Running and Losing Weight

00trayn

I've noticed a trend with the scale and my running habits.

I started running right around February, at the beginning of a 6 month maintenance/plateau and the scale didn't budge when I was running 4-5 days a week. I don't go very far or very fast, but I can run a 5K distance and I've done 3 races. But I was completely neglecting strength training except for one personal training session a week.

In the last 2 weeks I've only run once or twice a week, and I've been doing strength videos, circuit training videos, and circuit training with my personal trainer. And I've gone from stuck right around 150 to 147.4 lbs this morning. I'm curious if cutting back on all the running has something to do it with?

So, runners out there, is this a common trend? Is it harder to lose weight when you're running on a regular schedule? I'm not burning as many calories now and I'm eating around the same as before, but the scale is dropping at a pretty decent rate. I logged a 1.7 lb loss this week, the first time since December!

Jessies_journey

Bump to see what other's say. I love to run because I can see how many calories I burn. Strength training just doesn't get my heart rate up there so I neglect that.

Amanda421

i will be curious to see what response you get. i have kind of experienced the same issue. seems like the scale moves better when i focus on strength training....

wendyw8

I am also curious about that, I run almost 5 days a week and I have not had any weight loss, my calves are like rocks though, but I have been wondering if I should cut back on that and do alot more strength training.

Septembergirl23

I tried running this week and while it was euphoric- even with my Asthma struggle to breathe, I am wondering if adding it to my routine will help take more weight off.

BECav0602

I am also interested to see what others say. I havent been losing and I do a lot of kickboxing and strength training. I have just started to do more cardio (running, elliptical, etc.) and scaling back on the strength training to see if that makes a difference for me.

Amanda993

Great question. I'm pretty sure the popular advice is that strength training is essential to weight loss. Your results have encouraged me to do more strength with my running.

bluiz13

building muscle burns fat...burning fat results in weight loss.....tooo much cardio (running) neglects your body of the important process of building muscle...yes it is great for your heart (cardio) but it really doesnt do anything for your muscles....i'm no expert by any means but this is what i have learned over the years....you need a mixture of both in order to lose weight to keep it off....getting stronger is just as important as going faster or further....build your muscles and the weight will come off....

for the month of june i switched it up and put 3 days of strength training workouts into my schedule with 20-30mins of cardio before and/or after each session instead of the 1 maybe 1.5 workouts i was halfheartedly doing forever before.....i dropped my cardio down to 2 days a week and added 2 days of rest....i am not weighing in right now cause the scale was causing me angst ( i actually gave it to my neighbor friend for safe keeping) but i know i'm going down cause my clothes are getting loser and i feel good...i feel strong and i like this feeling....i'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised when i jump on the scale in the coming weeks...i might actually make my goal of 173 by 7/4 even though april and may were pretty much just stalled months with minimal loss.....

Jennloella

don't forget muscles burn calories just by being there!! by strength training and building muscles, you're burning more calories ALL DAY even when at rest. When I get into bouts of intense cardio (I get hooked on something, like spinning or kickboxing) I will notice a stall on weight loss too.

mmeganmarie

I don't think it's the reduction in running, I think it's the addition of strength training. Just having more muscle you're burning more calories than before in everything you do. You could probably keep strength training and take up your running schedule again and continue to lose weight.

singin_sunrise

More strength training is absolutely the reason you've broken your plateau! Running is awesome; I love 5Ks. But strength training, the kind where you do circuits and really get your heart rate up, will keep burning more calories long after your session is over. That's where the new loss is coming from.

P.S. Any info I post is based off of A LOT of reading and a few nutrition classes. My favorite fitness book lately has been the Women's Health Diet. It's a great source for explaining what exactly is going on in your body and how it affects weight loss.

ashley0616

Any time you change things up you will see a loss. With running, I have noticed that I actually gain before I lose, so it's usually about 2 lbs up and then 4 down or so. Running does help build muscle, especially at the beginning when your body is compensating for the new activity, which helps slim you down because like jennloella said muscle burns calories all day long. Strength training like you described, especially if you are doing circuit type, will slim you down really fast too for the same reasons. Even if you are in maintenance mode, switching things up, adding exercises, changing duration or intensity will show on the scale.

