Obese - should I run or walk? HRM Info help

Edinburgh1986

Hey everyone!

Hoping for a little help.

I started gyming it a few weeks ago with the intention of doing C25K. Turns out I'm faaaaar too overweight for that and couldn't get passed Week 2 without injuring my knees.

My aim is to lose a serious amount of weight (around 6 stone) and serious inches (not measuring).

I've been reading lots of information about burning calories and weight loss, fat loss etc but it can get confusing.

It says somewhere that you should keep heart rate between 65-85% of MHR for the best fat loss.

As I'm so overweight, it doesn't take much to raise my heart rate and I'm wondering what I should be doing. Example of 2 recent treadmill visits, both at 30 minutes:

1. Walk 1 minute, Run 1 minute, 2.88km, burning 351 calories, average HR 168, maximum 181, "in the zone" for 04:23
2. Brisk walk full 30 minutes, 2.9km, burning 309 calories, average HR 157, maximum 166, "in the zone" for 24:56

If what I've read is correct, the 2nd option will burn more fat?? Is this what I should be doing?

I am in no way able to hold a conversation while running for the 1 minute and am absolutely exhausted after the 30 mins. While walking, I feel comfortable and could extend to 45/60 minutes and hold a conversation.

So questions:

Should I just be doing the walking and will I eventually find that my heart rate doesn't remain as high and at this point, add some jogging?

Will I eventually find it easier to jog/run? I really want to get through the C25K programme. Any ideas how long it'll take given the weight I need to lose? Anyone been in the same situation?

Any other tips?

I'm watching what I'm eating at the same time...have mostly cut out pasta/rice/crisps/chocolate etc and am drinking 2l water a day.

Any help much appreciated!

takeadeepbreath

I would do the thing that is most sustainable for you over the long term. It sounds like the run/walk thing might be a bit much for you right now given that your heart rate is quite high and you say that you're exhausted at the end of it. It would suck to injure yourself this early on by pushing yourself too hard. If I were in your shoes (and bear in mind that I'm not, this is just unsolicited opinion), I would work at walking longer and longer distances and increasing my walking speed before I made the move to running and walking. Bear in mind too that treadmills absorb a good bit of impact so you may find that making the switch to walking outside might be even more difficult.

rduhlir

Slow down. If you aren't able to hold a conversation when you run then you are going to fast. Even if that means you run slower than you walk, slow down. If you think you can go slower then go slower.

Your HR can reflect your speed, so if you have a higher HR that usually means slow down. It is normal to have a higher HR and exhaust more effort at first, but yes it will get easier as you get more and more used to running.

So....biggest suggestion.....slow down.

aspenwind

Walk. It's not going to help at all if you injure yourself.

After a couple months of walking you'll feel much better jogging intervals.

Also be sure to focus on your diet. It's the hard part but that's really where the weight loss comes from. Exercise just helps it along a little.

Yanicka1

Stop over thinking this. There is no fat loss zone. You should just walk at a brisk pace, enough to have you heart rate up but not so much that you can't have a conversation. Build your endurance and aim to do the same distance faster or to walk further.

If /when you feel ready, add small 15/30/60 seconds run. Go slow. Hurting yourself would defeat the purpose

Good luck

uconnwinsnc

Take it slow at first. No point in destroying your knees and ruining any future progress.

meshashesha2012

if you're new to exercise then just focus on doing something a pace that you can keep for 45-60 minutes.

first develop the habit and a baseline level of fitness and then start worrying about if you're pushing yourself hard enough. so if for now you need to walk those entire 60 minutes then that's exactly where you need to be.

just keep at it and you will find yourself walking faster and jogging.

as an FYI, i'm obese as well bu have been exercising for a long time. i'm currently doing the zombies, run 5K program (similar to the C25k only there's a cool zombie story with it ). at the moment what's holding me back from running is ankle and feet issues so i'm working slowly towards getting back to my 5K speed/time when i was smaller.

i also wear an HRM, but i'm not a slave to it in terms of trying to stay in certain zones. i let my common sense be my guide, but it is fun to see my heart rate improve as time goes on.

finally you dont have to cut out rice/pasta/etc. just eat stuff you'd normally eat but make sure to weigh it and log it. as long as it's in your calorie goals and fits your macros then you'll lose weight. you dont have to eat all crazy and deprive yourself of the stuff you like in order to lose weight. last week i had ethiopian food, tacos, and heath bar ice cream and still lose around 2 pounds.

Raasy

They say getting your heart rate up for brief periods of time is good. That being said, I am obese as well, when I started C25k I had a really hard time with it and there were periods where my heart rate was getting just as high as yours if not higher. I just did what I could. And I extended out the weeks a little bit as well. instead of it taking me 9 weeks it took me 12 weeks. May you can do each week twice, extend it out if you need to.

I second the other post of slowing it down, that will really help. It may not seem like you are goin fast right now the way you are running, but just try slowing down a bit.

The fear of injury is always strong though, and only you know your body and its limits.

I had a good walking base before I started C25k and I had already incorporated some jogging in. So if you feel that you need to just walk, then do that, go longer distances and times when you are ready. Then maybe start incorporating little 30-45 second jogs, then extend those out.
Take it easy until you feel you are ready to give it a shot again.
Your heart rate will get better and stronger, it just takes time.

Mr_Knight

It says somewhere that you should keep heart rate between 65-85% of MHR for the best fat loss.

Ignore that. Your body is always burning fat, if you're in a deficit. The minutiae won't matter until you are in a much better state of fitness.

1. Walk 1 minute, Run 1 minute, 2.88km, burning 351 calories, average HR 168, maximum 181, "in the zone" for 04:23

People with low levels of fitness CANNOT rely on HRM for anything resembling accurate calorie burn. Two minutes of walking and two minutes of running are going to burn maybe 15 net calories.

2. Brisk walk full 30 minutes, 2.9km, burning 309 calories, average HR 157, maximum 166, "in the zone" for 24:56

That walk is right around ~100 calories for a 200 pound person. A 300 pound person would be ~150 calories.

SunofaBeach14

Stop over thinking this. There is no fat loss zone. You should just walk at a brisk pace, enough to have you heart rate up but not so much that you can't have a conversation. Build your endurance and aim to do the same distance faster or to walk further.

If /when you feel ready, add small 15/30/60 seconds run. Go slow. Hurting yourself would defeat the purpose

Good luck

^ This. The "fat burning zone" is B.S. You lose weight from a calorie deficit so create one. Create one how you like but make sure you get some exercise. And yes, hurting yourself is a great way to fall way behind. It's better to take a methodical approach. I took a total of 5 years to go from the way overweight and very sedentary guy I was, to where I am now, and then (of course) I've injured myself again. Take. Things. Slow.

Mr_Knight

Take. Things. Slow.

This is outstanding advice.

steengod

I would start by walking.

You will get less injuries walking than if you run.

You will find it easier, very soon I guess. That is what i did.

You should drink at a liter more. I have learned that you should drink 1/3 of your bodyweight in kilo in deciliter, but no more than 4 liters as you should if your weight is 120 kilo.

I have lost about the same from start of May till now. And 10-20 kilo more from February till May, I did not have a weight before May.

Doing a lot of bike riding and started walking in October. From December till now I have only been walking and training with my Wii.