I've been checking out this website but not do... - Couch to 5K
I've been checking out this website but not downloading the casts for weeks as i'm 7 st oweight any tips? am i too heavy to start this?
Never...if you need to, just walk the run parts and then you can always repeat the program if you feel fit enough. Welcome and best wishes!!!!
Tip: download the podcasts. You could do that bit even if you were too big to get out of the house (some of us do actually like a lot of the music!)
Finding myself in the obese camp was one of the triggers for me to start the programme and I must confess that I'm not really securely down into the overweight category. But I'm reducing the risks of my weight. Other people have lost loads of weight, with running helping them to motivate dietary changes.
You could try out simply having regular walks of 30 minutes if that's not something you do now. There's a download (but you do have to pay for it) at Audiofuel called Walk in the Park which has a beat to get you 'brisk walking' - ironically I started C25K because I struggled to keep up with sustained brisk walking. Just getting out there in the fresh air for the heck of it will be a good start.
But hey, if you've got the interest and motivation to start C25K, why not seize the moment, say "What the heck?" and see how you get on. Remember that running at this level is about a different movement and not necessarily a different speed - quite a few of us find that we aren't running faster than a brisk walk but that's OK. Week 1 has lots of potential to build up slowly - you may well not manage all 8 60 second runs the first time. I remember being very chuffed that I managed the first four my first time out (walking for the rest of the session) and it took me nearly 6 weeks before I completed 3 full sessions. (I didn't have *any* proper gear when I started - walking boots, normal trousers, sometimes a skirt, no sports bra - and got myself bits as I progressed "When you've done this, you can buy X")
One final tip: do it out of love for yourself, not as punishment.
This is just the right time for you to start your c25k, if you are looking at the website then you must be feeling you want to improve your health, don't worry about how overweight you are and just go with the flow and see what you can manage, if you can't finish run 1 then try again a couple of days later, you will really be surprised at what you can actually do, I know I was. Give it a go you have nothing to lose but a lot to gain, good luck!!
I too was 7 stone over weight and morbidly obese when I started C25K.
Check with your doctor before you start that they think you're okay to start the programme but if you've had chance to look around the site you'll find there's all sorts of shapes, ages and sizes on here.
C25K was the best thing I've ever done (now 5.5 stone lighter and much thinner than when I started).
Good luck and keep coming back to this site for help and advice - you won't find a better group of people to support you!
I was obese when I started and still am. Week 1 is pretty lightweight - simply running for 1 minute alternated with longer walks to recover. I struggled to do it. Yet here I am, about to do W8R2, which means running continuously for 28 minutes! I'm also using myfitnesspal to aid dieting - and I've lost weight (not a lot but at a sustainable rate and enough to feel things are going in the right direction). I also feel healthier and more energetic. I also have a tremendous sense of achievement and am willing to bet that I can run (well lightly jog) further than many of my skinnier friends.
I agree you should check with your doctor before starting, but I'm pretty sure that starting is what you need to do. Get through week 1 and then re-evaluate. If you find W1R3 is still too difficult, repeat it. On the other hand you may be amazed at how effective the programme is. As I said I could scarcely do W1R1 - but R2 &3 were fine and I was able to move on straight away into W2.
I dream of being only 7 stone overweight! But here I am and I am doing the plan and so can you.
As others have said - do it at your pace, repeat runs if you need to, take the time you need- but its fitness level rather than size that will determine that and the plan is designed to increase your fitness. And as a lovely aside, you'll burn loads of calories which (provided you dont eat them all back nayway!) should see the 7 stone begin to melt.
Good luck!
I have a friend that lost 6 stone in as many months by upping his walking and eating more healthily as well. (he has not progressed to C25K yet - or if he has, he is keeping very quiet about it!) I would agree with the other on here, start by walking through the first week, pushing yourself a bit harder during the 'running sections'. or you could run every other 'run minute' in the first session. As long as there is no medical reason preventing you doing this, then go for it. We are all here to support you, through the ups and downs, and there will be some, to get to the end and beyond. Good luck, and don't put it off any longer!! (PS - I have lost 1 stone since starting on 8th August, now have 2 1/2 stone to go)
I was ~7 stone overweight back in April, and I was still a good 5 stone overweight when I started C25K (I had already lost ~2 stone by using MyFitnessPal and walking).
Since then I have graduated and have lost another 3 stone and the other day was referred to as "Skinny Matt" rather than "Fat Matt" and this morning I completed my third 5 mile run of the week.
