Running, Dieting, Not losing...

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Replies

  • erikmsp72
    erikmsp72 Posts: 137 Member
    you're not eating nearly enough just to live. you're eating way way way to little to be a runner.

    Try at least getting to 1200 calories a day, net for a week. See the green "300 extra calories a day" try to eat em all and see what happens.


    ^^^ yup. This.
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    This is what I see...

    8/1 - 400 calories
    8/2 - 1024 calories
    8/3 - 160 calories
    8/4 - didn't log (or didn't eat)
    8/5 - 975 calories
    8/6 - 452 calories
    8/7 - 323 calories
    8/8 - 678 calories
    8/9 - 860 calories
    8/10 - 160 calories
    8/11 - didn't log (or didn't eat)
    8/12 - 493 calories
    8/13 - 1014 calories
    8/14 - 1079 calories
    8/15 - 927 calories
    8/16 - 831 calories
    8/17 - 160 calories
    8/18 - 393 calories
    8/19 - didn't log (or didn't eat)
    8/20 - 837 calories
    8/21 - 1012 calories

    It's clear you eat nearly nothing on weekends and not much more the rest of the time. It's simply NOT ENOUGH FOOD. But I'm sure you know this.
  • ameliarose31
    ameliarose31 Posts: 6 Member
    Ok, so here's what I'm getting:

    Eat more so that I'm meeting that 1200 mark more often.
    Drink more water.
    Run less.

    I'm training for my first 5k in October, so I can't back off the running too much, but after the race, I will go back to other activities for the most part. Running at 5k was on my bucket list and I'm committed now.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    Ok, so here's what I'm getting:

    Eat more so that I'm meeting that 1200 mark more often.
    Drink more water.
    Run less.

    I'm training for my first 5k in October, so I can't back off the running too much, but after the race, I will go back to other activities for the most part. Running at 5k was on my bucket list and I'm committed now.
    The 1200 should be the absolute MINIMUM you eat. Say your old RMR was still the same at 1080.. you'd need to eat that amount to keep your body just going. Now, say you burn another 400 with your training. That'd put you at needing to eat 1480 for the day.
    As it stands right now, I'm still firm on the "you're not eating enough" train. By your own admission, you aren't eating enough. Eating under your RMR isn't going to do you any favors.
  • Breezy929
    Breezy929 Posts: 17 Member
    It's so hard for me to watch replies on threads like this. Because I wish I had the answers for the OP, because then it would solve problems for me too.

    I weigh (using grams) and log everything I eat. And yes, if it goes in my mouth, I log it.
    I workout 5-6 days a week. Most of it cardio/running as I train for races (currently just a 10K). Anywhere from 40 min-90 min (longer on the long run days when it's for half marathons)
    I do strength, heavy, two nights a week, both upper and lower body.
    I alternate fartleks with hill training every other week.
    I wear an HRM.
    I deduct the amount that I'd have burned not working for that period of time from the calories my HRM tells me I've burned before entering them in my log.
    I've done the cook every meal from scratch, eat as clean as possible route.
    I've done the easy on the stress version where I cook my dinners but will eat frozen meals for lunch with breakfasts jumping back and forth.
    I've done cheat meals.
    I've done cheat days.
    I've done lower carb.
    I've done carb re-feeds.
    I've tried working out on an empty stomach.
    I've tried working out after eating (after waiting a bit for food to settle/digest).
    I've done 1200 net calories.
    I've done 1400 net calories.
    I've done 1600 net calories.
    I've done 1700 net calories.
    I've given all of them fair shakes, no less than two months before changing any changes.

    But yet I never lose weight while I'm running. I usually gain when I'm running. And I'm female, and not bulking, so it's not muscle. My clothes fit tighter and the scale goes up.

    Then once I stop running, I lose weight again. The race I'm running at the end of this month is actually my last for at least six months, simply because I need to not be running for awhile to try to get off some of the weight I've gained while running so much for so many races the past couple of years.

