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    Running but not losing weight...

    Posts: 105 Member
    edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
    Hi folks,

    Firstly thank you for reading my little Friday morning rant.

    So I have taken up running and use the Nike app on my iphone. I'm trying to lose 1.5 lbs each week and run 5 days a week for around 50 minutes / 4 / 4 miles plus.

    I am generally 100 + calories under my target and do not go over. The thing is I haven't lost weight?

    When I did MFP a few years ago I didn't exercise and I lost weight. I'm trying harder this time but not shedding the weight?!

    Can anyone give me some guidance please? As I am frustrated with it.

    Thanks very much,

    Ben.

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    Replies

    • Posts: 307 Member
      What is your current weight, and what is your goal weight?
    • Posts: 253 Member
      when did you start?
    • Posts: 105 Member
      Current weight is 205

      Goal is 195

      Been doing this for more than five weeks!
    • Posts: 1,090 Member
      Make sure you are logging both calories and exercise accurately. Use digital not analogue scales and don't use measuring cups. Maybe don't eat all your exercise calories back.
    • Posts: 1 Member
      You are running for 50 minutes and only going 4 miles? I'd say up the speed and get your heart pumping a little bit.
    • Posts: 105 Member
      Hey I am being accurate as possible. I do use digital devices for measuring food and digital scales etc. I do not feel like I am eating all the calories back as sometime I have 100+ calories left, yet I am starving!

    • Posts: 105 Member
      @IPullSumo I feel like I am pushing myself as it thanks! My heart is always racing and I get out of breath when I sprint.
    • Posts: 40 Member
      IPullSumo wrote: »
      You are running for 50 minutes and only going 4 miles? I'd say up the speed and get your heart pumping a little bit.

      I run for an hour, my average speed is 6.4 km/h and the route I take is cca 6 km: I am still losing weight, and fast.
      benjaminD02 wrote: »
      Hey I am being accurate as possible. I do use digital devices for measuring food and digital scales etc. I do not feel like I am eating all the calories back as sometime I have 100+ calories left, yet I am starving!

      Maybe you are eating the wrong food? If you eat healthy and often, you shouldn't be starving!
    • Posts: 105 Member
      I will try and up the running and see what happens. I do eat healthy - fruit / vegs etc. I'm starving at night from around 7pm to 10pm. I try and not eat anything after 6:30pm so body has a lot of time to process food. I drink a lot of water too!
    • Posts: 61 Member
      How tall are you? How old are you?

      Any particular diet you are following?

    • Posts: 40 Member
      benjaminD02 wrote: »
      I will try and up the running and see what happens. I do eat healthy - fruit / vegs etc. I'm starving at night from around 7pm to 10pm. I try and not eat anything after 6:30pm so body has a lot of time to process food. I drink a lot of water too!

      Don't do that; if your intake is too small, your body will try to preserve as much as it can, and you will get the opposite effect. A (healthy) snack or two won't kill you.
    • Posts: 105 Member
      I'm 5 '7 and 32.

      Not following a diet just restricting calories but eating healthy.

      Yes maybe I should eat as you say the body will preserve as much as possible.

      What other exercise should I do to blast the fat off? Cheers for all the replies :)
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      benjaminD02 wrote: »
      Not following a diet just restricting calories but eating healthy.

      Have you set up MFP to give you a daily calorie goal based on your current metrics and desired loss rate? Losing weight is more about the calorie deficit than the exercise.

      Note that as you're talking about a fairly small weight loss target, 10lbs, then 1.5lbs pw is quite aggressive.

      As far as the running is concerned, are you doing a run/ walk pattern or is that continuous running for 50 minutes? It's easy to overestimate the calories expended in running and given the narrative that's coming out then it seems that you're not really in a deficit, which might be related to that.

      I'm getting an impression of everything at once with the calorie restriction, exercise, daily fasting and "eating healthy", so it's difficult to tell what's contributing.
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      sauronseye wrote: »
      Don't do that; if your intake is too small, your body will try to preserve as much as it can, and you will get the opposite effect.

      Food time doesn't, in principle, matter. Weight loss is about that fairly simple balance of calories in vs calories out, and if the former exceeds the latter then one gains weight, or vice versa.

      Where I would agree that fasting periods can make a difference is the behavioural side of things. I'd advocate eating within calorie goals, but eat when hungry. There is little point in making weight loss a miserable experience, as that's not sustainable

      As long as the trend of calorie deficit is maintained, then weight will come off.
    • Posts: 105 Member
      Hey @MeanderingMammal,

      Have you set up MFP to give you a daily calorie goal based on your current metrics and desired loss rate? Losing weight is more about the calorie deficit than the exercise.

      - Yes I have done, I want to lose 1.5 lbs per week. Thanks for the note! I'm in no great hurry to get rid of the weight but what concerns me is that I am trying much harder than last time yet my results are worse!

      My running is this:

      start with 5 mins power walk to warm up
      then sprinting for as long as possible
      then jog
      then sprint
      then jog for until 5 minute before I walk / cool down.

      I also do yoga stretching too after my run.

      I wouldn't say I was fasting, just eating right but at night I get very hungry. This morning I woke up more starving than normal and thinking I would lose 1lbs but nothing.

      Thanks for your help :)

    • Posts: 105 Member
      MeanderingMammal wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Food time doesn't, in principle, matter. Weight loss is about that fairly simple balance of calories in vs calories out, and if the former exceeds the latter then one gains weight, or vice versa.

