Has running helped you lose weight? I need to hear from you!! :)

I've always been the typical yo-yo dieter/exerciser. One month Im health conscious and a gym rat, the next I'm eating whoppers for dinner and wondering why I pay for a gym membership. After recently gaining 10 pounds on vacation.. blah (darn you Disney dining plan for including dessert with every meal!) I've finally decided that I've had enough.

My roommate gets runners world magazine and I was flipping through it and found an article for beginners wanting to begin a running program. This really inspired me to start and think that running may be a consistent exercise/hobby that will help me lose the weight.

So, on that note, if anyone has lost weight by running, especially beginners like me, please tell me about it! I'm really pumped about this! :)

EDITED to add:

So I'm just about finished with week 3 and I never thought I'd be running like I am! I've already lost about 6 pounds, but I did begin watching the calories pretty strictly too. I can already tell my thighs and abs are tighter and I can feel my endurance getting better with each run.

Any other success stories out there with running as your main exercise?

I'd like to be able to run one of these days...maybe it would help me to lose weight. I've been doing around 30 minutes exercise almost each day since Christmas (either walking, one of the Bodies In Motion with Gilad or Total Body Sculpt with Gilad) and so far I'm only a little more toned ... no weight loss (actually gained some). For now I feel like I need to keep things low impact - nearly 3 years ago I banged up my left ankle really bad after falling (while walking!) and it still flares up occasionally; also my left knee has been acting up a lot lately.

So I guess that running (or maybe even jump roping), any kind of higher intensity than what I've been doing would help me to get things going and knock off this weight? Feel like I'm kind of scared of getting hurt if I land wrong, but then again, I'm so ready to get things moving to be able to see a difference finally.

Honestly, running is probably not the best way to lose weight, on its own. It can be hard on your joints, and you can't sustain it easily. For weight loss, I would suggest that you go with a low impact 30-45 minute work out (a mix of cardio and upper/lower body strength training), every day, supplemented with running 20 minutes a day, or walking for an hour a day (or more, if you can do it - walking is easy to sustain, and will continuously burn fat if you do it for awhile).

Running is good cardio but unless you get your diet under control you will struggle. Clean/balanced eating is key. One thing that helps me is 2 cheat meals a week. I allow for that and then eat clean/balanced the rest of the week. When I have a cheat meal I am still careful. I don't use mayo, eat fried foods and so on. I get grilled chicken instead of fried but indulge in desert that I don't allow myself the rest of the week.

What has been most successful for me is clean/balanced eating. Heavy lifting 3 days a week for an hour, 6 days a week cardio for 40 minutes. 3 of the cardio days are HIIT (Sprinting) and various other exercises 6 days a week. Push-up's, sit-up's, lunges, planks, squats, ab work, pull-up's, chin-up's and leg work.

Bump! :D

Original Post by nannabee21:

EDITED to add:

Thanks for all the input guys! I'm really excited about this. I just started week two of my training program yesterday (Run 2 mins/walk 1 min, 10x). It was difficult, but I pushed through it. But I was wearing my heart rate monitor and my HR was getting up into the 190s during the run stretches at the end. I know that's high and it makes the run crazy hard. Does this get better as time goes on? What is a normal heart rate during a run? How can I complete this program without my heart rate getting so high? Thanks!

If you're that winded, my best advice is to slow down.  You should be able to comfortably carry on a conversation while you're running.  If you can't, drop your pace.

I still consider myself very much a beginner, seeing as I just started in March.  I've run 5k a few times now (and it's what I run 3 times a week now) and I average 13 and a half minute miles.  That's sloooooooow.  I'm the slowest jogger out on my lake by far.  But it works for me.  Now that I'm comfortable running the 5k at all, I'm just barely starting to work on picking up my pace.

You should definitely train with a heart rate monitor, and make sure you keep training aerobically.  Eventually you'll notice that you can run further and faster at the same pace, and the weight will jus tmelt off.  Do not train too quickly or run too fast as this will not allow you to burn off the fat.

You should make a plan and stick to it, no matter what. 

