Running for weight loss?
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skysiebaby wrote: »it worked for me, but all you're ultimately doing is creating a larger deficit which you can also do by eating less.
Emphasis mine - while true, for some folks that's a big challenge with calorie restriction alone.
Of course running is doing more than that - it's creating significant fitness gains.
In addition to losing 80 pounds over 10 months, the running I was doing made me fit long before those 10 months were over. I went from pre-diabetic, border line hypertensive on the verge of needing medication, blood lipids and other measures out of whack to... perfect health with blood work on the damn healthy side of normal and BP like I was 20 again. Again you can find many stories like mine here on MFP and one doesn't have to be a distance running addict like me to get those gains. A modest, regular, program will do the job.
Some of those gains would come through diet alone although likely not to the same degree and within as short a time span. Running - any vigorous cardio activity - certainly gets some credit for health and fitness improvements.
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Thank you everyone. I am gonna safely pinpoint it to diet then. I also want to implement interval running with short sprints and more uphill. Really appreciate the feedback! Been struggling to lose the last 30 of 130 lbs lost so far. Safe to say I have plateaued. I do have a heart rate monitor and I do sometimes treadmill run, I will just have to be more careful of calorie intake0
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Why not both?MeanderingMammal wrote: »Standing by the the usual onslaught of you need to stop running and lift heavy One True Way (tm) posts
Running/cardio helps create the deficit and has cardiovascular benefits; strength training helps preserve lean body mass and (especially as you age) is beneficial in making the performance of everyday tasks easier.
Speaking purely in terms of weight loss, neither is essential - a caloric deficit will do the job. When you factor in health, body composition and overall fitness, a combination of cardio and strength training is a good thing (and a little of both is better than one to the exclusion of the other).0 -
Why not both?MeanderingMammal wrote: »Standing by the the usual onslaught of you need to stop running and lift heavy One True Way (tm) posts
Burn the heretic!!!!!!
fwiw I've seen far more runners/ cyclists advocating a balanced approach. Very few of those whose objectives are around lifting advocate the benefits of CV work.
The BroScience aspect is strong in several as well.
That said, most of the credible posters advocate balance, regardless of ones priorities.
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I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.0
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shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
It's not bad, it's just too easy to eat the burned cals back with a Starbucks frappe or a milkshake. Running is one of the more effective things to do in terms of cals/time assuming you don't hurt yourself.
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Running is great for weight loss - and I used it - with calorie counting and weight lifting at least once a week (running usually 3 times a week) to get that last 30 pounds off. I much prefer running to weight lifting personally and if that is your preference then you should capitalize on that.0
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shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
It's not bad, it's just too easy to eat the burned cals back with a Starbucks frappe or a milkshake. Running is one of the more effective things to do in terms of cals/time assuming you don't hurt yourself.
True story....I ran a 5k...a turkey trot, so it wasn't super competitive... with a big group of friends. One of the women was not a runner and planned to walk the whole thing, which is fine. But when we all met up at the finish line, she told us she actually stopped at the Starbucks we passed on the route to get a Mocha. I'm sure she consumed more calories during that 5k than she burned.0 -
I lost a lot of weight...100 pounds so far, another 5 or 10 to go. I started running at my heaviest (not very far at first), and think it really helped with the weight loss. It burns a lot of calories, and I think just being active helps the mental part of it...if I go through all the effort of running, I don't want to then eat a bunch of junk. It helps me stick to a healthy diet. Two good habits that seem to reinforce each other.0
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shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
Maybe there is an abundance of bad information out there?
Running and cycling at an intense effort level a few times a week with a couple days of lifting as a fitness plan works great
Get a good understanding of nutrition, as in how to fuel your body for your activities, not just blind intake of all calories as if they are all nutritionally equal.
You are solidly on the way to success!
Running is great for weight loss. Cycling too.
Check out the participants in the next local triathlon. People that do a good bit of both cycling and running just naturally tend to burn off body fat.
Good luck on reaching your goal!
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Diet is 80 percent, exercising is the other 20 percent with weight training more beneficial than running.0
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MoiAussi93 wrote: »shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
It's not bad, it's just too easy to eat the burned cals back with a Starbucks frappe or a milkshake. Running is one of the more effective things to do in terms of cals/time assuming you don't hurt yourself.
True story....I ran a 5k...a turkey trot, so it wasn't super competitive... with a big group of friends. One of the women was not a runner and planned to walk the whole thing, which is fine. But when we all met up at the finish line, she told us she actually stopped at the Starbucks we passed on the route to get a Mocha. I'm sure she consumed more calories during that 5k than she burned.
