Most people are impressed that I have started jogging and are really encouraging, however when I told my mum her response was 'I don't think women your size should be running' now it is true I'm not exactly slim at a size 18 but that is the whole point of doing this, for my health, fitness and to help me in my quest to lose weight. Has anyone else met comments like this?
Anyway, back to my progress, despite feeling pretty crappy after that comment I had planned to do my wk1 run 3 last night. I really wasn't in the mood, especially as we'd spent the day walking round Blackpool zoo, but bit the bullet and armed with my 10 &12 yr old sons headed to our local park.
It was really tough to begin with, and I struggled through the first 2 60 seconds of running ( not helped my the boys trying to talk to me constantly, do they not realise that breathing alone is an achievement whilst running!) but miraculously by run 5 I had found my mojo and I would say that I can see a marked improvement again from my other runs. I am feeling very proud but still feel nervous about running for 90 seconds next week!
Today I am aching more than ever though, but I think that is down to spending the day walking round the zoo ( oh and I weighed myself before and after the run and then an hour later and I can confirm that I am temporarily 2lbs heavier after running not sure why though!)
Wish me luck for wk 2!
Xx
Written by
nicolaclaire
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Well done. Don't worry i am a big girl to and often get funny looks from people when i say i am going running (like if you go running surely you would be thin look on their face) but hey Im doing it and will have the last laugh. But good for you for keeping up with the programme even when you were feeling tired and a little deflated. We enter week two it seams daunting but Im sure we can do it.
You are doing something about your fitness.... perhaps you could ask her if she has thought about going on a communication skills programme?
Guess she doesn't get to enjoy your triumph with you when you graduate... I'm glad it sounds as though you have other people around you who *do* support you. And I think you are brilliant for braving it with sons of that age alongside you (either that or you have done a stellar job of raising them)
I am a 'bottom heavy' pear shape, also size 18 and started this to help me lose weight. What I have found out so far is a) running, or shuffling in my case, only burns about 100 calories per mile b) it isn't making much difference to the number on the scales BUT my shape is definately changing and my clothes are fitting differently. I am feeling a little more toned in some areas too.
I am just about to embark on week 5.... it fills me with dread but at the same time I want to challenge myself and also poke my tongue out at those who scoffed and rolled their eyes skywards when I said I was going to try C25K. I never thought in week 1 I would get to week 2 but their negativity spurs me on!
I would recommend measuring yourself, I didn't before I started and wish I had now. Definately don't get hung up on the scales.
Thanks guys, this forum is one of the things that I love about this programme! I don't think I would have even started without reading people stories and realising that people just as unft, cuddly and old as me have managed it. I really appreciate the support xx
Ignore the negative comments , you'll soon be feeling fitter and healthier. I'm not sure why some people feel the need to be negative and undermine other peoples achievements - I think the problem is theirs. You're doing something positive and you should be proud of yourself.
Odd how mothers can be so unsupportive, isn't it? The main thing to keep in mind is that you are doing this for YOU. You are who/what matters and just think how great you'll feel with each week passing.
I bet your sons will really be proud of you and appreciate having a fitter mum!
I'm also very overweight (size 18, thirteen and a half stone and five feet tall) and just try to keep focused on WHY this is so important and when all's said and done it's for ME, not for anyone else.
You have taken the first amazing step and if others can't handle you doing this it's their problem.
Ignore the critics, be proud of yourself and just DO it: you're worth it!
I've also had some negative comments, most notably from my brother who laughed at me for needing to use a programme like this...so I just decided not to talk to him about it. Now that I've graduated, I occasionally slip my running into the conversation, and there's nothing he can say about it because if you can run for 30 minutes, you *are* a runner, regardless of your size or weight or anything! Keep at it, and just think about how proud you'll feel of yourself when you graduate!
Just ignore the critics you'll get comments like that if you start losing weight as well 'Oh your losing to quickly' or 'Don't lose anymore you look fine'. Just ignore them and carry on. Well done and be proud of yourself It takes some doing this running lark I'm just going out for R1 of W4 It'll probably kill me but heyho
I have an ongoing disagreement with my best friend sadly and all over my running. Not beause of my size but because of my age!!! When I told her I had started C25K she looked and me and said "What at your age, you must be mad"!! Well that was like a red rag to a bull as far as I was concerned. I have to check with my doc no matter what I do exercise wise because I have some health issues which I won't go into. But he said it would do me more good than harm so long as I listened to my body at all times and not just listen to it, to pay attention and take action if things didn't feel right. So off I went, and finished C25K, I run now at least 3 times a week, love it. My best friend won't even talk about it, its like the subject is taboo. The other day she phoned me to ask if I would like to go around for a coffee and a chat, I said sorry can't manage I'm off for a run, see you another day.
Love this post! Intrigued as to how "old" you are now! I am 50, will be 50 in August and hadnt run since school & was also obese when I started this prog, so I think we are proving that being slightly mature and/or, as in my case, overweight doesnt stop us!
I'll be 62 in September Deryn61 but fitter now than when I was 30 and 40. My doc was examining me when I had sciatica in January/February this year which crippled me for 3 months and he said then "You have the legs most women in their 30's would die for" I walked or at least hobbled out of the surgery on a lighter step and my head and shoulders were up in the clouds!
I guess it's no secret that I'm 64...will be 65 on the 3rd of October. My brother and I don't even SAY the word "running" to each other...it's ALWAYS a fight. I'm overweight (by 40 pounds when I started) and wrestle daily with sciatica from a ruptured disc suffered falling down my basement stairs. I have exercise induced asthma, diagnosed over 15 years ago. But just try to stop me from running.