      Where I would agree that fasting periods can make a difference is the behavioural side of things. I'd advocate eating within calorie goals, but eat when hungry. There is little point in making weight loss a miserable experience, as that's not sustainable

      As long as the trend of calorie deficit is maintained, then weight will come off.

      Agree with this too :)

    • Posts: 10 Member
      I my experience exercise apps/devices ofter over-estimate the calories burned. I found that my Garmin device becomes much more accurate if I use my hart-rate monitor with it, cutting the calories burned by half!
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      benjaminD02 wrote: »
      start with 5 mins power walk to warm up
      then sprinting for as long as possible
      then jog
      then sprint
      then jog for until 5 minute before I walk / cool down.

      What are you accounting for your calorie expenditure from that?

      I'd suggest that you'll get more benefit at the moment from steady state running, rather than intervals. Given your pace, and distance, you're not getting any real physiological effect form that approach.

      Once you can consistently run for an hour at about 6mph then you'll start getting something useful from other types of session like intervals and tempos.
    • Posts: 3,515 Member
      You're either under-estimating your food intake

      overestimating your calorie burns.

      Or a little from column A and a little from column B.

      If you're 100% sure on your food intake (no estimations etc) then you need to look at your calorie burns.
    • Posts: 40 Member
      MeanderingMammal wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Food time doesn't, in principle, matter. Weight loss is about that fairly simple balance of calories in vs calories out, and if the former exceeds the latter then one gains weight, or vice versa.

      Where I would agree that fasting periods can make a difference is the behavioural side of things. I'd advocate eating within calorie goals, but eat when hungry. There is little point in making weight loss a miserable experience, as that's not sustainable

      As long as the trend of calorie deficit is maintained, then weight will come off.

      My guess was that his general intake was too small, but I might be wrong on that one. I definitely did not mean that he will not lose weight because he stops eating at 19:00.

      It is definitely not healthy or good to feel hungry. So I agree with the rest of what you said.
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      sauronseye wrote: »
      My guess was that his general intake was too small, but I might be wrong on that one. I definitely did not mean that he will not lose weight because he stops eating at 19:00.

      It's not clear, but it certainly sounds like a very low calorie goal, given the excessive loss target, eating at least 100 cals below goal etc.

      My response was more to the implication that the originator might be in starvation mode, which is the kind of nonsense peddled in the forum of woo, or General Diet and Weight Loss as it's properly titled :)

      I did go through a period of eating way too low myself; 1600 cals per day. The main effect was that my background level of activity reduced significantly because I was tired and hungry all the time.
    • Posts: 389 Member
      Benj, based upon what data you have given us your TDEE should be around 2692. That is exercising 5 times a week. If you want to go aggressive, your calorie input should be 2150. That's TDEE-20%. Is this close to what MFP is suggesting? If so, then cut back and don't eat back the calories that MFP gives you for your exercises. A little hunger isn't a big deal. As my wife tells me, "every time my stomach growls, it's trying to eat my *kitten*". :)
    • Posts: 40 Member
      What is 'starvation mode'? Do I even want to know? :D

      I haven't opened that sub-forum yet, but if it's woo, I am not interested.

      My basic intake (is this the right term?) is 1300. But I'm a tiny female, so I don't think that's too low.
    • Posts: 389 Member
      MeanderingMammal wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      It's not clear, but it certainly sounds like a very low calorie goal, given the excessive loss target, eating at least 100 cals below goal etc.

      My response was more to the implication that the originator might be in starvation mode, which is the kind of nonsense peddled in the forum of woo, or General Diet and Weight Loss as it's properly titled :)

      I did go through a period of eating way too low myself; 1600 cals per day. The main effect was that my background level of activity reduced significantly because I was tired and hungry all the time.

      I had a similar issue when MFP put me at 1500 calories. I was tired and could barely make it through the day, let alone workout. Once I bumped my calories up, I felt 100% better and haven't looked back.
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      sauronseye wrote: »
      What is 'starvation mode'? Do I even want to know? :D

      The idea that if one is eating a very low level of calories the body somehow starts storing it instead of expending it. Go down to 800 cals and gain weight. The physics doesn't work at all, but some people believe it.

    • Posts: 40 Member
      edited March 2015
      Oh, ok. I googled a bit and yes, those claims are not backed up with any relevant studies.

      Still, if you go really low, your weight loss will be lower than expected. Add the psychological factor to it and it might screw with your plan.
    • Posts: 5 Member
      Any chance you could share your diary, so we could see if there is anywhere any improvements\suggestions could be made?
    • Posts: 1,363 Member
      If you are using MFP correctly and aren't losing you are eating more than you think are (poor measuring skills or not logging every single thing that goes into your mouth) or you are overestimating your calorie burns.

      It truly is simple in theory. And if you are as accurate as possible for 5 weeks, you should have seen some sort of progress. Assuming no health related issues, etc.
    • Posts: 553 Member
      The real burn for running is about 100 calories for every mile for an average person. I'd only eat half of that back every day at the max. Also, drink a lot water. Helps with the hunger and your body won't retain water.
    • Posts: 2 Member
      Are you weight training at all? If you aren't I would HIGHLY recommend adding it. As an Ironman triathlete I still lift HEAVY 5 days per week on top of all my swimming biking and running. Also make sure you are logging EVERYTHING you eat. Weigh EVERYTHING you put on your plate and be brutally honest about you serving sizes when logging them. It is better to overestimate your calories than underestimate them. 90% of the time when people say they are eating in a calorie deficit and aren't loosing weight it is because they are missing calories they have consumed some where or because they are overestimating the number of calories they burn.
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