    So I feel for the OP, and, like I said, I wish I had the answers. But all I have is empathy. Well that, at least I don't have the automatic expectation that it's something she's doing wrong either. :(

    I hope you find your solution OP!

    I could have posted this word for word.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    That and I've read a few times that just running, all the time, you'll plateau. I used to go to the gym and only run and/or do the elliptical and kept wondering why I wasn't losing any weight. Quite frankly, it takes a little more than that. Start picking up some weights, you'll see definition and start losing weight.

    ^ This happened to me. As soon as I started lifting weights, the weight started to drop again.
  • SHHitsKaty
    SHHitsKaty Posts: 301
    That and I've read a few times that just running, all the time, you'll plateau. I used to go to the gym and only run and/or do the elliptical and kept wondering why I wasn't losing any weight. Quite frankly, it takes a little more than that. Start picking up some weights, you'll see definition and start losing weight.

    ^ This happened to me. As soon as I started lifting weights, the weight started to drop again.

    I'm glad you're not the only one. People think I'm being full of crap, I'm not. It takes more than cardio, it just does.
  • ameliarose31
    ameliarose31 Posts: 6 Member
    Ok, so here's what I'm getting:

    Eat more so that I'm meeting that 1200 mark more often.
    Drink more water.
    Run less.

    I'm training for my first 5k in October, so I can't back off the running too much, but after the race, I will go back to other activities for the most part. Running at 5k was on my bucket list and I'm committed now.
    The 1200 should be the absolute MINIMUM you eat. Say your old RMR was still the same at 1080.. you'd need to eat that amount to keep your body just going. Now, say you burn another 400 with your training. That'd put you at needing to eat 1480 for the day.
    As it stands right now, I'm still firm on the "you're not eating enough" train. By your own admission, you aren't eating enough. Eating under your RMR isn't going to do you any favors.

    Ok, I get that. My only issue with meeting the 1200 minimum is how to do that without blowing over the daily sugars recommendation since I sometimes do that already even when I'm not eating things that are very high in sugar relative to...sugary foods... for lack of a better term.
  • ami5000psu
    ami5000psu Posts: 391 Member
    Ok, so here's what I'm getting:

    Eat more so that I'm meeting that 1200 mark more often.
    Drink more water.
    Run less.

    I'm training for my first 5k in October, so I can't back off the running too much, but after the race, I will go back to other activities for the most part. Running at 5k was on my bucket list and I'm committed now.
    The 1200 should be the absolute MINIMUM you eat. Say your old RMR was still the same at 1080.. you'd need to eat that amount to keep your body just going. Now, say you burn another 400 with your training. That'd put you at needing to eat 1480 for the day.
    As it stands right now, I'm still firm on the "you're not eating enough" train. By your own admission, you aren't eating enough. Eating under your RMR isn't going to do you any favors.

    Ok, I get that. My only issue with meeting the 1200 minimum is how to do that without blowing over the daily sugars recommendation since I sometimes do that already even when I'm not eating things that are very high in sugar relative to...sugary foods... for lack of a better term.

    Work on hitting your calorie goals consistently. Unless you're diabetic or otherwise insulin resistant you shouldn't have to worry too much about going over on sugar. Pretty sure I do that every day.
  • lua_
    lua_ Posts: 258 Member
    There’s a Jessica in every gym. Spotting them is easy. They’re the women who run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill, setting new distance and/or time goals every week and month. Maybe they’re just interested in their treadmill workouts, maybe they’re training for their fifth fund-raising marathon, or maybe they’re even competing against runners in Finland via some Nike device. Doesn’t matter to me, because years of seeing my friend on the treadmill has exposed the results, which I’m not going to sugarcoat:

    She’s still fat. Actually, she’s gotten fatter.

    Her metabolism had slowed to a snail’s pace, and the fat was accumulating. This was her body rebelling. When Jessica asked for my advice, I told her to do two things: To schedule a second test for two weeks later, and to stop all the goddamned running until then.