During a craft show my wife and I attended, I stopped at a Starbucks for their pumpkin latte. Over 330 calories for a drink. I can't afford Starbucks anymore. ;-)0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
It's not bad, it's just too easy to eat the burned cals back with a Starbucks frappe or a milkshake. Running is one of the more effective things to do in terms of cals/time assuming you don't hurt yourself.
True story....I ran a 5k...a turkey trot, so it wasn't super competitive... with a big group of friends. One of the women was not a runner and planned to walk the whole thing, which is fine. But when we all met up at the finish line, she told us she actually stopped at the Starbucks we passed on the route to get a Mocha. I'm sure she consumed more calories during that 5k than she burned.
Years ago I ran the Corporate Challenge (basically a 5K) with some people from work, and one of my co-workers (and a good friend) decided to detour through White Castle to be funny (and because he wasn't that into running). He now runs marathons--it always amuses me to remember back then.0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »I lost a lot of weight...100 pounds so far, another 5 or 10 to go. I started running at my heaviest (not very far at first), and think it really helped with the weight loss. It burns a lot of calories, and I think just being active helps the mental part of it...if I go through all the effort of running, I don't want to then eat a bunch of junk. It helps me stick to a healthy diet. Two good habits that seem to reinforce each other.
This was basically my experience, and I've always found running quite helpful in maintenance too (like basically I maintain when I have an active lifestyle which for me usually includes running, when I gained in the first place and then regained it was related to becoming sedentary for various reasons).
What I also have found -- for me, but I think it's not uncommon -- is that really hard training, like for an event that requires some really heavy/lengthy days, can be counterproductive to weight loss, as you start feeling like you need more calories and get confused about the right amount to eat. And for me eating more on or around a long run day tends to mess me up on other days. (I'm talking about marathon training in particular, and the half ironman I did -- I actually lost quite a bit of weight when training for a half marathon and staying in condition for roughly a 10-12 mile long run.)
The thing is that you do have to pay attention to calories, since people have different reactions to running more in terms of how much they want to eat.0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
It's not bad, it's just too easy to eat the burned cals back with a Starbucks frappe or a milkshake. Running is one of the more effective things to do in terms of cals/time assuming you don't hurt yourself.
True story....I ran a 5k...a turkey trot, so it wasn't super competitive... with a big group of friends. One of the women was not a runner and planned to walk the whole thing, which is fine. But when we all met up at the finish line, she told us she actually stopped at the Starbucks we passed on the route to get a Mocha. I'm sure she consumed more calories during that 5k than she burned.
During a craft show my wife and I attended, I stopped at a Starbucks for their pumpkin latte. Over 330 calories for a drink. I can't afford Starbucks anymore. ;-)
It's shocking how many calories are in some of those drinks! I just go once in a while now socially with friends, and when I do I just get a plain latte...those are reasonable. But they aren't nearly as interesting/tasty as the stuff I used to get!0 -
shaynataggart wrote: »I was just thrown off by how many articles there are saying how running is bad for weight loss.
It's running without watching calories, typically, unless it's by one of the anti cardio types who will say running burns muscle (don't worry about that).
In Diet Cults, Matt Fitzgerald talks about (and debunks) the studies that suggest that cardio doesn't help with weight loss, if you are interested.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »MoiAussi93 wrote: »I lost a lot of weight...100 pounds so far, another 5 or 10 to go. I started running at my heaviest (not very far at first), and think it really helped with the weight loss. It burns a lot of calories, and I think just being active helps the mental part of it...if I go through all the effort of running, I don't want to then eat a bunch of junk. It helps me stick to a healthy diet. Two good habits that seem to reinforce each other.
This was basically my experience, and I've always found running quite helpful in maintenance too (like basically I maintain when I have an active lifestyle which for me usually includes running, when I gained in the first place and then regained it was related to becoming sedentary for various reasons).
What I also have found -- for me, but I think it's not uncommon -- is that really hard training, like for an event that requires some really heavy/lengthy days, can be counterproductive to weight loss, as you start feeling like you need more calories and get confused about the right amount to eat. And for me eating more on or around a long run day tends to mess me up on other days. (I'm talking about marathon training in particular, and the half ironman I did -- I actually lost quite a bit of weight when training for a half marathon and staying in condition for roughly a 10-12 mile long run.)
The thing is that you do have to pay attention to calories, since people have different reactions to running more in terms of how much they want to eat.
Paying attention to the calories is key. I think a lot of people who don't focus on this assume they burn more than they do while running, and then think they can eat a lot more.0 -
I don't run, I walk and its been melting very well combined with dieting.0
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Its great cardio..besides weight lose it will help build some nice muscles in your legs and especially your calves. The only thing you need to be careful not to eat back all the calories you burn. Eat some good lean protien but like mentioned above dont indulge on a mocha at Starbucks because you ran off calories ;-)0
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