Putting ON weight.....wtf?: Forgot to mention in... - Couch to 5K

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Putting ON weight.....wtf?

Kitty77 profile image
9 Replies

Forgot to mention in my last blog.....I seem to be putting on weight? This was not the plan!

Yes I feel better, fitter and have more stamina, but seriously? When I started this I didn't look in the mirror and say 'hmmm, I could really do with more stamina'. No. I wanted to bloody fit into old clothes.

I am eating healthily, e.g. No takeaways, hardly any wine, wholemeal bread for Christs sake, but when I weighed myself this morning I am heavier than I was a few weeks ago!

Anyone else have this? Can I expect the weight to magically start falling off anytime soon? And before you ask, no. My clothes aren't any looser!!

:(

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Kitty77 profile image
Kitty77
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9 Replies
Frazzles profile image
FrazzlesGraduate

There have been quite a few posts about this before, so it's not just you! I think what lots of people find to begin with is that they do lose a bit of fat but they also gain lots of muscle, and since muscle is denser than fat they gain weight overall. The good news is that once you've gained a bit of muscle it becomes easier to burn more calories, so maybe in a few weeks you'll start to lose a bit more weight like you want to.

These posts might help explain it better:

couchto5k.healthunlocked.co...

couchto5k.healthunlocked.co...

couchto5k.healthunlocked.co...

Kitty77 profile image
Kitty77 in reply to Frazzles

Thank you! That's really helpful.

TJFlute profile image
TJFlute

I know how you feel! I did loads of running over half term and still put ON weight

:(

However, I have noticed over the last year (finished C25K last March) that I have lost some weight and more importantly, I have dropped significantly with body fat percentages.: I was 35% and I am now 27% Basically, it takes time and patience and a hell of a lot of different things factor in (diet, what you drink, diet history, energy used at work etc etc.).....the running is just a part of a big jigsaw.

I gave up chocolate and started C25K for lent and I weighed exactly the same at the end of Lent as I did at the beginning when I was eating chocolate and doing no exercise. I was expecting to shift at least a couple of pounds and my clothes don't feel any looser. Something must be happening somewhere but I do wish it would hurry up and show itself.

Greg_M profile image
Greg_MGraduate

I think the realisation that exercise is only part of the picture (and not necessarily the biggest part) is really important. everyone says it but having my Garmin was a huge reality check because I saw then that a 1km run uses approximately 85 calories which seemed tiny! I had to do a 5k run to equate to a pork pie :-(

Its a long term slow game I think.

Malcy profile image
MalcyGraduate

Hi. I can sympathise but, having dropped 2 1/2 stone sine Jan (another 2 to go) I'd say that exercise on its own won't achieve significant weight loss. I came across a BBC documentary by doctor turned journalist Michael Mosley "10 things you need to know about losing weight" and it was a truly amazing scientific analysis of what works ... and why they work. I can't find it on line but watch out for it on the likes of Discovery channel. There's quite a good summary at garmaonhealth.com/diet/weig...

One of the key things was that when Michael exercised on a treadmill for 90 mins, he burned 191 calories ( = 19 Grams of fat). I remember myself thinking that its easier not to ear a Mars bar than to do the exercise needed to burn off the calories in a Mars bar (:->) and this was basically Michael's view too. However when he was retested the following day, he had burned off a total of 49 Cal. The evidence is that the body continues to burn the fat long after we finish exercising.

But the most important segment for me was when he got someone to keep a diary of their eating. Seems like our brains block out a lot of our eating and the subject was only recording about 1/3 (?) of what she actually ate. And this was when she knew she was being observed ... That got me to keep a STRICT diary and into a habit of finding out the calories in EVERYTHING I eat. an ordinary morning roll - 10% of the recommended daily intake! Yet a half pizza is only about 350. I nowknow to enjoy the pizza rather than a bacon roll ... Things like that just made me so aware of what to avoid and what to enjoy.

sorry if this has been a bit long, but hope it has been useful. Run, yes. But to shed the pounds, count those calories as well.

Kitty77 profile image
Kitty77 in reply to Malcy

Wow, well done you for that massive weight loss! Bet you are feeling fantastic. Very inspiring, and a good idea with the diary.THANK YOU X

Kitty77 profile image
Kitty77

Thanks all! Its true that I need to look at the big picture and long term-I guess I should just enjoy the other benefits at the mo! Just back from w4r2 in the rain, feel surprisingly good, if a little soggy!

Thanks again, lovely to have this support!

X

PatButcher profile image
PatButcherGraduate

Hi, there are soo many people having the same issues with weight loss on here, me being one of them :( I have done the whole 9 weeks and then some, Have I lost weight NO!!! but I am told that as the weeks go on and the speed and distance increases the weight will start to come off...bloody hope so....still waiting !!! I know it's nice that the stamina kicks in and the confidence gets a boost but wouldn't it be lovely to lose a bit of the old flab as well?!! Just carry on and don't give up, I know the weight will come off eventually :) Keep us posted x

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