    Read for the rest: http://athlete.io/5343/why-women-should-not-run/

    What a crock.......

    As a runner, I am horrified by this article and I hope no one takes it seriously.
    Running makes you fat...that's a new one.
    :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Ok, so here's what I'm getting:

    Eat more so that I'm meeting that 1200 mark more often.
    Drink more water.
    Run less.

    I'm training for my first 5k in October, so I can't back off the running too much, but after the race, I will go back to other activities for the most part. Running at 5k was on my bucket list and I'm committed now.
    The 1200 should be the absolute MINIMUM you eat. Say your old RMR was still the same at 1080.. you'd need to eat that amount to keep your body just going. Now, say you burn another 400 with your training. That'd put you at needing to eat 1480 for the day.
    As it stands right now, I'm still firm on the "you're not eating enough" train. By your own admission, you aren't eating enough. Eating under your RMR isn't going to do you any favors.

    Ok, I get that. My only issue with meeting the 1200 minimum is how to do that without blowing over the daily sugars recommendation since I sometimes do that already even when I'm not eating things that are very high in sugar relative to...sugary foods... for lack of a better term.

    Why would you fear sugar when you aren't even eating 1200 calories a day... I have never tracked a gram of sugar and have lost over 300 lbs. Oh and I might add I am a type 2 diabetic...... Concern yourself with hitting your caloric intake first and foremost...
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    .
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    It's so hard for me to watch replies on threads like this. Because I wish I had the answers for the OP, because then it would solve problems for me too.

    I weigh (using grams) and log everything I eat. And yes, if it goes in my mouth, I log it.
    I workout 5-6 days a week. Most of it cardio/running as I train for races (currently just a 10K). Anywhere from 40 min-90 min (longer on the long run days when it's for half marathons)
    I do strength, heavy, two nights a week, both upper and lower body.
    I alternate fartleks with hill training every other week.
    I wear an HRM.
    I deduct the amount that I'd have burned not working for that period of time from the calories my HRM tells me I've burned before entering them in my log.
    I've done the cook every meal from scratch, eat as clean as possible route.
    I've done the easy on the stress version where I cook my dinners but will eat frozen meals for lunch with breakfasts jumping back and forth.
    I've done cheat meals.
    I've done cheat days.
    I've done lower carb.
    I've done carb re-feeds.
    I've tried working out on an empty stomach.
    I've tried working out after eating (after waiting a bit for food to settle/digest).
    I've done 1200 net calories.
    I've done 1400 net calories.
    I've done 1600 net calories.
    I've done 1700 net calories.
    I've given all of them fair shakes, no less than two months before changing any changes.

    But yet I never lose weight while I'm running. I usually gain when I'm running. And I'm female, and not bulking, so it's not muscle. My clothes fit tighter and the scale goes up.

    Then once I stop running, I lose weight again. The race I'm running at the end of this month is actually my last for at least six months, simply because I need to not be running for awhile to try to get off some of the weight I've gained while running so much for so many races the past couple of years.

    So I feel for the OP, and, like I said, I wish I had the answers. But all I have is empathy. Well that, at least I don't have the automatic expectation that it's something she's doing wrong either. :(

    I hope you find your solution OP!

    I could have posted this word for word.

    I am so grateful to have found other people in this thread that have experienced the same thing that I have. I've honestly felt like a freak the last couple of years because it just doesn't slot in with any conventional way of thinking. But posting in here has actually helped me find that I'm not alone.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    There’s a Jessica in every gym. Spotting them is easy. They’re the women who run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill, setting new distance and/or time goals every week and month. Maybe they’re just interested in their treadmill workouts, maybe they’re training for their fifth fund-raising marathon, or maybe they’re even competing against runners in Finland via some Nike device. Doesn’t matter to me, because years of seeing my friend on the treadmill has exposed the results, which I’m not going to sugarcoat:

    She’s still fat. Actually, she’s gotten fatter.

