A newbie recommitted

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illbeinyourband
illbeinyourband Posts: 15
in Introduce Yourself
Hello all,

I'm Bryan, a 26 year old living in Champaign, IL. I work at a hospital here. I play guitar, and would love to have a professional career doing so. I have an awesome fiancee, Bree, who I've been with for 3 years.

My story, briefly:
I was bigger as an adolescent, slimmed down in high school (I spent most of my time skateboarding) and in college I basically became a fast-food junkie/couch potato and gained 100 pounds. I feel like I've missed out on so many opportunities and friends because I chose to sit around, eating and watching TV instead. Now that I'm older, I'm constantly in lower back pain and just overall feel unhealthy and unhappy. I've tried dieting a few times before and each time, it's started to work. I've lost 10 lbs several times, but got lazy and gained it back. At my heaviest at the beginning of 2014, I weighed 279. I just don't want to see that number rise anymore. My fiancee and I are taking on the challenge together, determined to feel better and have better lives. I'm ready to start finally living my life.

For the past month, I've been counting calories and trying to take on the Couch to 5k program. Since I'm so overweight, counting hasn't been bad (I started with 2100 Cal/day). Of course, I'm craving the fast food I was eating several times a week. If I do give in, I'm getting Subway, or McDonald's grilled chicken wraps and reasonable things like that. Man, do I miss a good cheeseburger.

What I'm really struggling with is the exercise. I'm completely out of shape. I've never been one to exercise at all, my whole life. I'm really struggling with the first few weeks of the Couch-to-5k program, which on paper looks so easy. My legs, shins, ankles, knees. It all kills when trying to run. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear it because I feel like my body is holding me back.

Replies

  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
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    try riding a bike. it worked for me.
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
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    Start with walking. I could barely walk 15 mins when I started. You'll get faster and able to walk for longer periods. Then try running

    ETA I hear weight lifting is best (Still haven't put it into action don't ask what I'm waiting for I don't know lol) But if you're talking endurance because you want to run, then start walking first.
  • karakreature
    karakreature Posts: 79 Member
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    I'd try a bike or just walking to start. Until you get some of the weight off, it is going to hurt, especially your joints. Start with something easier, then come back to Couch to 5K in a month. See how it feels then.
  • mummma
    mummma Posts: 402 Member
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    i want to do couch 2 5k too. so i started walking to build up my fitness. started with 15 minutes and worked up. its been 97 days and i realised yesterday that i now do 4 miles worth of intervals :) X
  • illbeinyourband
    illbeinyourband Posts: 15
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    Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm confused because I am used to walking. I've held jobs the last four years where it's nothing but on my feet, now 12 hours a day. It's funny because I can walk briskly for 30 minutes, without even a hint of a problem. But right when I take it up to the "jog level" (4.0-5.0mph on the treadmill) that's when I start to have pain in my legs. Would a bike be a good bridge between the walking I'm used to and jogging/running?
  • TXrattlesnake
    TXrattlesnake Posts: 8
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    The change in impact from a brisk walk to a jog is a lot, especially for us bigger folks. Walking you're really just transitioning from foot to foot where jogging you're actually taking both feet off the ground and landing on one of them... it's a significant step. I'd stick with other cardio (walking, biking) and get into the heavier impact stuff after dropping some pounds and reassessing. Also make sure you're wearing the right type of shoes when you are ready to run, visit a running store in your area for a gait analysis.
  • Debssssssssss
    Debssssssssss Posts: 84 Member
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    The change in impact from a brisk walk to a jog is a lot, especially for us bigger folks. Walking you're really just transitioning from foot to foot where jogging you're actually taking both feet off the ground and landing on one of them... it's a significant step. I'd stick with other cardio (walking, biking) and get into the heavier impact stuff after dropping some pounds and reassessing. Also make sure you're wearing the right type of shoes when you are ready to run, visit a running store in your area for a gait analysis.

    Such good advise. I would definitely stick to the lower impact for the time being, and focus on getting the food right. If you are eating right and walking/hiking/biking you will still lose weight.
  • ryantrimble12
    ryantrimble12 Posts: 49 Member
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    If you really want to run, make sure that you don't do too much too soon and end up with overuse injuries. When I first started running I hated every second of it, but now I can run a few miles just fine, and even enjoy it. It definitely helped me to start out SLOW, like only running for 30 seconds at a time (or less than that) until it doesn't hurt so much. For about the first 2 months that I was running I had quite a bit of pain (shin splints were killer), but I made sure to use lots of ice and stretching, and those kinds of pains stopped once I was able to build up the muscles around my shins and knees.

    You can do this! :)
  • liftingandlipstick
    liftingandlipstick Posts: 1,857 Member
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    How about picking up that skate board again? If it's something you enjoyed, use that as a workout.

    BBiking isn't really going to help with running (rather than cardio endurance) as it works completely different muscles. The only way to get better at running is to run, unfortunately. Pain sucks, and running injuries are super common among newbies (I'm still one too!). Make sure you have good running specific shoes. Don't go too fast- that is JOG, rather than RUN. There is a C25K group here that is really helpful if you're looking for tips!

    Also, it's okay to have the cheeseburger once in a while. Just make sure it fits into your day :) (I had tacos for lunch, with no regrets!)
  • illbeinyourband
    illbeinyourband Posts: 15
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    Ha, I'd love to skateboard again! But at this point, I would definitely injure my back and probably break something. Maybe someday down the line... And as far as cheeseburgers go.. I had a specialty cheeseburger at TGI Friday's when I first started counting and looked it up later when I got home... 1400 CALORIES! Definitely not worth it.

    Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll probably try the treadmill one more time this week and really slow down (barely jog), and see how it feels. I am motivated to keep with C25K because I'd love to keep pace with my fiancee. She's not having these issues I'm having :)
  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
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    When I started at 289 lbs, I couldn't run a mile. I did spin class, xbox 360 games (just moving and keeping my mind off food), weights and watched my calories carefully with mfp. After 5 mos and 50 lbs, I started riding again and the occasional jog. At the end of the year, after about 75 lbs lost, on a wet day where I didn't want to ride, I just decided to run for an hour to see how far I would get. I did 6.5 which was a lot for me and it was just random, I wasn't trainng to run, other than an occasional jog to cross train for cycling. Anyway, you might be surprised what you can do after building some aerobic endurance (whether walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, boxing, rowing, dancing, whatever floats your boat) and losing a few lbs. It will only get easier.
  • liftingandlipstick
    liftingandlipstick Posts: 1,857 Member
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    Ouch on that Friday's burger! That's when the app comes in handy, though I'll admit it sucks looking everything up before you order :( BUT: A McDouble is under 400, and a Big Mac under 6. Not the most amazing burgers out there, but they do satisfy the cravings :)

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