I agree with what most people said.  I think running is fantastic for losing weight and maintaining/ staying in shape.  I was always a runner when I was younger, and always at an ideal weight.  When I stopped running, I gained.  I've recently started again and lost 8.5 lbs in 4 weeks.  It truly melts off with running, as long as you're avoiding upping your calories at the same time.

A bonus about running is, the more weight you lose, the faster you'll be able to run, and the easier running gets, which becomes a motivation to stick to your diet!

The real reason I run is mental.  I find it's the best thing possible for stress relief.

My advice is to take it slow at first and avoid speed training or hills until your legs get built up a bit and more used to running.  Have fun!!!

I agree with carrie33 about the pace! Use these early stages in your program to experiment with it, and don't be afraid of looking slow to other people; you're not running for them! You're looking for a comfortable pace that you think you might be able to sustain for your NEXT stage (whatever it might be at any given time), but one that still pushes you to exert. It'll be different for everyone, and will change over time.

I'm not an expert, of course, but as someone who recently did something similar I think that, for me, looking at it this way early on helped me to remember not to be too frustrated on days when the running was killer, or just no fun. Mid-run, be mindful if it's too slow and easy or too fast and difficult, since it's absolutely something you can change whenever you wish to help you get the most out of your time.

Right now, you're building some basic endurance. Focus on that for a while as you very gently play with your speed.

Running has become the reason I get out of bed to go to the gym before work in the mornings.  It can be exhiliarating and relaxing at the same time.  And sometimes, yes it can be excruciating.  Haha... I have bad days too, and you know, it all has to do with what you're feeding yourself, how much sleep you're getting, etc.  Someone said something along the lines of "eat like an athelete" in one of the earlier comments, and I definitely agree with it.  And running will help change your mentality as well, in terms of thinking about yourself as an athlete.  When I am on a steady program of running I notice changes in my body much faster than any other sort of workout.  My quads pop out noticeably, my stomach becomes flatter and definition in my obliques and abs seem to materialize out of nowhere.   

Anyway, I believe with running, you certainly get more bang for your buck, or however you want to phrase it, haha.  Since you are just starting out, my advice is:  do push yourself- just be careful you don't push yourself right over the edge.  Even though I'm not new to running, I overdid it one week and ended up with a metatarsal stress fracture!  Frustrating!     

Your heart rate being in the 190s is too high and over time can cause serious heart problems. You should probably try and stay in the 170s max. I had this problem too when I first started running. Because your body is not used to running, your leg muscles and other muscles used to run are not developed enough to handle the run. Try adding some weight lifting, particularly in your leg and core regions to support you.

Workouts work differently for everyone. My mom lost a ridiculous amount of weight by doing yoga and playing golf once a week. My dad on the other hand can run and the pounds just melt off. If you are seeing results from running keep it up! If you aren't try a different type of cardio. But most importantly, if you are trying to loose weight make sure you vary your workouts. Your body can become used to one workout and you can plateau...especially with running. Personally I run a quick mile a day then walk on an incline for 30 minutes and vary different weight lifting zones. To mix up your run try running new paths that incorporate different terrains or mixing up different running intervals.

Bump!

Original Post by nannabee21:

 

EDITED to add:

So I'm just about finished with week 3 and I never thought I'd be running like I am! I've already lost about 6 pounds, but I did begin watching the calories pretty strictly too. I can already tell my thighs and abs are tighter and I can feel my endurance getting better with each run.

Any other success stories out there with running as your main exercise?

Congratulations on your success so far with running!    I've been running for about 6 weeks now and I, too, have noticed a big change in the musculature in my legs and my ability to run for longer periods of time.  My boyfriend came up to me today and said "your legs look DIESEL"  which was an awesome compliment :)

What are you up to for time or mileage??  

Congratulations on your acomplishment. It's amazing how one can go from hating running to actualy miss it. I've been running since November. I've never run in my life. I completed the C25K in March and I've been running 3x a week around 3 miles. I think it was great helping me to lose weight together with strength training. Now I've been following Galloway's book on running to be able to run 10K. Every week I have a long run day and last Monday I couldn't believe I ran 5.5 miles. Running has been great for the mind and body. Sign up for a 5K race to give you even more motivation. I strongly recommend to everybody.