Running and not losing weight

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22harleygirl
22harleygirl Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
I started the couch to 5k program in March of this year and have been very consistent since. I ran my first 5K race last Saturday and did it under 35 minutes. I run 4 or 5 mornings each week for between 30 and 45 minutes each time. And in all that time I've only lost about 10 pounds or so. I do watch what I eat very closely through the work week but I'll admit I eat more food than I need on the weekends but I would have thought that I would have lost more than that with all the running I do. Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong??

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  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Most likely eating too much.
  • Will210
    Will210 Posts: 201 Member
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    Unfortunately it starts with diet. Can have a cheat meal or sneak in a bad snack now and then but really have to eat clean.
  • ruststar
    ruststar Posts: 489 Member
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    Your weekends are probably hurting you - it's very easy to convince yourself that your exercise will cancel out poor food choices, but they can pile up. Try limiting your weekend indulgences to just one meal, be sure that you're eating well the rest of the time, and see if that changes things.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    You state you closely monitor what you eat during the work week but are you not accurately logging your weekends?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I'm going to vote for eating too little for your level of activity.

    You've forced your body to lower it's metabolism to having a much smaller deficit than what you think you have.

    Also, are each of those runs as hard as you can do it?

    Bad idea, diet is a stress, intense exercise is a stress, you got other stresses in life?
    Stress messes with hormones that will NOT help in weight loss.

    Making one day, before the rest day, a really intense effort. The others make gentle slow runs. Pace will increase at lower effort, in fact easier than the other way around.

    You might also need to measure, because while you are losing some weight, it could be all fat.

    But slowed metabolism would make it slower than need be.
  • streamgirl
    streamgirl Posts: 207 Member
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    I trained for a triathlon and worked out every day for months and barely lost weight. When I completed training and switched to fewer workouts with more rest I lost more weight. Might be something to try. And watch the weekends. Are you tracking calories? If you save 300 calories a day for five days, but then eat an extra 1500 or 1200 calories on the weekend, well, you can do the math!
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    I've put on pounds while running over 50 miles per week - all you have to do is eat more than you burn.

    Or put another way, I was running 50 miles a week and eating 58 miles worth of calories...
  • 22harleygirl
    22harleygirl Posts: 5
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    Thank you all for your replies! You've gave me some good ideas and some things to think about. Clearly I need to watch my food intake more closely.
  • bonjour24
    bonjour24 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    i've been running for 18 months now (C25K too). to begin with i slowly lost about 10kg, then it slowed down. i haven't lost anything for at least 6 months, and i'm in training for my 2nd marathon.
    my thing is that i'm happier knowing how much fitter i'm getting. i may not be shrinking much, but i'm getting stronger. and now instead of focussing on how fat my legs are, i think about how my fat little legs can carry my fat little *kitten* 26.2 miles. i like this perspective.
    i don't eat enough to lose weight, apparantly. i was sticking to about 1200cals (and eating most exercise cals) since i started running. over the last few weeks i've increased my daily intake to about 1700 (plus exercise cals if i can fit it in). i haven't gained or lost anything yet. so, if i can get away with having the option to eat more if i want it and maintain what i've got, then i'll take it! i also remember 5 months ago i took a month off after a marathon. i ate what i want in whatever quantities i wanted and did very little exercise. and i stayed the same weightwise. i felt pudgier, but weighed the same.
    my suggestion is to log what you eat and be aware of portion size. even on days when you're less rigid with diet. it may take a bit of trial and error working out what your body requires. but don't let that dishearten you, and place a lot of focus on how much fitter you're getting by running.
  • Hadiyeh
    Hadiyeh Posts: 7
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    You may want to also consider adding some strength/circuit training, it creates more "after burn" and therefore burns more calories over time. I've had really great results doing circuit training 4xWeek and Cardio 1xWeek. I've actually built up my running endurance quite a bit with the cardio included in my circuit training.
  • 22harleygirl
    22harleygirl Posts: 5
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    Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I do feel really good about getting fit and healthy. I am going to concentrate on that for now anyway and continue training.
  • gjulie
    gjulie Posts: 391
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    I started the couch to 5k program in March of this year and have been very consistent since. I ran my first 5K race last Saturday and did it under 35 minutes. I run 4 or 5 mornings each week for between 30 and 45 minutes each time. And in all that time I've only lost about 10 pounds or so. I do watch what I eat very closely through the work week but I'll admit I eat more food than I need on the weekends but I would have thought that I would have lost more than that with all the running I do. Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong??
    Ive alway found and this is just me it dosnt matter how much I exercise if I dont watch calorie intake I wont loose weight exercise will tone you up and you will feel great but weight control starts at the table,opposite of that I lost 2.5 stne years ago wit ww never did any exercise and was totally unfit now Im a little overweight say bout 7 lbs and Im really fit and getting toned but if I was in the gym all day everyday and didnt at least watch what I eat I definately wouldnt loose it!!
  • Chickover50
    Chickover50 Posts: 1
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    I just started running in September and have been struggling up until very recently. I also have not lost any weight at all despite a huge increase in activity level. I really appreciate your comment "bonjour24" "now instead of focussing on how fat my legs are, i think about how my fat little legs can carry my fat little *kitten* 26.2 miles" That has been inspiring and I say it to myself while running and laugh!!!! Thank you.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Probably eating the wrong foods. Eating less is not as important as eating right. Exercise alone wont cause a lot of weight loss, because as you use more energy, you become hungrier. If you are trying to fill that hunger with processed/meat/dairy foods, you will maintain or lose slowly. The more fruits and vegetables you eat, and the less of everything else, the better off you will be.

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