Running for weightloss
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Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running doesn't really help much with weight loss. I only burn a couple hundred calories when I go running, it's so little I don't even log it. But it has helped tremendously with well-being - I have a lot more energy, I sleep much better, I have a huge amount of stamina that I didn't used to have, I no longer get winded running up the stairs, etc.
There is no such thing as a "bad diet" per se, but you can't outrun overeating.0 -
One other thought on this (and sorry if someone else said it and I missed it in the above thread) - if you are looking to lose weight as a runner, I'd recommend some interval or speed training in your weekly run schedule: e.g. intervals, fartlek,, hill training and/or tempo runs. Those runs are much more efficient at burning calories that the long, slow ones. Although I'm not saying quit doing the long, slow distance runs as those are great for building your running endurance; just add in some interval-type training for calorie burn (and to improve your speed).
Finally, just make sure to add these runs to your running routine slowly to avoid an injury from overtraining! Good luck!!
Also, for those who have said running doesn't help much with weight-loss - it did for me! I went from originally 155 to 122 over that last few years from running. Then I got injured this spring, which prevented me from running from June - late September, and I gained back 6 pounds. So at least for me, running is really effective for weight-loss, when combined with a healthy diet of course.0 -
Weight loss is mostly diet.. You may be gaining muscle too..
Op isn't gaining muscle from running, especially appreciable muscle that would cause the gain in the scale.
Agreed it's mostly diet.
Are you eating exercise calories back?
If so, how are you estimating?
I disagree with the blanket statement that you don't gain muscle from running. When I started running my legs went from sticks to curvy. And it was all muscle. You WILL gain muscle from running, if you have never done it before. Not loads, but some.
OP, I think you are not tracking your calories as closely as you should. Run and track accurately. Good luck!0 -
I get busy and or lazy with logging that is why there are missing entries but I can assure you I don't eat crap. I try my best to eat "clean". But I can be more strict with my logging and see if I notice a pattern. I also am bad with drinking water so I'll try to up my fluids.
It doesn't matter if you eat "clean" or "dirty"...if you over consume calories you will gain weight. When I'm actively training for an event it is very difficult for me to eat anything much below my maintenance as my training suffers for it...this is common for most people...achieving optimal fitness goals and dieting don't really go hand in hand because your body just wants more energy than your fat store can provide for.Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running provides for sub-optimal conditions for hypertrophy. You also cannot build any substantial muscle while in a deficit of energy...certainly nothing measurable on a scale. What is happening is that you are shedding fat and revealing the muscle underneath. You are probably also witnessing "pump"...which is where your muscles become engorged with water and look bigger. You know like when people do an exercise and all of a sudden they look a little more pumped than they did before they started.0 -
I get busy and or lazy with logging that is why there are missing entries but I can assure you I don't eat crap. I try my best to eat "clean". But I can be more strict with my logging and see if I notice a pattern. I also am bad with drinking water so I'll try to up my fluids.
It doesn't matter if you eat "clean" or "dirty"...if you over consume calories you will gain weight. When I'm actively training for an event it is very difficult for me to eat anything much below my maintenance as my training suffers for it...this is common for most people...achieving optimal fitness goals and dieting don't really go hand in hand because your body just wants more energy than your fat store can provide for.Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running provides for sub-optimal conditions for hypertrophy. You also cannot build any substantial muscle while in a deficit of energy...certainly nothing measurable on a scale. What is happening is that you are shedding fat and revealing the muscle underneath. You are probably also witnessing "pump"...which is where your muscles become engorged with water and look bigger. You know like when people do an exercise and all of a sudden they look a little more pumped than they did before they started.
^^^Yep. That's all I've really got.0 -
I get busy and or lazy with logging that is why there are missing entries but I can assure you I don't eat crap. I try my best to eat "clean". But I can be more strict with my logging and see if I notice a pattern. I also am bad with drinking water so I'll try to up my fluids.
It doesn't matter if you eat "clean" or "dirty"...if you over consume calories you will gain weight. When I'm actively training for an event it is very difficult for me to eat anything much below my maintenance as my training suffers for it...this is common for most people...achieving optimal fitness goals and dieting don't really go hand in hand because your body just wants more energy than your fat store can provide for.Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running provides for sub-optimal conditions for hypertrophy. You also cannot build any substantial muscle while in a deficit of energy...certainly nothing measurable on a scale. What is happening is that you are shedding fat and revealing the muscle underneath. You are probably also witnessing "pump"...which is where your muscles become engorged with water and look bigger. You know like when people do an exercise and all of a sudden they look a little more pumped than they did before they started.
^^^Yep. That's all I've really got.
Who is claiming to be running on a deficit here? I wasn't, when I built mine. OP's deficit is quite questionable we have already gleaned from her posts.
Funny, that the muscles I STILL have 20 years later, are only due to temporary water swelling. In your opinion.0 -
I get busy and or lazy with logging that is why there are missing entries but I can assure you I don't eat crap. I try my best to eat "clean". But I can be more strict with my logging and see if I notice a pattern. I also am bad with drinking water so I'll try to up my fluids.