    Her metabolism had slowed to a snail’s pace, and the fat was accumulating. This was her body rebelling. When Jessica asked for my advice, I told her to do two things: To schedule a second test for two weeks later, and to stop all the goddamned running until then.

    Read for the rest: http://athlete.io/5343/why-women-should-not-run/

    What a crock.......

    As a runner, I am horrified by this article and I hope no one takes it seriously.
    Running makes you fat...that's a new one.
    :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:

    I’ve read this article before, and I think that it has a good point, but that it’s fundamentally flawed. There’s a line of thinking that I’ve seen in a number of places that running is the most natural form of exercise because it’s what the human body was designed to do. But I think that once you throw a massive amount of evolution into the mix, it throws a wrench into that idea.

    I don’t think that running works for everyone, just like low-carb doesn’t work for everyone, or how any other specific diet doesn’t work for everyone. Our bodies are very different from one families genes to anothers, to anothers, to what even those genes turn into once they’ve mixed with another families, how could we possibly assume that one exercise is the one for people?

    When I was younger, I was a speed skater. I took to it very naturally and very well. I have large, strong legs that can propel fast and powerfully when I skate. I feel fluid and comfortable, I always exceeded the expectations for my age level and often took my practices with people above my age group so my coaches could continue to push me against competitors. For awhile, when I first started working out, I was skating, and things were going well. But sadly, the ankle injury that originally took me out of it, led me to put the skates back in the closet.

    At the time, I had friends that had started running. Two of them were dropping weight hand over fist. They were running races and leaning out, ropey muscles became defined in their lean calves and thighs. I wanted that, so I decided to try out running. Well, you can read the results of that above. I’ve done the races, even more than them at this point, but I gain, and they lose. One does some minor strength training, but mostly just runs. The other only runs, with occasional intervals. We’re all the same age, one is a guy and one is a girl. I’ve compared diets, we eat fairly similarly on a whole. But they continue to look more and more like runners you’d see on a magazine cover while I look more and more like the before picture of a weight loss ad.

    So, in this article, I’m probably Jessica, or very similar to her at least. But for every Jessica at the gym, there’s going to be people that running just works for. Their bodies love it, they feel comfortable and right, they get runners highs and love the feel of the road beneath their feet. I’ve never felt that. I always feel clunky and out of place, like I’m forcing my body through motions it doesn’t like and fights me in doing, and even when I’m keeping a good gait with a steady mid-foot strike, I feel like I’m clodding along like a rhino in Nikes. So why have I kept running for two years? Because it’s natural, it’s what bodies were meant to do, it’s the best form of exercise, etc, etc, etc,. I always just figured that I was doing something wrong somewhere else, hence the giant list of hopeless attempt after hopeless attempt to correct it everywhere else in my life. (and I really love the race atmosphere. If I could somehow do the races without running, I’d have probably stopped sooner)

    But, what I’m realizing as I come into the last week before my last race of this year, is that I am a Jessica. Maybe not in exact terms, but I am a Jessica and running does not work for me. Running has, in fact, made me gain weight. Yes, it’s against all standard thinking. But so is the fact that I lose weight better when I eat over 50% carbs and my body feels better on a whole when I have higher sodium levels. I am healthy, my heart is good, my vitamins levels are always met or exceeded, my thyroid tests have come back clean, my iron levels are right, and any other test I’ve had done always comes back nice and shiny.

    I’m just not a runner, my body doesn’t want to be one, no matter how hard I try. And while I totally appreciate the people that are runners, that love it and lose weight or stay lean while running, I wish that it were more widely accepted that it’s not always just the best go-to exercise for people.