Moral of the story: If you love to run, keep doing it as often as you want. Just make sure that you have variety in your regimen. Keep up with the circuit training, but I would ADD it to your running, not replace it. Unless you don't like to run, of course. I highly recommend Kara Goucher's Running for Women. It's an amazing book with tons of information about training, running, how to lose weight while running, eating, etc.

jackiekjames

I can say that I am the same way. I started out my weight loss running. I was running 5-6 days a week and doing no strength training. After a 6 weeks plateau at 207/209 I began incorporating strength. I have lost 3 lbs already. I"m going to continue on this path and see where it leads me... still some running but lots more strength training in the mix. Best of luck!

Tobi1013

I don't think it's the reduction in running, I think it's the addition of strength training. Just having more muscle you're burning more calories than before in everything you do. You could probably keep strength training and take up your running schedule again and continue to lose weight.

I'm not an expert by any means, but I would have to agree with this. I joined a gym last month and have started adding in strength training while at the same time increasing my running time (I had been sidelined with an injury) and the weight has been coming off better than it had been previously.

LorinaLynn

I know that strenuous exercise causes your muscles to retain fluid, so maybe you dropped fluid weight giving your legs more of a chance to rest.

Beebs33

Combination of strength training and cardio is what melts the fat off! Keep it up!

sweetheart03622

It's all about the balance. I run 3-4 days a week, lift 3 days a week, and cross train 1-2 days a week. Above all, its about your diet. Do you run with an HRM? Are you super accurate about what you eat? A lot of people over-compensate. They assume that since they did a 45 minute run, they can eat anything. In reality, on someone your size, that run will probably burn about 400-500 calories, or the equivalent of a small plate of pasta. It's not a free-for-all just because you run. That being said, strength training will help in all areas of your fitness. I'd also like to throw out there that running does wonders for toning your muscles, to whoever said it doesn't do anything for muscles.

brbetha01

I did straight cardio for about 9 weeks straight and the scale never budged. Once I added in weights, in 9 weeks, I've dropped 6 lbs. I still put in cardio by doing 10 min warm-ups on weight days, and do two days of straight cardio. I've also switched up the cardio instead of doing the same thing.

I'm seeing great results so far. So I definitely believe the weights is what helps with weight loss and overall appearance of the body. Good luck!

keith0373

3 miles three times a week just is not enough cardio to promote much weight loss unless you are running a strict diet, which includes tracking the weekend splurges. You know how much I run and I have to eat like a horse just to maintain (6-8 mile runs 3-4 times a week. and other cardio and lifting to fill the other days.) All of this nonsense about cardio having little after burn is exactly that. Keep your hrm on and watch how long it takes for your HR to go down to resting. It is nearly the same for me as lifting.

donbet69

building muscle burns fat...burning fat results in weight loss.....tooo much cardio (running) neglects your body of the important process of building muscle...yes it is great for your heart (cardio) but it really doesnt do anything for your muscles....i'm no expert by any means but this is what i have learned over the years....you need a mixture of both in order to lose weight to keep it off....getting stronger is just as important as going faster or further....build your muscles and the weight will come off....

From what I have read this is most likely where you are. From my experience, I am still way over weight so just by running I can still burn lots of calories and experience weight loss. However, the closer you get to your ideal weight, the more you need to build muscle to improve your metabolism and increase weight loss.

ShaeDetermined

I don't think it's the reduction in running, I think it's the addition of strength training. Just having more muscle you're burning more calories than before in everything you do. You could probably keep strength training and take up your running schedule again and continue to lose weight.

^^^^^ absolutely this. ^^^^^
keep on running, but dont forget the strength training.

also, as you become more "fit" it takes more to get your heart rate up, essentially causing you to burn less calories.
increasing muscle mass allows you to burn more calories, making your workout more effective.