It doesn't matter if you eat "clean" or "dirty"...if you over consume calories you will gain weight. When I'm actively training for an event it is very difficult for me to eat anything much below my maintenance as my training suffers for it...this is common for most people...achieving optimal fitness goals and dieting don't really go hand in hand because your body just wants more energy than your fat store can provide for.Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running provides for sub-optimal conditions for hypertrophy. You also cannot build any substantial muscle while in a deficit of energy...certainly nothing measurable on a scale. What is happening is that you are shedding fat and revealing the muscle underneath. You are probably also witnessing "pump"...which is where your muscles become engorged with water and look bigger. You know like when people do an exercise and all of a sudden they look a little more pumped than they did before they started.
^^^Yep. That's all I've really got.
Who is claiming to be running on a deficit here? I wasn't, when I built mine. OP's deficit is quite questionable we have already gleaned from her posts.
Funny, that the muscles I STILL have 20 years later, are only due to temporary water swelling. In your opinion.
Weird, I've been running for over 20 years too, many of which at competitive level (5K, 10K, 1/2). Wonder why my legs aren't the size of tree trunks.......
Steady state cardio doesn't build substantial muscle (I would argue it builds none at all) as stated by the previous poster about hypertrophy.
Whateves....Special snowflake I guess.0 -
You are gaining because you are eating more than you are burning.0
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Sub-optimal doesn't mean non-existent - I'm sure I would be MUCH more muscular if I were lifting weights or doing squats (which I intend to start, hey, today! lol) I don't think I was very muscular before considering I was sometimes 100% sedentary - literally staying in bed all day - so I don't think I'm revealing muscle that was already there. And even if I go a week without running, like the time I got the flu 2 months ago, I can still feel the muscles in my legs. It's not just when I get done running. I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking to change your body through definition, I agree with you - but I'm just saying, it doesn't do NOTHING.I get busy and or lazy with logging that is why there are missing entries but I can assure you I don't eat crap. I try my best to eat "clean". But I can be more strict with my logging and see if I notice a pattern. I also am bad with drinking water so I'll try to up my fluids.
It doesn't matter if you eat "clean" or "dirty"...if you over consume calories you will gain weight. When I'm actively training for an event it is very difficult for me to eat anything much below my maintenance as my training suffers for it...this is common for most people...achieving optimal fitness goals and dieting don't really go hand in hand because your body just wants more energy than your fat store can provide for.Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running provides for sub-optimal conditions for hypertrophy. You also cannot build any substantial muscle while in a deficit of energy...certainly nothing measurable on a scale. What is happening is that you are shedding fat and revealing the muscle underneath. You are probably also witnessing "pump"...which is where your muscles become engorged with water and look bigger. You know like when people do an exercise and all of a sudden they look a little more pumped than they did before they started.0 -
I get busy and or lazy with logging that is why there are missing entries but I can assure you I don't eat crap. I try my best to eat "clean". But I can be more strict with my logging and see if I notice a pattern. I also am bad with drinking water so I'll try to up my fluids.
It doesn't matter if you eat "clean" or "dirty"...if you over consume calories you will gain weight. When I'm actively training for an event it is very difficult for me to eat anything much below my maintenance as my training suffers for it...this is common for most people...achieving optimal fitness goals and dieting don't really go hand in hand because your body just wants more energy than your fat store can provide for.Running does build your leg muscles. Mine are, I must say, looking pretty good after running about the same amount per week as the OP (although much slower - I guess I'm more of a fast jogger at this point). And I don't do squats or much of anything else.
Running provides for sub-optimal conditions for hypertrophy. You also cannot build any substantial muscle while in a deficit of energy...certainly nothing measurable on a scale. What is happening is that you are shedding fat and revealing the muscle underneath. You are probably also witnessing "pump"...which is where your muscles become engorged with water and look bigger. You know like when people do an exercise and all of a sudden they look a little more pumped than they did before they started.
^^^Yep. That's all I've really got.
Who is claiming to be running on a deficit here? I wasn't, when I built mine. OP's deficit is quite questionable we have already gleaned from her posts.
Funny, that the muscles I STILL have 20 years later, are only due to temporary water swelling. In your opinion.
Weird, I've been running for over 20 years too, many of which at competitive level (5K, 10K, 1/2). Wonder why my legs aren't the size of tree trunks.......
Steady state cardio doesn't build substantial muscle (I would argue it builds none at all) as stated by the previous poster about hypertrophy.
Whateves....Special snowflake I guess.
Hmm. So you twist my assertion that I gained muscle weight in my legs when I started running, to mean that I think the muscle mass gains are never ending?
