Getting rid of my stomach fat and moobs :(

[johnsm9]

Just started out guys - finished week 1 and starting week 2 from 28/05! Will the above become reduced if I stick to the plan and have a healthy diet?

[henrietta Graduate]

YES. The healthy and longer lasting way to lose weight is to burn more than you eat. Keep your fluids up, no added sugar, especially in this heat and try to avoid processed food. Try to avoid rewarding a run with a chocolate bar as the treat will undo the good of the run. There are healthy rewards out there as well. All the best to you and we all look forward to hearing of your progress

[smokeysalmon02 Graduate]

It's very hard changing your lifestyle and I wish you luck to you. I found it has made a huge difference. I tend to drink lots of water when I'm hungry- it's good for you and fills you up!

Enjoy running, you'll feel better all round

[Hidden]

Three runs a week adds up to about half a pound, although it usually looks like more because some of the fat starts to turn to muscle. If you also walk on rest days plus cut calories by 500 a day it goes faster.

[Grammadog1947 Graduate]

It will take a while, but don't despair. Slowly but surely you will see your body change...hang in there...keep up the good work....every day you do something other than sit on the couch you're winning. Keep us updated on your progress.....

[Greg_M Graduate]

There is no 'magic bullet' but you're doing the right things I suspect. Stick with and don't be too despondent if it takes a while, all you can do is to keep doing the right things.

[cattery Graduate]

You have to put in the hard work to see the reward, but I promise you it will be worth it. I have a lot of weight to lose, couldn't sleep and was breathless. Sleep improved almost from the beginning and more energy, feeling more positive. BUT gained weight at first and then nothing happened for ages, lots of people said the same so don't panic! Just started week 8 and am finally losing some weight, plus the sugar cravings are getting weaker and am eating better. Do the work and you will see the results, not just weight loss and toning up but your heart and lungs will be stronger, your internal organs supported better by strong muscles, you will feel energised and more positive - you can't go wrong, just stick with the program and be proud of yourself

[Gazter Graduate in reply to cattery]

Isnt it remarkable how quickly the lungs and heart respond? You can physically feel them stronger, and thats only after a few weeks. I never suffered from asthma etc but i was noticing a greater tendency for apnoeas when i dropped off to sleep. I would wake up tired, i would wake up in a jolt because unless my head was in the right position, as soon as i drifted off my airways would close up, and the snoring....

I dont have that any more, i think the snoring has mostly gone, well the loud nasty ones anyway.

[Gazter Graduate]

Remember its 80% diet, 20% exercise. It takes a *lot* of exercise to burn off a pound of fat..... 3,500 calories = 1lb of fat

If you want to learn a bit more about how your body works, I recommend you look into your BMR. Your BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, its amount of energy your body uses just to carry out its functions, while spending all day in bed. Once you get this number a further calculation is made and that is based on how active you are, this is your daily calorific requirement. What you need to eat to neither lose or gain weight:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

For example, I am 260 lbs (was 304lb eleven weeks ago) and 5ft 11 35yr old male, my BMR is 2350 calories a day, but to do all the normal things a lazy person would do that moves up to 2,820.

That means if i laid in bed all day, I would need 2350 calories to sustain myself. However see how exercise makes a difference to your calorific requirement:

Sedentary = BMR x 1.2 = 2,820

lightly active = BMR x 1.375 = 3,231

moderate = BMR x 1.55 = 3,642.5

very active = BMR x1.725 = 4,053.75

Following c25k definitely fits the 'moderate' level. While to some fit people half an hour of run/walking three times a week would seem very little, to us newbies it is actually a huge amount of effort to achieve what they do easily. Effort = burn of calories.

If you are seriously obese as I am, its quite safe to drop a thousand to fifteen hundred, even two thousand a day from that number as your intake, if you make sure you are getting all the proper nutrition. If you drop a thousand calories a day, that equates to seven thousand a week which is 2lbs of fat loss... (weight loss does involve you losing some muscle as well, but the running will be building up your legs). So for my size it isnt really hard to kick out a thousand calories from your diet, i mean really. Following slimming world, i think it is close to impossible to physically eat three and a half thousand calories a day without exploding aka Mr Creosote.

If you are just over weight or wanting to shed a few pounds your BMR will be substantially less meaning that you cant drop that scale of calories from your diet without starving yourself.

For example, a similar aged woman, with a smaller average height and two hundred pounds, wanting to shift some weight will have a BMR of 1670, when multiplied by 1.55 for c25k, her calorific requirement to just maintain is 2,588.

Your body starts to respond differently from a healthy weightloss diet and a starvation diet. Getting below 1,500 can trigger your metabolism to slow down and hinder weight loss, you will eventually lose fat, just like japanese prisoners of war or starving ethiopians but it will take a long long time and you will be miserable and malnourished and not face like running c25k.

From reading, a lot of dieters find a comfortable sweet spot for them that combines exercise, diet and the right amount of nutrition. You get it wrong and it doesnt work properly.

PS. You dont count the calories burnt twice from the exercise... The exercises raise your metabolism in general not just while doing them, and that is where the the 1.55 multiplier comes in.

bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calc...

[Oldgirl Graduate]

Just remember that the excess weight didn't go on over night so it won't come off over night either. Steady and slow is the way to go, eat plenty of fruit and veg and get lots of water, tea, juice etc to drink. If you feel hungry after exercise it will more than likely be dehydration so top up your liquids before heading for the food cupboards.

I was 2.5stone over weight this time last year, I've lost just over 2st so another 1/2 to go. Its not all been down to the jogging but its really helped and whats more its been fun, hard work too but well worth the effort.

Good luck and keep in touch, theres plenty of support on here if you need any.

[Angel-Cake Graduate]

Oh YES!!!! Most definitley

[johnsm9]

Thanks Guys - all your comment's have boosted me further It's great to know I have loads of support