belly fat :-(

[sadieprinter]

hi all. I’m progressing through the programme and approaching week 3, which is amazing considering I am obese and very unfit! One thing I find causes me the most bother is my upper belly fat (which is very hard). It isn’t bloating as I first thought, because I can lean slightly forward and grab several stones of fat in my hands 🙈 hoping for this to reduce as I go on…it is so hard having this hard fat protruding when I’m running and, having been a trim runner in previous years - I’m so surprised how this upper abdominal fat can seriously hinder smooth running…my entire posture has changed because of it I.E having to run slightly leaning back to compensate for it my lower belly fat is pretty bad too, but thankfully a little more squidgy….just a rant really - this is all my fault for gaining the weight - no excuses x I’ll keep plodding on..!

[John_W Graduate]

Hello!

Well done on starting C25K & getting to Week 3.

As for that belly fat, the reality is that you simply won't burn enough calories during C25K for it to have a significant effect on your weight or that fat. The overwhelming contributor to weight loss is your nutrition . Make changes to that and you'll be on your way. That's much easier said than done of course.

Better news: consider C25K as a 'gateway' to a healthier lifestyle - it can become a virtuous circle in which you enjoy the program , become more conscious of what you eat/drink and that subsequently leads to weight loss, improved health and improvements in your running 🙂

Generally:

- exercise for health benefits

- nutrition changes for weight loss

Hope that helps

John

[sadieprinter in reply to John_W]

thank you so much, John. Very helpful. It’s slowly coming off but nowhere near as fast as it should, due to laziness around nutrition. Thanks for replying, I will give this my focus from now on.

[MissUnderstanding Administrator On a break Graduate]

I agree with  John_W -Couch to 5k is such a great gateway to better health choices, even though it doesn’t really lead to weight loss on its own. I always find when I’m active and running regularly, I find it easier to eat well to support that. Plus, I’m more focussed on what my body can do rather than what I look like which helps my self esteem. You’ll be making progress through the programme with loads and loads of success. Although it’s not a weight loss programme, you can take loads of positives from it and take those into other areas of your life.

You might like to take a look at the weight loss support board for help with that aspect of your fitness journey since we’re primarily focussed on running here. There are lots of people in the same position as you though, doing couch to 5k while also on their weight loss journey-you’re most certainly not alone. You may well even spot some of the same names on both boards!

Wishing you luck with both your runs and your weight. ❤️

[John_W Graduate]

This is a useful explainer re: fat loss:

facebook.com/watch/?v=79561...

And from the same guy:

healthista.com/11-no-nonsen...

[nowster Graduate]

One interesting thing I listened to at the weekend was The Infinite Monkey Cage "Are we what we eat?" (BBC Sounds/Radio 4).

It had Dr Chris van Tulleken (of TV fame) on the panel. One thing he mentioned was that the current scientific view is that our total daily energy consumption doesn't change much whether or not we exercise, and that the "calories burned" during exercise mostly count towards the same daily energy budget just as if we were resting.

bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001n8b6 (from about 36 minutes in, but the whole show is worth a listen)

Putting that into my own context and experience, it's only when I regularly started to run for longer distances and times that I made a dent in my weight with no change in diet. I must have been exceeding my baseline daily energy needs by doing that.

Most of my previous weight loss had been from the combination of adjusting my diet (eg. not eating a whole packet of biscuits at a time) and getting active again using C25K.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Would you talk to a friend the way you have talked to yourself here? My hunch is that this atmosphere of self-blame is holding you back more than where you carry fat deposits. (You might find a compression top comfortable... sounds as though it's not tummy wobble or I'd suggest big firm control knickers, a wonderful suggestion I got from this forum early on)

FWIW I did lose weight doing C25K (in combination with low key attention to calorie intake). I went from obese to overweight and my body shape changed (specifically my 'bustle' disappeared) It's not about calories burned through the activity per se though.

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate]

keep going sadieprinter ..you are doing so well…yes you have your hindrance at the moment but with all the running you’re going to be doing you might get a surprise..& you sound very determined 💪