    Look at the Olympics, look at the body types and shapes of all of those different elite athletes and how varied they are across the different sports. Put Michael Phelps next to Galen Rupp and tell me that all bodies are designed to run. Phelps has 22 Olympics medals, put him on a race track and have him run a 10K against Rupp and I’d place all bets on Rupp to take that race with ease. (note – I am not comparing myself to any Olympic athletes, simply using it as an example)

    So, while your head may explode over that article because running has been great for you, and there are, as I said, some fundamental flaws with the “science” of the article, there are probably plenty of women out there that the article rings really true for. And maybe it help them not feel bad that they don’t like running that much, and help them find what they really love. Something that I’m still personally trying to do.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    That and I've read a few times that just running, all the time, you'll plateau. I used to go to the gym and only run and/or do the elliptical and kept wondering why I wasn't losing any weight. Quite frankly, it takes a little more than that. Start picking up some weights, you'll see definition and start losing weight.

    ^ This happened to me. As soon as I started lifting weights, the weight started to drop again.

    I'm glad you're not the only one. People think I'm being full of crap, I'm not. It takes more than cardio, it just does.

    I was skeptical when I started but boy was I sure in for a surprise. I wish I had started lifting sooner!
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
    I've been on the C25k program for 7 weeks now and I'm running at least 3 times a week, plus doing a lot of remodeling work on our house several evenings a week. I'm watching my calories, eating more fruits/veggies/healthy proteins, etc.

    It's been almost a month now, and I haven't dropped a single pound, still at 138, but I'd like to be under 130 (I'm only 5'2", but I historically have more muscle weight because that's what I weighed in high school when I was in shape and healthy).

    Definitely losing motivation.

    thank you for opening your diary. you're not eating enough. 1000 calories one day 900 another. that's not enough. think eggs (the entire egg), chicken, cheese, tuna, beans, veggies, fruits, oats - eat more.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I've been on the C25k program for 7 weeks now and I'm running at least 3 times a week, plus doing a lot of remodeling work on our house several evenings a week. I'm watching my calories, eating more fruits/veggies/healthy proteins, etc.

    It's been almost a month now, and I haven't dropped a single pound, still at 138, but I'd like to be under 130 (I'm only 5'2", but I historically have more muscle weight because that's what I weighed in high school when I was in shape and healthy).

    Definitely losing motivation.
    I'm taller (and probably older, didn't check your profile :tongue: ) - I did c25k about a year and a half ago, and I'm still running 3-5 miles (less lately) three days a week, with other exercise the other three days (weights/HIIT type stuff). Through c25k and the first few months after, I was eating 1800+ cals a day, and dropped my last 10lbs, lost many inches, lots o' fat, and dropped a full size. :bigsmile: I'm still eating 1900+ most days, and working on lowering my body fat percentage a bit more.

    Food is fuel. I can only echo what many others have said - you're not eating enough. Getting the right amount of calories is key. Eat well, exercise, drink water, get good rest, rinse, repeat. It works!
  • SHHitsKaty
    SHHitsKaty Posts: 301
    There’s a Jessica in every gym. Spotting them is easy. They’re the women who run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill, setting new distance and/or time goals every week and month. Maybe they’re just interested in their treadmill workouts, maybe they’re training for their fifth fund-raising marathon, or maybe they’re even competing against runners in Finland via some Nike device. Doesn’t matter to me, because years of seeing my friend on the treadmill has exposed the results, which I’m not going to sugarcoat:

    She’s still fat. Actually, she’s gotten fatter.

    Her metabolism had slowed to a snail’s pace, and the fat was accumulating. This was her body rebelling. When Jessica asked for my advice, I told her to do two things: To schedule a second test for two weeks later, and to stop all the goddamned running until then.

    Read for the rest: http://athlete.io/5343/why-women-should-not-run/

    What a crock.......

    As a runner, I am horrified by this article and I hope no one takes it seriously.
    Running makes you fat...that's a new one.
    :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:

    I’ve read this article before, and I think that it has a good point, but that it’s fundamentally flawed. There’s a line of thinking that I’ve seen in a number of places that running is the most natural form of exercise because it’s what the human body was designed to do. But I think that once you throw a massive amount of evolution into the mix, it throws a wrench into that idea.

