1 Year of Running, results of body composition tests

omma_to_3

I've been on MFP, losing weight and exercising for almost 2 years now. I've lost almost 80 lbs. I need to lose at least another 20 lbs. It's going slowly now and winter has been rough for me exercise wise as I prefer to run outside. But it's warming up now, so I can run outside more often!

I started running in March of 2012. I've never been a runner, not even as a kid. I started with C25K and it took me 13 weeks to complete the program, and because I'm slow, another 2 weeks to actually be able to run 5K. I did my first 5K in May 2012, but didn't run the whole thing. My time was around 46 minutes. In June, I did my first 5K where I ran the entire thing. My time was around 41 minutes. I've done many 5Ks since then, and completed my first 10K in November. My time for that was 1 hour 14 minutes (and is still my best 10K time to date). My best 5K time is around 35 minutes now but I'm training for distance so speed is not really my concern. My first half marathon is NEXT MONTH! Yikes. With the bad weather I haven't been doing nearly enough running. I can only seem to get 3 to 4.5 miles on the treadmill. I was up to about 10.7 miles in December but have only done a few long runs since then. I head out tomorrow hoping to hit 11 miles in the nice weather (upper 30s to low 40s and sunny). I still can't believe I'm a 'runner'!

The other thing I wanted to discuss was my take on calorie levels, LBM due to excessive cardio, and progress. I strive to net 1200 calories a day. I've tried EM2WL and while I still lost, it was significantly slower and I'm already a very slow loser (I average .8 lbs a week). For me, it didn't work. To be fair, I aim to net 1200, but am probably closer to netting 1300 because I tend to go over. Last July, I had my RMR and my BF tested at the local university (they use Bod Pod for the BF testing). My RMR ended up being about 200 calories over what most of the calculators predicted. So, I was netting significantly under my RMR of 1662. I have NOT found that eating below my BMR has resulted in drastic LBM loss. I have NOT found that doing cardio only has resulted in drastic LBM loss. Yes, there has been some, but starting out where I did, that's certainly expected. My RMR is 14% higher than expected so netting below my BMR has certainly not harmed my metabolism either. I've also never hit a plateau. Of course there are times when I don't lose weight, or even gain some, but it's directly related to my eating so definitely not a plateau. I had my BF tested again today but will wait until summer to test my RMR again.

So here are my results of all cardio exercise and eating below my BMR:

In the last 7.5 months, I've lost 18 lbs. 16 lbs of that was fat and 2 lbs of that was muscle (so, I lose about 11% of my weight from LBM and 89% from Fat mass - I'm OK with that number). My body fat was reduced by 5.2%. My RMR was likely reduced by 4% due to my weight loss (the Bod Pod estimates your RMR as well, so I took the percent change in that and applied to my known RMR from last July - my RMR should now be about 1601 instead of the 1662 it was last summer).

So, if you're a data geek like me, there you go!

sam308lbs

ooo very intersting! thanks for sharing!
How much protein were you taking in this period ?

Duck_Puddle

Congrats and thank you for providing a backup to what my experience has been. Although I have not done the bodpod or other fancy tests, if you look at the average BFreading on my bathroom scale (yes, I know it's not the world's most accurate-but it's good enough for me), I have not seen vast reductions in LBM from just running either. I've lost 75lbs, have another 15-20 (maybe) I would like to lose, run at roughly the same pace as you, etc. I am also a data geek, have not plateaued (gains and non-losses can very much be attributed to what I stuffed in my face), and I've lost all of 5lbs of LBM since I started (again, based on average readings at consistent times/conditions). Perhaps all of that will change as I work through the last 15-20 lbs, perhaps it won't. But I have not experienced my muscle mass wasting away to nothing either. An I have no idea how much protein I'm eating. My carb intake is probably close to 55% (give or take), but I don't look at that unless I hit the little pie chart thingy on the app by accident.

Duck_Puddle

I also net 1200, eat below my BMR on a regular basis, and have tried upping calories to eat at least my BMR, and lost far too slowly (less than 2lbs a month when I still had 40-50 to lose). I lose 3-5lbs a month netting 1200.

omma_to_3

I am only set at about 15% protein. I KNOW I should be eating more, but short of protein powders, I just don't like that much protein. I'm not a big meat eater. I am hoping to start lifting with a personal trainer soon and will try to increase my protein at that point.

omma_to_3

Oops, also forgot to add, in that 1 year of running, I was able to eat significantly more food (since I eat ALL my exercise calories back), and still dropped 36 pounds!

And here's a face compare from March 2012 to March 2013, that includes a new haircut :-)

omma_to_3

Some additional numbers for the geeks:

In this last year, I've lost a total of 34.25" measured at 10 points (thought it would be 39" if I included doubles of all the leg and arm measurements):

Waist = -4"
Lower abdomen = -5.5"
Upper abdomen = -6.25"
bust = -5"
ribcage = -3.5"
hips = -4.25"
thigh = -2.25"
calf = -1"
upper arm = -1.5"
neck = -1"

llmcconnell

I'm no expert and your experience counters what a lot of people follow and advise on here.. but I say find whatever works for you as long as its not an eating disorder or something like that. You look great and great job for the commitment!

omma_to_3

I'm no expert and your experience counters what a lot of people follow and advise on here.. but I say find whatever works for you as long as its not an eating disorder or something like that. You look great and great job for the commitment!

I don't get why so many tout eating more to lose weight. If it works for someone, great, but there are other equally good alternatives. I see so many people stating all the horrible things that happen if you eat below your BMR and they're just not true (assuming you're eating a reasonable amount). Because I aim for net calories, I'm eating anywhere from 1400 to 2400 on most days!

Momto32010

Congratulations on all your success! I'm running my first 10k in April. It will be my first race ever. Never imagine I'd be a "runner" either. Thanks for sharing your story!