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

rankinsect

Well, I am not a runner, but I did lose 140 pounds so far (I will probably stay on maintenance through spring, and maybe try for the last 15ish pounds then). Hiking is my thing. I'm preparing now to do one of my long-awaited dreams - I am going to take time off in February and hike Kilimanjaro.

It was a slow process to go from 320 to 180. I think for me the trick was finding changes I could stick to long-term. I didn't aim to overhaul everything, I aimed to make the smallest changes that would still get me to my goals. My main strategy is pre-planning my meals & using a kitchen scale to weigh out the food I eat, and logging my weight each morning.

jennybearlv

courtneyfabulous wrote: »

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.

Compression pants are a big girl's best friend. They are like a sports bra for your *kitten* and if you get them with a high-rise waist they hold in the gut too.

lorrpb

I started with 150 to lose and barely able to walk 1/4 mile, 2 1/2 years ago. Last spring something posessed me to do c25k and in Aug I ran all of a 5k, at 61 yo. I was nearly at my maintenance range. In between I walked, and walked, and walked. And did strength training. first, work on getting you walking distance up to 3 miles, or more. Try to walk some 5k and 10k events. Do c25k but do a fast walk during the run intervals. The next time through, either walk faster or start SLOW running. Really slow. Repeat each week as many times as needed until you reach your runninf goals. Keep working on your weight loss per guidelines here on MFP. When you get within 25-50 of your goal weight, running will come a lot easier. Have fun!

Dalceridae

@rankinsect and @lorrpb - such inspiring stories my goal is so far away that often I worry I will never get there and never be able to do things like running

becca_rup23

I started with just over 100 I lose, and I've always been somewhat athletic so I would run/swim every now and then, about a year in now and I'm down 65 lbs and I can do a mile in under 10 minutes! You can definitely do it, just try to stick to a schedule and not overeat when you do run (always been my issue with exercise!). Good luck!

lorrpb

Dalceridae wrote: »

@rankinsect and @lorrpb - such inspiring stories my goal is so far away that often I worry I will never get there and never be able to do things like running

Just focus on completing the next step well. One of my favorite quotes, that I remind myself of daily:
Small daily improvements are the key to stunning long term results. (Roin Sharma)

FeraFilia

@becca_rup23 By overeat do you mean devour your exercise calories, or are you talking "don't have a full belly or you'll puke while you run"??

I'm trying to take it a day at a time, but I'm very much an 'instant gratification' type person, and have very little patience when I'm trying to get something done. I *hate* waiting for results. I'm trying to curb that, though.

courtneyfabulous

FeraFilia wrote: »

@becca_rup23 By overeat do you mean devour your exercise calories, or are you talking "don't have a full belly or you'll puke while you run"??

I'm trying to take it a day at a time, but I'm very much an 'instant gratification' type person, and have very little patience when I'm trying to get something done. I *hate* waiting for results. I'm trying to curb that, though.

It's good you're trying to work on this because weight loss is all about the long game & patience. With 100+ lbs to lose you're looking at 1.5 to 2 years minimum before you get to goal weight. Also learning a new skill like running takes time and lots of practice. I've been doing weight lifting for over a year and I'm still considered a "newbie". It's taken me over 3 months just to lose 10 pounds. You must have patience and put in the time and effort to earn the things you want. Try to enjoy the process so you don't get overwhelmed with how long it's going to take. The journey is just as valuable as the ultimate goal.

becca_rup23

@FeraFilia I mean thinking "oh, I ran today i get to eat way more than normal!" its really easy to do lol then it's like you totally cancel out the workout

FeraFilia

@courtneyfabulous - I know it. I've had patience enough in the past to lose 50 pounds, then paid the price because I gave up and gained it back. Twice. I'd be almost at goal now if I hadn't given up because life got hard and weight loss wasn't going like I wanted it to for a couple weeks.

In order to make it a little easier, I'm just focusing on the next 10 pounds. And according to my scale that starts today.

courtneyfabulous

Awesome! I break it down to smaller goals too

ICameToGetDown

I'd love to run too!
I try. I've lost a little over 70lbs and am currently around 200
I am slow
I can only go about 2 minutes before I have to walk for 30-45 seconds then jog again. Repeat.
I have gotten a little bit better since I started in July, but truthfully I am not able to give it as much attention as I would like. I am not comfortable going out in the dark, so it is limiting me to once a week, which is not enough.
Go slow!!! I have to tell myself often to slow down. Like barely jogging.
Good luck!

FeraFilia

@ICameToGetDown Thank you! It's tough to "go slow" when you want something like, right now. It's tough for me to accept that I have limitations and that I need to work at expanding them. Drives me bonkers when I start something new and I'm not instantly perfect at it. Patience is not one of my virtues, heh.