is far more time-efficient than running at burning calories.

Here's the GOOD news though ... think of C25K as a 'gateway' to a healthier way of life. One in which you are more physically active than before, and you make a conscious effort to make healthier choices about what you eat and drink. It become a virtuous circle. Stick with it, be CONSISTENT and you'll be delighted at the results. As Cmoi says, think long-term!

[Jenny1974 Graduate in reply to John_W]

I actually started to run to lose weight, and I’m eating healthy so hopefully I will shift some extra pounds. Im at a gym where I run so I speed things up a bit during my runs and I do a spin class too so fingers crossed!

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Jenny1974]

That's great! You might not agree, but it's the change in eating/drinking that will have BY FAR the biggest impact on any weight-loss.

Your comment re: marathoners is very interesting - will reply underneath it

[Jenny1974 Graduate in reply to John_W]

Yes I’m watching my eating atm and have been since jan I’m at “that” age too so it’s a bit harder hence why I’ve started to run. Plus off to Malaga in may so need to be beach ready!

[nowster Graduate]

Initially, you're probably not going to see any weight loss. You may even see a slight weight gain.

However, your shape may change. The best way to check this is to notice how your clothes fit on you.

You're likely to be replacing fat with muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat, so you're going to lose bulk overall.

Initially I lost about 5kg doing C25K and I was very happy with that. I didn't put on any weight over the Christmas period that year.

I didn't start to see any further weight loss until I started to run for over 90 minutes at a time. Then I lost another 5kg in a couple of months. Over the subsequent year, I've dropped about another 2kg, and am currently hovering around 69-70kg.

Because the heaviness that was starting to accumulate in my face had gone, people started to comment on how healthy I looked. The burgeoning beer belly has gone. My trousers belt, which was straining on its widest setting is now slightly loose on its smallest setting.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

I didn’t lose weight during the plan… I did get smaller though, and my daughter was exactly the same. Running is not a weight loss activity but alongside a sensible nutritional plan it is formidable at toning up all the parts that are losing fat stores!

[notbad Graduate]

Tbh I think 5k isn’t really going to get into the fat burning zone, I did lose a bit of weight when I trained for a half marathon but those were long slow runs. Do you feel fitter/more toned? Hopefully you can see some difference and will continue to see more with sustained effort/watching diet.

[LanciaA Graduate]

Hi Jenny1974. Yes, I have lost weight but I think that this is in combination to diet changes as well - mostly eating less carbs and drinking less alcohol!

Also, I have definitely found that I am more toned in various places, which have not bee subjected to any real exercise for a very long time.

I am now having to think about adjusting my diet again, so that I can maintain my current weight and distribution but in a slightly more healthy fashion than before.

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate]

I've been running for a year and have lost maybe half a stone but...for the first time in my life I have a waist. Also, at the beginning my bum would jiggle around like it needed a custom made bra but now it stays firm and solid. My legs are a lot less puffy too. You really will lose fat and gain muscle if you continue running, don't look at the scales, look at how your clothes fit, much more important.

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

I didn’t really lose any weight but i lost 3 inches off my waist and feel better which is the whole reason for running and walking when i can’t run

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

The Iceberg Effect

iceberg effect

[nowster Graduate in reply to John_W]

Absolutely! Since I started using Strava, it says I've done 2438km. You can knock about 5% off that as I also record my warm up and cool down walk sections as part of most runs. Even so that's close to 1500 miles in about 20 months (and wearing out the soles of three pairs of shoes).

[Me_time Graduate]

I did not weigh myself before starting c25k, had a approx value of how much I weigh. Weighed myself just a week ago and didnt see any drop..hovering around the same weight. Clothes are slightly looser around the waist.