Weight Loss

never_mind

Hi all

I used to be around 12 stone and now I'd guess I am around the 13.5-14 mark. I used to run long distances (eg half marathons or a bit more, never more than 25k) but tbh I get bored during the long runs. I like running and want to continue with it but I want to lose weight.. I know that I need to address my food/drink (beer) intake but is there a plan out there that would be around 30kish or less a week for weight loss? I heard that doing a fast, good interval 10k would be the same calorie wise as doing a slowish HM.

Any thoughts on this
Thanks

ariana`

I don't know of a weight loss running plan per se but if you run regularly consistently it should certainly help you to manage/maintain your weight and if you cut out some of the junk or empty calories that are in your diet then you should even lose weight. Slowly is the way to go. Consistent changes, a bit of exercise and a bit less junk should work for most.

Do you enjoy running? Personally i think it's important, if you're doing it just for weight loss then it most likely isn't sustainable. Starting for weight loss and getting hooked seems quite common though

RayCun

If you want to manage your weight, diet is the first, second, and third thing to think about.
Exercise is good, but the weight loss effects of slightly different runs are minimal. Do the kind of running you enjoy, and that meets your running goals.

Annie get your Run

RayCun wrote: »

If you want to manage your weight, diet is the first, second, and third thing to think about.
Exercise is good, but the weight loss effects of slightly different runs are minimal. Do the kind of running you enjoy, and that meets your running goals.

+1 to this, you can't outrun your fork! In my experience running helps to maintain a healthier diet especially if you're targeting a race etc (and I don't mean you have to be up there winning races). But as ariana said, if you don't enjoy it it's not sustainable. You might find something else you prefer like cross fit for example.

TFBubendorfer

The usual rule of thumb is that a mile running burns about 100 calories, though in reality that varies a lot from runner to runner.

A pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, so running 35 miles would burn away one pound.

To burn away 1 stone, that's 490 miles.

And that's only if you keep eating teh same amount. If you reward yourself with a slice of cake after each run you're most likely going to put on extra weight.

And that's why for losing weight, diet is far more important.

sideswipe

+1 on diet rather than exercise being key OP.

I used to be 94kgs about 9 years ago and have lost weight through diet and exercise to the point were I lined up in Dublin last week at 74kgs. Over that 9 years my weight has yo-yoed, often gaining while running high milage because of over compensating with food after runs.

I use MyFitnessPal to log my food intake now, not just to keep an eye on calorie totals but also food quality.

In terms of bang for your buck with running for weight loss shorter, sharper, high intensity runs e.g. 100's, 200's, 400's reps are more beneficial as they stimulate the metabolism more.

The Muppet

Diet is the most important factor in weight loss, Running/exercise can have a bearing on it if you get into the mind frame of not wanting to undo the good you just did by running/exercising and motivaes you to remove the unnecessary food from your diet.

You could use an app like myfitnesspal to log what you are eating, It will give you an idea of where to make changes in your diet. You can also link it to Strava so that it registers your calories lost on your run giving you a good indication of what you daily intake should be.

charkee

my marathon race weight used to be around 11 stone.

the lighter the better for marathons!

I ran the Dublin mara closer to 12 stone and was 8 minutes slower than my target

I used to be able to eat junk and run it off, but not so now.

so its ryvita and less crisps for me..

If I can get to even 11.5 stone,my mra time should come down.

harr

My wife ran her first marathon this year and is a healthy weight and she would have done a lot of weight training before she started Marathon training.
Once the long miles kicked she cut back on the weights and concentrated on running..
While she was burning a lot of calories during her run she needed a lot more food to fuel those long runs as in pasta and complex carbs and ended up actually putting on weight while training for the marathon...
Now she is back doing weights and running 3 10ks a week at a fast pace and the weight has fairly quickly returned to normal.
So op I wouldn’t overly rely on short fast runs to lose a few pounds.
A good diet and add some resistance training should see you get your goal faster.

The Muppet

harr wrote: »

While she was burning a lot of calories during her run she needed a lot more food to fuel those long runs as in pasta and complex carbs and ended up actually putting on weight while training for the marathon...

I'm not sure you need to eat a whole lot more for long slow runs tbh, I did it myself during Marathon Training last year but lately I'm doing more weekly milage (all easy miles)than I did then and don't really feel the need to eat a whole more.

Annie get your Run

The Muppet wrote: »

I'm not sure you need to eat a whole lot more for long slow runs tbh, I did it myself during Marathon Training last year but lately I'm doing more weekly milage (all easy miles)than I did then and don't really feel the need to eat a whole more.

+1. You definitely don't need to eat a whole lot more for long runs, and certainly not complex carbs. You can easily get all the carbs you need from veg (although fat is another fuel option with some proper research). Anyway, all that requires a bit of digging and research to educate yourself - plenty of good (and not so good) information out there.

walshb

never_mind wrote: »

Hi all

I used to be around 12 stone and now I'd guess I am around the 13.5-14 mark. I used to run long distances (eg half marathons or a bit more, never more than 25k) but tbh I get bored during the long runs. I like running and want to continue with it but I want to lose weight.. I know that I need to address my food/drink (beer) intake but is there a plan out there that would be around 30kish or less a week for weight loss? I heard that doing a fast, good interval 10k would be the same calorie wise as doing a slowish HM.

Any thoughts on this
Thanks

Weigh loss is ridiculously simple on paper. It can be quite hard in practice. But ultimately it needs discipline and will power. Eat less, get to bed early, and choose a variety of foods. Exercise is important, but food intake/amount and types are the key...

The beauty is that your runs will be far more enjoyable when the weight is right....it's a win win.

never_mind

I don't know if I enjoy running.. I have never 'stopped' running since January 2014 I'dsay... in other words, I have never gone a month, let's say, without running. But to be honest running = weight loss/management. Before it was like WOW you got to your first 5k, then it was the same feeling of accomplishment for the 10k and a bigger one for the HM. Since then my interest has dwindled and my waist line has englarged. lol.

Maybe it's time to look for an alternative but sorting out my intake is a big issue. I am quite disciplined and good during the week (porridge for brekie, salads for lunch, low gi din.. usually stir fries.. small snack before bed like corn cakes etc.). I used to be able to lose 3lbs in a week now I can gain 3lbs in a week easily with or without running!!

Edit: Thanks for the replies - lots of good advice here!

walshb

never_mind wrote: »

I don't know if I enjoy running.. I have never 'stopped' running since January 2014 I'dsay... in other words, I have never gone a month, let's say, without running. But to be honest running = weight loss/management. Before it was like WOW you got to your first 5k, then it was the same feeling of accomplishment for the 10k and a bigger one for the HM. Since then my interest has dwindled and my waist line has englarged. lol.

Maybe it's time to look for an alternative but sorting out my intake is a big issue. I am quite disciplined and good during the week (porridge for brekie, salads for lunch, low gi din.. usually stir fries.. small snack before bed like corn cakes etc.). I used to be able to lose 3lbs in a week now I can gain 3lbs in a week easily with or without running!!

Edit: Thanks for the replies - lots of good advice here!

Well, my advice would be to not sweat too much on the food types, more the quantities and the amount of times you are ingesting food and liquid in the day. That is why bed early and good sleep is so very important.

Replace "hunger" with water intake is a good idea....you feel the need to eat food when you really are not hungry then have water ready to sip. Or if you have to eat then choose the amount and type wisely.