Parents! They can devastate your confidence without even meaning to. One problem is they have a fixed idea of what you are and what you can do, probably formed when you were 15, and it is very hard for them to realise that you are a grown up and can actually make your own decisions and stand or fall by them.
It sounds to me like you are doing a fantastic job of taking responsibility for your own health and fitness. And who is the expert? Your doc or your mum? And you are giving a brilliant example to your own kids that being fit and healthy is important and fun!
As Greg M says 'You are right, she is wrong' and that is very hard for mums to take!
All that said she is probably genuinely concerned for you so I suggest you adopt the strategy I used when my kids were little. When bombarded with unwanted advice I used to say 'thanks, I'll think about that' and then do precisely what I thought was best! Good luck!
I'm just back in the door from the first run of week 2. Surprisingly it didn't feel that much different from week 1 hooray! I just slowed down a tiny bit to make sure I made it through the 90 seconds. The bonus is 2 minutes of recovery!
You can do it!
Don't worry about your mum, it seems to be part of their job description to say these things. We all know you can do it.
People can be very insensitive, my other laughed really hard when i said i was going to start this. I'm on wk 8 and he's not laughing anymore, just feeling ashamed of himself. The guilts worked in my favour though he's buying me a garmin watch when i graduate x
I know that if my parents were still around they would support me wholeheartedly (they met through competitive cycling in the 1950's), so I am sorry your mum made that daft and groundless comment, you show her! x
Another largish lady here too. I am size 16 with the need for a good sports bra for my G cups, but I am lucky that I have had nothing negative from my family and friends so far, but not mentioned to my two colleagues yet. I'm waiting until I reach a milestone further than my week 6.
I am also 50, and my mantra since that came along has been 'if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got'!
Not seen any weight loss yet, but the psycholgical boost I am gtting from JUST DOING this programme is massive. I have high bp which I am hoping to bring down. And that serotonin is alwys useful!
Also, my husband has started just two weeks after me - I am feeling smug that I could do this befoer him - and I know it's going to help him too.
Don't concentrate on weight loss cos you'll be disappointed as you will build up muscle. BUT take out that tape measure and measure your vitals, now you will most definately see a difference as your body will tone up but give it a month before you check again.
Yeah, good point. I never set out with it as a weight loss programme, because I think you would need a few more miles than I can do currently! But I will check my measurements!
Whether we are old/young/heavy/svelte we, as a group, recognize the importance of being "fit". And C25K is how we have chosen to become fit. For whatever reason(s) others comment in inappropriate ways, in the end it is our life and we need and have a right to lead it however we want to.
Were all on our own journey but following the same path (the c25k path). Such good community spirit on here, it's like a big big family. Just drink in the praise and let the negative vibes just go right over your head. Good luck on your next run.
My husband laughed when I started C25K and didn't think I'd keep it up (which after 15 years of marriage should have made him realise that was enough to MAKE me keep it up!) And I didn't dare tell my Mum for the same reason as the poster above.
Now I have graduated. Mum can't believe I am actually running 30 minutes 3 times a week, and husband...? He has started to run too!!!
Keep going and they will SEE you can do (and maybe join you too). Actions speak louder than words and all that!
Nicola you are doing great. Like everyone else has said, even if you don't see the results on the scales, you'll have so much more energy and get a real buzz from progressing through the programme.
When I did Race for Life last year, my mum laughed and asked whether I had come last. Cheers mum. Anyway, she came to watch me do it this year and told me how proud she was.
Yep the tape measure gives a much more honest record than any scales. I've enjoyed reading and parttaking in this blog Nicolaclaire thanks very much. Do you know what at the end of the day we do this jogging/running/walking because we enjoy it, its fun, it makes us fitter healthier human beings which is what NHS wanted to happen in the first place, thats what I call a huge success Now bring on those T shirts
My Mum has said to me on more than one occasion that I should lean to "grow old gracefully" (she's 85 and I'm 56). It cracks me up. She doesn't get that one reason I run is so that I can grow old gracefully.
Incidentally, I'm about 4 stones overweight (borderline clinically obese) and I've never found that running makes me lose weight; in fact, initially at least, I usually put on a few pounds. I do feel better though which, I reckon, is the main thing.
Great set of comments here, I am just about to start week 7 and have told about 3 people who have all been very supportive but I would not tell my Mum who always manages to make me feel bad about myself and discouraged (I'm 45, why does it still matter?)
I have lost 1 1/2 stones with slimming world, I recommend them - something about that weekly weigh-in to help you ignore the snacks. Its taken me 5 months so not fast because I have so many bad eating habits. The running is definitely changing the shape of my legs and waist, and also helps me want to eat healthily.
Oh gosh, this is a revelation to me - other peoples parents do this too? I'm actually at the other end of the scale, low BMI, just in the healthy zone & have to watch I don't drop lower, just how it is for me. I wanted to be fitter so started this programme & my parents straight away listed all the negatives, my joints will suffer, I'll fade away to nothing, I'll get addicted (???). So far 3 weeks in & actually I've put on a lb which might just be muscle, my joints are ok (if they start hurting I'll stop) & I don't think 3 times a week qualifies me as addicted just yet. The benefits have been manifold, feel fitter, better lung capacity & more energy.
As Pingle says parents often develop these fixed views about grown up children - perhaps it's borne out of concern, but it doesn't half deflate me at times. Note to self - do not repeat with own son.
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