Runners! pls. read/weight loss

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linddavis
linddavis Posts: 101
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, just finished my first Half Marathon. I was so frustrated at first trying to lose weight for this race. I was running, running, running.
I lost alittle initally then it just stopped. Turns out your body becomes efficient and conserves those carbs and fat... so you MUST cross train, muscle confusion as Tony Horton ( P90X) calls it. Dont let your body become efficient, you wont lose weight! Do legs one day, arms and chest next, stretching/ yoga the next... just mix it up! And as far as diet, Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a peasant... or... stack your calories toward the morning. You will see results... I promise! Keep movin and best wishes, still on my journey :flowerforyou:

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  • jenna715
    jenna715 Posts: 201
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    I had the same experience running. I hit a plateau thinking running was great exercise and that i'd lose weight. I still love running but I try to mix it up with workout dvds.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Somewhat true.
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
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    My muscles, contract, then they relax, contract, then they relax, very little for them to be confused about.
  • BuffyEat2Live
    BuffyEat2Live Posts: 327 Member
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    Interesting! I just started training for my first half marathon. I have planned for three runs and two cross training sessions per week. I'm mostly concerned about health and about being able run most of or all of the 13.1 miles in October! I figure that if I can do that, with or without substantial weight loss, I must be pretty darn fit.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I think the issue comes in that as you get more accustomed to running, you are burning fewer calories doing the same workout. So if you're eating the same, but burning fewer calories, it makes sense your weight loss would stall. For my first 5K, which took about 45 minutes, I burned around 500 calories! Now? A 45 minute run goes farther than 5K and I might burn 300 to 350, tops. I adjust my eating to what I'm burning (measured via HRM with BMR subtracted out).

    I've been running since March 2012 and haven't hit a plateau yet.

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