    I don’t think that running works for everyone, just like low-carb doesn’t work for everyone, or how any other specific diet doesn’t work for everyone. Our bodies are very different from one families genes to anothers, to anothers, to what even those genes turn into once they’ve mixed with another families, how could we possibly assume that one exercise is the one for people?

    When I was younger, I was a speed skater. I took to it very naturally and very well. I have large, strong legs that can propel fast and powerfully when I skate. I feel fluid and comfortable, I always exceeded the expectations for my age level and often took my practices with people above my age group so my coaches could continue to push me against competitors. For awhile, when I first started working out, I was skating, and things were going well. But sadly, the ankle injury that originally took me out of it, led me to put the skates back in the closet.

    At the time, I had friends that had started running. Two of them were dropping weight hand over fist. They were running races and leaning out, ropey muscles became defined in their lean calves and thighs. I wanted that, so I decided to try out running. Well, you can read the results of that above. I’ve done the races, even more than them at this point, but I gain, and they lose. One does some minor strength training, but mostly just runs. The other only runs, with occasional intervals. We’re all the same age, one is a guy and one is a girl. I’ve compared diets, we eat fairly similarly on a whole. But they continue to look more and more like runners you’d see on a magazine cover while I look more and more like the before picture of a weight loss ad.

    So, in this article, I’m probably Jessica, or very similar to her at least. But for every Jessica at the gym, there’s going to be people that running just works for. Their bodies love it, they feel comfortable and right, they get runners highs and love the feel of the road beneath their feet. I’ve never felt that. I always feel clunky and out of place, like I’m forcing my body through motions it doesn’t like and fights me in doing, and even when I’m keeping a good gait with a steady mid-foot strike, I feel like I’m clodding along like a rhino in Nikes. So why have I kept running for two years? Because it’s natural, it’s what bodies were meant to do, it’s the best form of exercise, etc, etc, etc,. I always just figured that I was doing something wrong somewhere else, hence the giant list of hopeless attempt after hopeless attempt to correct it everywhere else in my life. (and I really love the race atmosphere. If I could somehow do the races without running, I’d have probably stopped sooner)

    But, what I’m realizing as I come into the last week before my last race of this year, is that I am a Jessica. Maybe not in exact terms, but I am a Jessica and running does not work for me. Running has, in fact, made me gain weight. Yes, it’s against all standard thinking. But so is the fact that I lose weight better when I eat over 50% carbs and my body feels better on a whole when I have higher sodium levels. I am healthy, my heart is good, my vitamins levels are always met or exceeded, my thyroid tests have come back clean, my iron levels are right, and any other test I’ve had done always comes back nice and shiny.

    I’m just not a runner, my body doesn’t want to be one, no matter how hard I try. And while I totally appreciate the people that are runners, that love it and lose weight or stay lean while running, I wish that it were more widely accepted that it’s not always just the best go-to exercise for people.

    Look at the Olympics, look at the body types and shapes of all of those different elite athletes and how varied they are across the different sports. Put Michael Phelps next to Galen Rupp and tell me that all bodies are designed to run. Phelps has 22 Olympics medals, put him on a race track and have him run a 10K against Rupp and I’d place all bets on Rupp to take that race with ease. (note – I am not comparing myself to any Olympic athletes, simply using it as an example)

    So, while your head may explode over that article because running has been great for you, and there are, as I said, some fundamental flaws with the “science” of the article, there are probably plenty of women out there that the article rings really true for. And maybe it help them not feel bad that they don’t like running that much, and help them find what they really love. Something that I’m still personally trying to do.

    I'm glad that you posted this. I was definitely not meaning to say that running as a whole is terrible for women. There are somethings that work for others and somethings that don't. Like you said, everyone is different but if you are starting to notice a pattern and aren't happy with the results, I'd say it's worth changing what you are doing to see if there is another way to obtain your goal. Not you, but just the general population.