new to this group, have a question...

mamamoxie

Hi there!

I have done the c25k off and on for a couple years now. The best I have done was to get up to week 4. I may have flirted with week 5, but I am not technically going to say that. Anyways, here I am starting all over again. I'm the person who cannot ever seem to be consistent, so every time I finally go, I am STILL on week1 or week2, over and over and over again. Well, now that the weather is finally getting better, I'm committed to going out at least 3 times per week, with maybe walking only on the other 2 days. If I'm really ambitions, I may try to run 5 days/per week bc I feel like that the only way I can personally move forward. I have horrible endurance. I was a sprinting in track in high school....never the endurance. So this program is especially hard for me.

My question:

How come when I walk fast for 30 min, i burn 172 calories. Yet when i log the running and walking times week 2, for c25k, (9 min running is 82 cal burned + 20 min of walking is 74 cal burned) = 156. I don't get it. I'm 5'3", I currently weigh 150. And why in the world would just walking still burn more calories than week 2??

ShannonKN

Welcome back to C25K! I did a lot of the starting-stopping, too, and spent a crazy amount of time in weeks 1-3. I understand that pain.

As for your question, what are you using to calculate the calories burned? Are those numbers from MFP, a HRM, a treadmill, or an outside app like endomondo? What speeds are you using to calculate for the running and walking paces? I have a friend whose fast walking pace is pretty much the same as her running pace, so hers would come out about the same. For my part, my inter-run walks and cool down tended to be much slower than I would normally walk (I was exhausted), so they significantly lowered my average until I could build up better endurance.

One thing you could do is figure out how far you actually went on your run and use that to help you zero in on the more correct burn number. Good luck!

PaytraB

The number of calories you burn by moving 1 mile is the same whether you walk, jog or run. The quicker you move, the more time you'll save in moving that mile but your calorie burn is the same.
Roughly, you burn 100 calories per mile for a 150lb person. Figure out how many miles you walk/jogged, multiply by 100. That would be the number of calories you burnt (a very close estimate, anyways). I've compared this to what the treadmill tells me I burned and it's pretty close.

PaytraB

..forgot to add:

Welcome back to C25K! You can do this. Keep posting here for support and encouragement. All the support really helped me with the program.

stoked2b

The number of calories you burn by moving 1 mile is the same whether you walk, jog or run. The quicker you move, the more time you'll save in moving that mile but your calorie burn is the same.

Supposedly running can burn 26% more in that 1 mile. See
http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/running-v-walking-how-many-calories-will-you-burn

To mama moxie: try looking online for a walking and running calculator. Maybe it will give you a different result that what MFP tells you.

Personally I run on a treadmill but it always under estimates my calories compared to my heart rate monitor. That's because I don't think my treadmill takes heart rate into account

mamamoxie

Wonderful info, thanks !

Yes, I've been just using mfp for the answers. When I just walk, I usually log 4.0 as my speed. and when i log the walking part inside the c25k - i always log 3.0 bc its too hard to walk fast in between the runs. the running speed i log is 5.0 bc i'm jogging, not sprinting and i can go longer if i maintain just 5.0.

i guess i should buy a pedometer to see exactly my distance so i can really see.

Thanks all!

PaytraB

Thanks for posting that article! Interesting info. I'll have to look into that some more.

I use this pedometer: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
Just plug in your route and the distance seems accurate. I don't trust the calorie counter. I think it's much too high.

likitisplit

Part of your challenge might be that you are trying to walk fast between the runs. Mosey between the runs. Those walks are there for your recovery, so you should feel mostly recovered by the next run. I'd bet you're trying to sprint on the runs too. This is distance running. Getting there is way more important than your time. Try running as slowly as your normal walking pace.

You also really need rest days, so try to run every other day at a maximum.

It really doesn't matter how many times you've tried the program or what week you've gotten to. The important thing is that you're still committed to running, you're still doing it.

It sounds like you are upset with your progress so far and are trying to push your way through this. My experience is that this is the opposite of what you need to do. I think you need to be less motivated rather than more motivated. Get out there. Slow down. Enjoy the scenery. Be happy with who your are right now. Don't worry about your progress. Focus on your feeling of satisfaction as you complete each run. If you just give it enough time to work, C25k will turn you into a distance runner without you doing much more than just following the program at an easy pace.

xtrout

What are you using to calculate calories burned? I wouldn't sweat a 25 calorie difference (pun intended ). C25K is really about building endurance and fitness levels. Once you get further in the program, you will spend more of your time running and then you will see greater returns on caloric burn.