So my advice is go for it, try walking and walking faster if running is too much (I could only do 45 seconds of running in week 1). But and it's a big but(t), you are never going to lose weight just through exercise, although exercise itself is beneficial.
What worked for me (slightly anal IT worker/geek) was:
1) take control of your portions, don't let other people (like my wife) pile stuff on your plate "because it needs eating up"
2) Don't buy crap, if it's not in the cupboard you can't eat it. There are nice tasty things that are healthy too (see point 5)
3) log your calories - I use MyFitnessPal (myfitnesspal.com/), it's free and easy to use and it has both a website and phone apps
4) weigh your plate - I was horrified at how small 100g of pasta is on the plate - I was eating 2 or 3 times what I should, so even though I had cut out cakes, choc and crisps I was still consuming > 1000 extra calories a day
5) Fruit - every morning I make a fruit salad to have after lunch. 50 g each of banana, grapes, mango, pineapple, strawberries, occasionally apples, blueberries or whatever is reduced, that's my pudding and it's 150 calories of good stuff and even exotic fruit doesn't cost too much (<£10/week)
6) stop boozing, double saving this as you skip the calories both in the drink and the curry after. Try shorts as a socially acceptable way of drinking in company.
7) the only diet food I use is "Light" or "lighter than light" mayo (use it instead of butter in sarnies). As a veggy I already use Quorn, so you might like to try that as a healthier alternative to meat, but in general I wouldn't waste money on diet meals, user any cash you have to get a decent set of running or walking shoes
If all that sounds grim, believe me it isn't, and the best part is that when you start running and getting more active you can start loosening up a little. For instance, tomorrow night I am going out on a curry night, so I'm already planning how to balance the books. I earned 800 calories today, I can earn another 800 going swimming tomorrow, then burn off any excess with my Saturday run (and convince myself that that naan is "carb-loading".
Sorry if you know all this already, but I was thinking of writing a blog entry anyhow (as today I reached 13 stone) so it was all pent up.
Good luck with it all, there are loads of people on this site who are or were in the same boat and they are all lovely, so ask away and share your progress.
Matt
This is fantastic stuff, Matt! Really sensible, practical, do-able advice! Congrats on the weight loss and the progress through the programme! Your story is inspiring!
Matt - what daily calory goal did you set yourself? And how long did it take to shift the weight?
I put my fat(e) in the hands of MyFitnessPal. I set my target weight at 168 pounds and selected 2lbs/week and the default 3 x 30 minutes exercise option back in April. It then gave me a target of 1450 net calories (I think as now I am on net 1200 due to upping the exercise target to 5 x 50 mins).
Most days I reach my calorie goal, with a few notable exceptions, the worst being a curry night* 2 weeks ago where I ended up 3296 calories over!
My starting weight on 13th April was 250 pounds. I weighed myself this morning and I was 180 pounds (but I always add on 2 to allow for the daily up and downs so I count that as 182). I make that a weight loss of 2.5 pounds a week and looking at the graphs on MyFitness it has been a steady rate of loss since the get-go. I started C25K in June, but before that I was doing a lot of dog-walking.
I'm mattaitch on MyFitnessPal too, I'm not sure how much you can see, but my profile etc. is open.
The way I look it is that I was able to be relatively fit and active when I was carrying the weight of an average ten year-old on my back, so imagine how awesome I can be without that excess baggage.
* going out tonight with the same crowd, but this time I have already got 780 calories from yesterday's 5 mile run and 1135 of today's calories (including 681 from a 2K swim this morning) in credit, and I have a 10K run and a bike ride planned for the weekend to shift any remainder and I am going to enjoy every mouthful!
Go for it! Tell people about it, blog about it. You will be amazed how many people will say "wish I was doing that.". Good luck!
Do it! I was 20st 6lb when I started in late August.... I'm still only on week 6, but so what, I can now run for 20 mins and am now down to 19st 2lb with lots more muscle....
Being slightly heavier I have iven my body more time to recover where needed, and I did need to rest for 2 weeks with sore ribs, but by Christmas I will be able to run 5k and will have smashed my mini goal of 18st.
I also use myfitnesspal, and absolutely love it, it has really opened my eyes to what I eat, and if I am bad and have few glasses of wine, I log it and move on.
Do it, take it easy and don't beat yourself up if ou need to repeat weeks.
See you at the finish line....