Go write yourself another fairytale junior. Or at least try to come up with a half-way decent strawman arguement! LOL0 -
Strange as it may sound perhaps you may not be eating enough? I hit a plateau and then found my weight starting to creep back up running around 20 miles a week, with no change in body fat to suggest I was replacing fat with muscle, in fact the opposite. I've since increased my calorie intake to eat back on average around half of the exercised calories, but I've also changed the things I eat to significantly reduce the amount of sugar I consume, eg fewer low fat yoghurts for example and less fruit, I wasn't guzzling chocolate bars anyway but was eating a fairly "healthy" but still quite high sugar diet. Since doing this I have seen 4kg fall away very quickly (I like to meaure my weight in kg because there is no emotional tag in my mind to the number on the scale). I can't quote any science behind this approach and it may just be perseverance and coincidence that had an effect. Perhaps it is just confirmation bias but I feel that I have a lot more energy and it's been working for me. I have a concept from a range of unco-ordinated reading that if you don't eat enough while exercising the body will consume muscle (as several previous posters have intimated) and compensate by slowing down your movements and hence reducing your energy consumption for the rest of the day as you constantly feel tired and run down. It might also be sensible to replace one of your runs with a weights session?
I'd be interested to know if anyone else shares my experience of breaking through a weight loss plateau/increase by reducing sugar consumption whilst eating marginally more overall calories?
Logging daily and fully and measuring portions to give as accurate as possible data is of course always important to spot trends.....
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If you're not logging your food, then you're guessing and guessing is guessing and I'm guessing you guess under what you are actually eating and I only say that from experience. Quit guessing and log and drink water.0
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Hmm. So you twist my assertion that I gained muscle weight in my legs when I started running, to mean that I think the muscle mass gains are never ending?
Go write yourself another fairytale junior. Or at least try to come up with a half-way decent strawman arguement! LOL
LOL, junior. It always comes down to name calling when there is nothing else to fall back on.
Sorry, steady state cardio doesn't build substational muscle. Can you probably put on some noob stuff, sure.
As stated before, it is an extremely poor for hypertrophy and there is little to no progressive overload.
But whateve's, so as it pertains to the OP, muscle mass gains from running must have effected the scale....0 -
Hmm. So you twist my assertion that I gained muscle weight in my legs when I started running, to mean that I think the muscle mass gains are never ending?
Go write yourself another fairytale junior. Or at least try to come up with a half-way decent strawman arguement! LOL
LOL, junior. It always comes down to name calling when there is nothing else to fall back on.
Sorry, steady state cardio doesn't build substational muscle. Can you probably put on some noob stuff, sure.
As stated before, it is an extremely poor for hypertrophy and there is little to no progressive overload.
But whateve's, so as it pertains to the OP, muscle mass gains from running must have effected the scale....
No, it's the strawman argument that happens when there is nothing left to fall back on. And if you think calling you 'Junior' was harsh, I guess you are a special snowflake.
Yet another muscle man telling us all how insubstantial muscle gains are unless you can lift really really really heavy. *sigh*0 -
Nice balanced article about muscle gains from running: http://www.livestrong.com/article/398355-does-running-gain-muscle/0
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Hmm. So you twist my assertion that I gained muscle weight in my legs when I started running, to mean that I think the muscle mass gains are never ending?
Go write yourself another fairytale junior. Or at least try to come up with a half-way decent strawman arguement! LOL
LOL, junior. It always comes down to name calling when there is nothing else to fall back on.
Sorry, steady state cardio doesn't build substational muscle. Can you probably put on some noob stuff, sure.
As stated before, it is an extremely poor for hypertrophy and there is little to no progressive overload.
But whateve's, so as it pertains to the OP, muscle mass gains from running must have effected the scale....
No, it's the strawman argument that happens when there is nothing left to fall back on. And if you think calling you 'Junior' was harsh, I guess you are a special snowflake.
Yet another muscle man telling us all how insubstantial muscle gains are unless you can lift really really really heavy. *sigh*
Muscle Man?
I easily run more than I lift, but thanks anyway.0 -
Nice balanced article about muscle gains from running: http://www.livestrong.com/article/398355-does-running-gain-muscle/
The article stated that running doesn't create large muscle gains, but that it could build for the relatively low level runner (which means it wouldn't be substationl, which wouldn't stall, nor raise the scale for OP). Yes, any "new" workout regimine (running, lifting, 30DS) can come with some "noob gains", but on cardio alone would be pretty minimal. Still a gain, but minimal.
And that sprinting can build more substantial. (agreed).
But hey, whatever floats your boat right?0 -
Wow this has gotten heated. Thank you to the people who actually posted positive things to me. You are the ones that I will actually listen to. I am not eating more than i'm burning. I know this for a fact. If anything I'm not eating enough and that may be an issue so something I could look at. And again thanks to those who actually congratulated me on running and doing these steps in the right direction. I can tell you're good people. I really hate know-it-alls. I will do better to log and those can look back in a month then tell me I'm eating too much.0
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You are gaining because you are eating more than you are burning.
You are wrong. My inches are going down. I do measurements once a month. Thanks anyway0 -
One of my favourite friends
You look great no matter what so your doing something right!!
I'd second logging EVERYTHING for a month and see where you are 0
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