Weight/inch loss - one for the ladies please!

[Lilacwhizz]

Having now graduated, my legs are definitely trimmer - but can’t see any sign of inch loss above the hips? Would this be the reward after consolidation and building up to longer runs over a length of time? Answers please!

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate]

Personally, the main thing that works for losing weight for me is controlling my diet. Running is absolutely brilliant for me but if I’ve put a few pounds on, that comes off by taking care of what I’m eating more carefully. Even when I was half marathon training, I didn’t lose anything.

Is your BMI/waist circumference outside the healthy range?

[Annieapple Administrator Graduate]

I find I don’t lose much weight with running but I certainly don’t gain…when I have not run for a few weeks I start gaining.. however I do mostly follow a Mediterranean diet & am in the healthy BMI range …

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate in reply to Annieapple]

Thinking about it, I’m much the same. Regular running (and other exercise) gives me a bit of a buffer to eat a bit more without putting weight on. When I first started longer runs, I was hungry all the time and turned into a carb monster and did put a little on around the middle but now I’m aware of that, it hasn’t happened since! Apparently it’s really common for people who are marathon training to gain weight!

[Lilacwhizz Graduate in reply to MissUnderstanding]

I think that’s me ! Thank you for your honest answer - I obviously need to cut down on some of the carbs. 😁

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate in reply to Lilacwhizz]

The ones I needed to cut were the cake/biscuit ones!! Not cut out, just cut back. I find when I’m running regularly and feeling like it’s going well, I’m more motivated to think about food well too.

Pilates/yoga has really helped with a stronger core which has made a difference “above the hips” as you put it!

Really good luck!

[Cmoi Graduate]

Maybe yes, maybe no! I toned up and lost weight once I started running 10k fairly regularly. That took me from BMI overweight into the middle of healthy weight. And when I was training for a trail marathon last year I seemed to be able to eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight at all. There again, I was out running so much that I never had time to bake!

However, I fell and injured myself at the end of June this year, and the combination of much less running and consequent comfort eating meant that I gained weight again. I'm still in the healthy weight category, but only just. Though I appear to have lost a bit this past week purely through starting to up my distances and running times again.

Tldr? Running can help lose weight, but you need to eat healthily as well!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Well, this isn't a weight loss programme as you know, and the only way for a trim body is certainly healthy eating and exercise !

I have lost weight and put weight on with the programme which was very welcome for me... but I have also, lost an awful lot, over running and burning off muscle mass which was a bad thing ...

A good balanced healthy eating regime linked with this is clearly a winning combination.

[Southernrunner]

in the days when I ran more than I do now, was 25kgs lighter and had a personal trainer, their mantra was always “you can’t outrun a poor diet”. I’ve toned doing c25k and lost a small amount of weight but need to keep an eye on the reward eating and remember to add the right fuel to the tank. I find if I run in the morning I am so hungry (and tired) all day I over eat so I choose afternoon/ evenings for my runs.

[Dendev75 Graduate]

I’ve only noticed the cellulite got less with running and my legs seemed to tone from the bottom up so still waiting for a ‘thigh gap’ 🤣😆 as for weight loss it’s just managing to eat healthily but I love crisps too much so I’ll never be super slim 😋

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to Dendev75]

I know you're joking Dendev75 . However, just in case there's anyone out there thinking that you're serious, I'm going to point out that the only person I've ever known with a "thigh gap" was an anorexic student of mine. She died aged 24. I'd rather be alive and a bit chunky than a super slim corpse.

[Dendev75 Graduate in reply to Cmoi]

I was being serious about the cellulite and toned legs from the bottom up and also about healthy eating. the ‘thigh gap’ was intended to be light hearted (hence the emojis) and I doubt anybody would think I was being serious. I didn’t intend to cause offence to anybody. I’ve never wanted to be skinny either - it’s not a healthy look. Your last sentence really does go without saying.

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to Dendev75]

I didn't take offence nor did I think you were intending to cause any Dendev75 . 😀

However, as I tried to indicate, I didn't just have you in mind when I replied. The same goes for this post. That's because very occasionally I've seen posts on this forum from people who seem unusually interested in weight loss, and/or quite severe dietary or fitness regimes. Sometimes they also mention eating disorders elsewhere on HU. Those posts concern me.

My student was an adult, legally mentally competent, and so making her own decisions. Despite spending long periods in hospital receiving treatment for both her physical and mental health, she couldn't see what she really looked like, nor that she had a life-threatening problem. She'd say she was fine and talk about what she was going to do with her life.

In my early twenties I occasionally experienced what I guess would now be called bulimia. A few years ago a teenage family member experienced orthorexia, possibly also anorexia athletica (I don't know their full diagnosis) and became worryingly thin.

All the above is why I don't assume that no intelligent adult would fall prey to an eating disorder, or that the last sentence in my previous post goes without saying.

[nowster Graduate]

Not a lady, but I did lose about 12kg over the last two years, and a change in waist from a straining 32" to a comfortable 30".

About 5kg came off during the first six months. That was a combination of a change in diet (fewer sugary snacks) and the increase in activity due to regular running. The excesses of Christmas didn't touch it.

The rest of the weight loss gradually happened when I increased the duration of running per week. For me it seemed like there was a metabolic change when I started to do runs of an hour or more.

The first place the change was noticeable was my face and neck. People started telling me that I looked well.

[Papillon17 Graduate]

I started the first time around in January 2019 and graduated in March 2019. October 2019 I ended up having blood tests in hospital, MRI and CT scans as a result of losing nearly 24lbs in a very short period of time. The results showed that my metabolic rate had stepped up what I didn’t realise the effect of having been eating slimming world recipes on a regular basis as the wife was and still is attending slimming world. I got told I had to eat more. The worry was I had become the same weight as I was when I was in my 20’s and my waist was down to 30 inches but having eased up now back to around 32 inches and don’t look like an extra from Tenko got told I looked ill by a number of people. Legs and arms are pretty firm just the rest of me needs working on. 😂 Good luck and sure you will achieve the results you want.

[Lilacwhizz Graduate in reply to Papillon17]

Gosh - sorry to hear of your repercussions after weight loss. Happy running in future. 🏃

[Yesletsgo Graduate]

I've lost hardly any weight in the 18 months or so I've been running BUT...

My legs have toned up and lost their fatty look

My bum no longer feels like it needs a bra to stop it from wobbling as I run

A waist of sorts has appeared for the first time in my life

Best of all, it has done wonders for my body image. Instead of being focussed on all the superficial 'imperfections' - legs too short, too fat, too lumpy, not as good as my sister's, you name it, my legs were the focus of all everything I disliked about my appearance - I am now in awe at their capabilities. I spent the summer in shorts and truly didn't give a monkey's if I failed to live up to anybody else's unrealistic aesthetic demands.

Yes, if I eat too much stodge the weight starts creeping on again, the trick is to be aware of what you eat. You fancy a biscuit - have one or two, not the whole packet. You're invited for a lovely meal with great food and good company, go for it! Just don't do it every single day. Watch out for hidden sugar. If I want sugar I'll eat chocolate, I don't want it in my gravy thank you very much.

Life is too short to count calories, we're all grown ups and we actually know that if we eat a load of rubbish we'll put on weight. Harness that knowledge and act on it.

[Lilacwhizz Graduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

Your post made me laugh! Thank you and yes you are quite right about the biscuits etc 😁! Happy running 🏃‍♀️

[cheryl_couch_tatty Graduate]

The first time I did the plan the weight fell off me but I was following a very good diet. This time around I have been running for almost 2 years and haven't lost an ounce but my diet isn't great and I am a bit older x