I was interested to read this and other posts.
When I started c25k i was 17st 9lbs and in the first week I lost 3lbs although the past two weeks i have stayed the same but hopefully as I start week 4 it will start shifting again.
I found it hard sometimes especially as where I live it might look flat but it is sometimes on an incline so the running parts were harder on my legs but i kept going.
I am going to try run one of week four on the treadmill this week to see how much different it is to running outside also because once it gets dark at 5pm and/or icy underfoot I will need to run inside.
Keep going I feel much better for starting this programme and running other than shoes doesnt cost anything.
You're going great guns Ebony :-). If you do run outside when it's a bit slippery underfoot - Yaktrax Pro are great. They fit onto any sports shoe and will keep you upright in all slippery conditions :-)!! (can't talk for hangovers tho'!)
Hi Showersinger... I think everyone has given you such wonderful advice and shared their own victories which is so inspiring :-).
Really, it's important not to want it all to happen immediately. I have an obese friend who won't just go out and walk for 5 minutes and she's having awful problems with her joints. Her problem: I can't fix it in a 5 minute walk - so she doesn't even start.
Basically allow yourself to just do one thing differently each day even if it means sitting in a park listening to W1 for half an hour 3x a week until you feel it becomes part of what you feel you could do naturally. OR, as someone else has said just walk around the house with the podcasts on. The different level of activity your body experiences will raise endorphin levels and you'll start to feel differently and, eventually, differently enough to want to try a wee 1 minute jog. BUT... TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME AND BE GENTLE WITH AND KIND TO YOURSELF :-).
I think everyone in this community is with you in the understanding of how difficult it is to take that challenge and then take it higher BUT... from what I read here, and for myself, it has become FUN; not just the running but getting to know all these wonderful people and the challenges they keep achieving.
You CAN do it Showersinger but only if you allow yourself to just start VERY SLOWLY and not even think about tomorrow or not being able to imagine yourself as a slimmer person. Leave that all alone and it will eventually just become part of who you are.
Good luck and let us all know how you're doing from time to time :-), Sara
Also, something that's important for everyone starting the programme - you don't have to run all 8 one minute segments in W1R1. You could start off just running the first.
Then the first and the fifth
Then the first, third, and eighth,
And so on - until you can do all of them.
I've got 5 stone more to lose. Have lost 2stone with Weightwatchers. I thought that being so obese I would struggle.... Its hard but absolutely do-able. I started w5 this morning and this 17st12lbs body is running, slow, but running. You can absolutely do it!!!!
absolutely echo what everyone says one here. I wrote on another blog today that I had lost 16kg, but then realised I'd not checked my weight for about a month (I am going for body shape, clothes size and how I feel rather than numbers) actually I have lost 23kg since I started just cutting down on the fat, carbs and wine and of course upped the exercise. My BMI was over 40 when I started and its just dipped under 30, thanks mainly to the sensible eating but more importantly I think to the exercise. My first week was hell, and I ended up beating myself up too much for having let myself go so much and getting into the position where I was struggling with what should be relatively simple. But friends caught me and told me to stop looking back, there is nothing you can do about that, look forward, move on from today and do it at my pace, not other peoples. I have just done my first 30min run - having attempted it and failed 4 days ago - and I feel amazing. This program is about us taking control of our lives and getting healthier so that our lives improve. So dont think you are too big for this, take it easy, share your successes and even if it feels hard at first, every time you go out and try it, you achieve.
One way I motivate myself is to find an item of clothing I can JUST fit into, something too tight for me to put on and go out in public wearing, but I need to be able to at least get it on without it tearing. Then I hang this on the outside of my wardrobe and I tell myself 'I am going to wear you in 1 months time!' and so far its worked. I then try it one every week and see the progress I am making. Seems silly I know, but it works for me.
I was about 6 stone overweight when I started, and about 5st overweight when I graduated from c25k. Being so overweight I think the most important thing to do is to go slowly. I feel that if I tried to run fast it would put too much strain on a body that's already coping with carrying too much extra weight around. However, losing the weight so I can run faster is something to aim for. 
c25k really is suitable for anyone who can put one foot in front of the other. For some people, this might mean walking fast and slow intervals to start with and working up to jogging some of the intervals, but eventually anyone can follow the program. There's no race to get to the end. Do it at your own pace and make the most of the fantastic support and advice this site offers. Best of luck with your c25k journey, showersinger. I look forward to reading your blogs.
