100+ lbs to lose w/ dreams of being a runner

FeraFilia

Something I've always wanted to do was complete a 5k run. It's been on my bucket list for years.

My weight and endurance have always been my biggest (no pun intended) obstacles, and every time I've managed to lose weight, I've moved (literally, half way across the country multiple times) gotten super stressed, and ate all my bad feelings and went up past the weight where I'd started to begin with. Life was not settled, and I was more interested in trying to make the bad feelings go away than trying to get healthy. Not smart, and 100% my own fault, but it happened. So, here I am. Life has finally settled down. I am married, with a great kid, in a great location, and in a place mentally where I can feel comfortable focusing on me for a while.

I have maintained a 40 pound loss (then got pregnant, gained it back, and lost it within 2 weeks of getting home from the hospital), but I still have lots to go. I have managed to go from being barely able to walk a mile to being able to walk 3 miles. I can do low impact aerobics for an hour without feeling like I'm going to die. Things are getting better, but running still eludes me.

I have tried the couch-to-5k type programs before, but I am still not quite up to the beginning level yet (sad, I know, but I'm working on it!).

If you have managed to lose a ton of weight and go from couch potato to runner (or other such athlete), I'd love to hear your stories. Hopefully they will give me the spark I need to keep myself going toward this goal.

Thanks for your time!

FeraFilia

Nobody? Really?

LilacLion

Me too. I loved to run and dream of doing it again! I'm not on a program to run yet just following suggestions from my NP who follows the same food plan I'm on and runs. I'm walking everyday with just a little bit of trotting. I'm mainly trying to increase my stamina and endurance right now. Even though we are into hard winter, I looking forward to my time outside.

katdum1978

I don't have the same story, but I did start running (many years ago). I started out going for fifteen minutes at a slow pace. No particular pace, just at my own pace. I then moved to twenty minutes (10 minutes there and then back). Eventually 15 minutes out and then see how far back I got. Having a regular, enjoyable route helped. Also going before work was good for me then. I started running again in the summer and I did it the same way.

FeraFilia

katdum1978 wrote: »

I don't have the same story, but I did start running (many years ago). I started out going for fifteen minutes at a slow pace. No particular pace, just at my own pace. I then moved to twenty minutes (10 minutes there and then back). Eventually 15 minutes out and then see how far back I got. Having a regular, enjoyable route helped. Also going before work was good for me then. I started running again in the summer and I did it the same way.

Having a lovely route won't be difficult. The road I live on is way out in the sticks and full of fields and barns and lovely old farm houses.

Thank you for sharing.

ridiculous59

Congratulations for making the decision!!! I've lost 86 pounds and ran my first 5k in October. It was on my bucket list too

I've always been fairly active and even when I was big, I still walked just about every day. I did a lot of low impact stuff while I was losing.....deep water running classes at the pool, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, paddling, and of course the walking. I didnt start the couch to 5k program until I was about 20 pounds from my goal weight. It was hard work, but I had success. I think it was because I had built up muscle and my cardio doing the other exercises so it was just a matter of transferring the effort to running.

For me, doing low impact was just so much easier on my joints when I was heavy. And it got me to that point where I could actually run. What a great feeling it was to cross that finish line with a bib pinned to my chest. It took me 39 minutes but I felt like a gold medal winner lol. Next year I plan to improve my time.

Good luck

FeraFilia

@ridiculous59 Thank you for sharing. I've worked hard to be able to do the lower impact exercise for an hour. I'm hoping I can just keep increasing the intensity of those workouts to build up my endurance before trying to run. I'm hoping to start doing running intervals in the spring, after some weight comes off.

brianneb304

I started with 100+ to lose, I'm no athlete but ive lost 40 lbs and ran my first 5k in october, it was not pretty but I finished!

jennybearlv

I can relate. I have lost 30 pounds and have at least another 100 to go. This is my third winter doing C25K. I'm currently on week 4. It's okay if week one is too tough. Just keep repeating any week you can't finish. You will get it eventually. Also, don't be concerned about running fast. I'm currently running about a 15 minute mile and have been though the program twice before. The first time I actually ran slower than I walked.

