MalcyGraduate11 years ago

Like a lot of adverts for diet products, the best way of putting the reality is to say that running CAN help, but only as part of a calorie controlled diet. On its own, you won't see any significant difference, & it's actually possible to put on a little bit of weight. There's a lot of well-meaning tosh talked about this but the key thing to understand is that the calories you burn in running a mile is only equivalent to a slice of bread. So it's important to keep things in proportion. To lose a nticeable amount of weight,you would need to do MUCH more exercise each day than C25K provides. What you WILL notice is that you feel a whole lot better (i.e. there are benefits that are more than weight reuction) and that, although you won't necessarily lose weight overall, you could get a little bit trimmer (i.e. you could lose inches off your waist without seeing much difference in your weight). This is a short explanation of the "what". To understand the "why" takes longer to explain. If you're interested, you can find more by looking online for articles about the science of exercise & weight loss. It's a fascinating subject but you do need to find articles written by people who know what they're talking about. Ignore the ones that peddle the same old wives tales that permeate most of the web.

The ood news is that lots of members of our community HAVE lost significant amounts of weight - myself included - BUT they'll almost unanimously agree that they only did that by both exercising and following some kind of weight loss regime such as counting calorires.

Hope that helps. Go for it - you've got nothing to lose by trying it out. Well nothing other than a bit of flab (:->)

MalcyGraduate11 years ago

Just a little extra thought about how little weight you lse directly from running - by the end of C25K you mght be able to run about 5K three times a week. Each 5K burns (for me) about 360 calories. That makes about 1100 calories a week. To lose one kilo of fat, you need to burn about 7,000 calories. So you need to run 5K x 3 times a weeknx 6 weeks to lose 1kg of fat. That's a total of 90km or about 56 miles!

Cutting your calorie intake by 500 calories a day will see you losing that same kilo of fat in two weeks without exercising. Cut 1000 a day and you could lose a klo each week.

That's why the scientists & practitioners say that exercise on it's own rarely works. You need a lot of motivation to keep up a regime that shows few results.

BUT if you reuce your calorie intake AND exercise, you get the dual benefits of weight loss and improved overall fitness. As I said above, give it a go - it's a great way to change your whole life!

newbie8011 years ago

When I first started i was really disappointed that i hadn't lost any weight. After about 4 weeks i tried on a pair of jeans that had been too small for me and found they fitted, after i had finished dancing round the house i weighed myself and found i hadn't actually lost any weight!! I realized the answer must have been i'd lost inches not pounds and i didn't care as i was in my size too small jeans :-). I have noticed that my diet is gradually becoming healthier too, chocolate and biscuits have been replaced by fruit and i'm drinking less alcohol and more water and green tea!! But saying all of that I am on this plan to get fitter mainly and i'm certainly doing that.

Hope that helps, i do have a tendency to waffle!! xxx

k6daisyGraduate11 years ago

I have lost 20 pounds since Dec 2012, dropped two dress sizes and havent changed what I eat, BUT I dont eat a huge amount anyway so have to agree you probably have to watch what your intake is. I have maybe 1300 calories max a day. So I think my metabolism has sprung to life now, after doing zero exercise to 3 runs a week now at around 32 minutes. Im thinking of starting the stretch and flex podcasts too. Good luck!

shinjinGraduate11 years ago

I set my self a target to lose 11kg just after the new year celebrations and after discussions with my colleagues. I gave up alcohol, reduced my net calorie intake (I will explain later) to 1600 and as part of this started running. I was 94kg and now I am in my 3rd week at less than 83kg.

I used the "myfitnesspal" app, to control my calorie intake (everything recorded in it) and to post my exercise. I used a Polar watch to count the outgoing calories from my runs and cycle sessions. If I exercised, the calories used were subtracted from the calories from the food.

The weight came off at a largely linear rate and I attained my target with relative ease.

So I would answer the basic question in the following way: calories in vs calories out. Reduce intake and increase usage and yes, for me it certainly worked.

I have also just graduated with 5km in 30 mins, so for me it is all so good that I can barely believe it.

P.S. I am 48 at present with a sedentary like style (or it was!!!).

mandym011 years ago

hi all thanks for all our comments xxx huge help xx