switch from group exercise to jogging

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So, I just celebrated my 50th pound lost since I began my lifestyle transformation, and I decided to celebrate by signing up for a half marathon. I spent the 6 months of my weight loss journey working out in the gym (on elliptical/stairmaster/treadmill) and participating in group exercise (bootcamp, Zumba, resistance training, body toning, cardio boxing). Now that I'm substantially lighter on my feet, I've decided to take up running/jogging. I was a cross country runner for 6 years (from 7th grade through senior year) and loved it. I literally hadn't run in 15 years until a month ago. I decided to run one day, with no particular mileage in mind, just to see how it felt. Well, it felt great, and I felt like Forrest Gump because, "I just kept on running". I ended up going 4 miles without stopping, which I was really pleased with. I think that all of my strength training and cardio workouts that my body was really up to the task, even though I didn't know it. I ended up running 3 times that week, each from 3-4 miles. I then decided that I would challenge myself to a half-marathon, with 10 weeks of training to prepare (knowing that I probably would not be able to run the whole thing, but at least put in a really good effort). I have been running 3-4 times a week for 3-4 miles at a time (at a 10 minute mile pace), and have enjoyed it quite a bit. The only thing I haven't enjoyed - I haven't lost a single pound since picking up running. I'm still awfully heavy to be putting that kind of pounding on my joints, and I was hoping that my weight loss would continue or even accelerate by adding this new component to my regime. I'm kind of shocked that nothing has changed. I haven't gained either, but certainly haven't lost. It could be that it's the holidays and my diet has been slightly less stringently monitored in the last few weeks, but certainly I haven't just blown it any one day. I'm eating anywhere from 1300-1700 calories per day. I'm hoping that perhaps my body is just making adjustments to a "new normal", and once it figures out that running is here to stay, it will start responding. I run on sand trails/grass when I can, or track surfaces, but do still end up doing a fair amount of pounding on pavement/asphalt. I really need to continue to lose. I'll just be patient. :)

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  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    looks like your body found where its happy and now youre on maintenance mode.
    calculate your BMI and see where you at?

    http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

    if you are on the mid normal range then you still have room to lose weight. If you have a set weight in mind you wanna lose calculate your BMR

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    then input your calories on MFP and adjust your settings.

    If I want to lose more weight I up my deficit to about 500-700 calories 5x/week and maintain within calories during weekends or eating out.

    I also push my first meal around noon. and my last meal at 8pm.

    nice run!
  • cummingscb
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    My BMI is still about a tenth of a point into the obese range, so I still easily have another 30-40 lbs to lose before I'm out of the overweight range. So, I just can't imagine that my body could already be in maintenance mode. :( I do think I need to add a component of weights back in. I had switched to just running, and maybe my body still needs the benefits of moderate weight training to continue to lose.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    My BMI is still about a tenth of a point into the obese range, so I still easily have another 30-40 lbs to lose before I'm out of the overweight range. So, I just can't imagine that my body could already be in maintenance mode. :( I do think I need to add a component of weights back in. I had switched to just running, and maybe my body still needs the benefits of moderate weight training to continue to lose.
    maintenance mode has nothing to do with the weight you are. It just means the amount of calories your body is getting is keeping keeping your body at that weight. Go back to basics make sure you are weighing and logging your food accurately and calculating your exercise correctly. If that's all OK you may need to recalculate your calorie limit