FeraFilia

@brianneb304 - Ha! I can imagine that it will not be pretty when I finally finish the first one, too. But you did it, and that's awesome. Congrats!

@jennybearlv - Good to know! When it warms up enough for me to run outside (I'm not hard core enough to run in sub freezing temps!) I will be out there trudging along, just to say I did it.

ashcky

Well I started with 100 to lose, I'm almost to 50 lbs gone. I have never ran before I started couch to 5k. I started walking the beginning of August and then around the beginning of September I began c25k. I completed my first 5k in November. I ran the whole thing in 45 minutes. It was a huge accomplishment for me. Sometimes running is a mental thing. I started walking because I never believed I would run. I always used my asthma and extra weight as an excuse. Then one day I just said "what the heck", gave it a try and fell in love.

PeachesNcreamgal

I started jogging slowly at 82 kgs(I'm 5'3") that was last year in August 2015. I started and completed c25k and also attempted c210k last year. I weigh 77 kgs now on my digital scale and 74 on the doctor's scale. So I think you should start real slow, pace yourself. Believe me if I could do it at my heaviest then you can too!!! All the best!

courtneyfabulous

I think you'll have better luck running once you lose weight and get closer to your ideal/goal weight. Even at only 20/25 pounds overweight there was no way I could run for any prolonged amount of time. Now I'm about 10/15 pounds overweight and running is much easier but still I'm only comfortable jogging or running for short distances with walking in between.

It's not for lack of stamina either, it's more to do with the excess fat jostling about- it physically hurts- and the extra weight makes it hard too. Maybe start with lower impact stuff like elliptical machine, rowing machine, walking, hiking, walking on an incline, weight lifting, body weight exercises, etc and being in a caloric deficit until you drop a good amount of weight, then start jogging and work your way up to running.

girlinahat

Start getting into the c25k schedule now. By that I mean the days a week going out and walking for twenty minutes/half an hour. I think there may be 'pre' c25k routines out there to get you to the beginning phase, but if not, just doing a regular walk will start getting the heart and lungs used to the movements. Remember, speed comes later.

ashcky

Forgot to say that I started around 190 lbs when running and I'm now down to 167.6 at 5'1 My starting weight was actually 215 so it took me a bit to feel confident that I could run. I still run slow!

Dalceridae

I used to run and would love to get back into it. I have already done enough damage to my joints by being so overweight, so I'll wait until I lose more before I try to start. It's good motivation though - every time I see someone running, I imagine how good it must feel to be able to move so freely.

FeraFilia

Dalceridae wrote: »

I used to run and would love to get back into it. I have already done enough damage to my joints by being so overweight, so I'll wait until I lose more before I try to start. It's good motivation though - every time I see someone running, I imagine how good it must feel to be able to move so freely.

YES. I crave that freedom of movement. I've been overweight or obese the whole of my adult life. I was even a chunky kid. I have never run a mile. I have run like, a lap, then walked the rest. I am so tired of feeling like the hippo in a herd of gazelles.

schwest76

That's an awesome goal! I was around 265 when I decided to get healthy and set a goal to run a 5k as motivation to stay active. So, at 265 I started the couch to 5k and completed the 5k in May. I picked the Moonlight Bootlegger's run...you run on a trail in the dark and get two glasses of moonshine when you're done! Totally motivated me!

schwest76

Here's the program I used..it seemed the most realistic... http://www.everydayhealth.com/infographics/run-your-first-5k/

FeraFilia

@schwest76 - Thank you for the link! I have an app on my phone (Simple c25k) that I've been planning on using, but I just can't do that first day yet. It's so discouraging... But I'm gonna keep plugging away. I try again every 10 pounds gone. Heh.

FeraFilia

Update: Since my scale showed me I finally hit another 10 down, I tried the first day again.

And I managed to do all but the last period of running. 5 minute walk warm up. Alternate 60 seconds running, 90 seconds walking for 20 minutes. 5 minute walk cool down. So, I'm getting close!