Question about Jogging

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MEPQ44
MEPQ44 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What is your take on jogging? can a person lose a significant amount of weight by jogging everyday? I have started jogging just to try it and I really like the way I feel after I am done, yet I fear that the jogging isn't enough. Any pointers?

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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I've started running, halfway through a "learn to run" course from The Running Room (C25K). I am really liking it, and the buildup is easy. I am doing far more than I ever thought I would.

    I'm not losing weight by running but I am trimming up, and I am stronger.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    You can jog all you want but if you're not eating less than you burn, you won't lose. Exercise is for fitness (and earning more calories to eat lol) but completely non-essential if your goal is strictly to lose weight. If you enjoy it, more power to you! I run because I enjoy running, and enjoy the perks of being fitter. But for weight loss your focus needs to be on what you eat not on how much you exercise.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I think it's a huge help. Not only am a burning more calories when I do it, I'm toning those muscles. I noticed a difference in my thighs after just a few weeks.

    All exercise helps, though, not just jogging.

    If you want to try it, give it a shot!! :)
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
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    From experience its is a great help and great for you too. Its helped me lose somewhere around 60 lbs of the 135ish ive lost so far. That said as has been said above and one of my favorite quotes ive seen on here

    You can not out exercise a bad diet
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    edited November 2014
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    You lose weight through a calorie deficit. This can be achieved through diet alone, or with a combination of diet and exercise.

    Running/jogging is great exercise and if you enjoy it, by all means, you should do it.

    But to lose weight, you need to log and track all of your food and stick to a moderate calorie deficit.


    As far as pointers go, don't go too fast when you start out. Speed comes with time and experience (and weight loss). Eat enough to support your activity level while still losing weight (a deficit of no more than 500 cals/day....this means eat back some of your exercise cals). Do strength training too - strong muscles make for stronger runners and less injuries. Don't run every day, especially when you are new to it. Get fitted for shoes - having the right shoes makes all the difference.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    First time I ran, I took it as a license to eat whatever and I gained weight. This time around, I lost weight first, then started running. Weight loss is about calories. You can lose weight playing video games all day, so long as you have a deficit.
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
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    Weight loss is about a calorie deficit, so exercise or not, eat below maintenance and you'll lose.

    That being said, jogging/running whatever you want to call it is great cardiovascular exercise. It does give a good calorie burn which can help with creating a deficit while eating more.

    My biggest advice is to ease in; whether that's to pick up a program like C25K, or just starting on your own. I hated how regimented the C25K program was, so I just started running. I'd do a run walk combo and stay at the same distance for a week or two, then gradually up it, by about 0.5-1k. Then one day a week, I do a shorter run which is more time based. It's really incredible how fast you can see progress! I'm a competitive, goal oriented person so constantly being able to make progress, push myself to new time and distance limits has made it the perfect exercise for me.

    I'm an outdoor runner however, and I have not been enjoying my transition to winter running haha.
  • MamaP47
    MamaP47 Posts: 94 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I lost weight first (the first 20 lbs) thru a healthy diet and maintaining a good daily caloric deficit. Then I started cardio (elliptical) and then moved to running. Now I'm running and lifting weights for muscle tone and definition. But still....most of my weight loss came from diet not exercise. But my clothes fit better due to the exercise.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    MEPQ44 wrote: »
    What is your take on jogging? can a person lose a significant amount of weight by jogging everyday? I have started jogging just to try it and I really like the way I feel after I am done, yet I fear that the jogging isn't enough. Any pointers?

    I'm an avid runner, but I ran when I was fat and now that I'm fit. I run because I love it.

    If you eat at a calorie deficit while running, you will lose weight. If you eat at a calorie surplus while running, you will gain weight, and if you eat at maintenance while running you will maintain your weight.

    In other words, weight loss happens in the kitchen not the gym.

    Eat at a calorie deficit and you will lose weight.

  • katherine_startrek_fan
    katherine_startrek_fan Posts: 425 Member
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    Jogging is a great choice! For me, jogging/running not only provides a great workout, but also surpresses my appetite. However, unless you have been jogging for awhile, it is typically recommended to only jog every other day.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Running's great, but you can't out run a bad diet. You will lose with a caloric deficit.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Phrick wrote: »
    You can jog all you want but if you're not eating less than you burn, you won't lose.

    This. It burns a lot of calories, so if you keep all else equal you can lose weight from running alone (I eat at a sedentary maintenance level lately and rely on exercise to burn calories, a lot of which is running). However, it's really easy to start eating more when you exercise without meaning to. I trained for a marathon some years ago and actually gained weight. Not a lot, but some, and my understanding is that's not uncommon at all.

    But that said, I'm glad you are enjoying it, OP, and think it's totally worth doing. For me the mental/relaxation benefits are as important as the physical ones and having fitness related goals like increasing speed and distance or training for various events keeps me from over focusing on the scale and helps me appreciate my body for what it can do.

  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    As everyone else has said, jogging/running can burn a lot of calories, but it also makes you hungrier. If you don't count calories and maintain a deficit, you can jog all you want and not lose weight. That's true of all exercise. In 2012, I bicycled about 2500 miles - many more than the previous year - and gained 10 pounds. I lost 45 in 2013 because I counted calories and made sure I was eating less than I expended.

    Seconding the advice to run only every other day (at most) when you're beginning. It can be a lot harder on your joints than it seems. Back in my 20s I could run only 4 or 5 days a week; any more and I started to get injuries frequently. These days I run 3 days a week and cycle, hike, or row the other days.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Estimated NET calorie burns from jogging (this is what you can eat back):

    Approximately 100 cals per mile, or better yet:

    0.63 X distance run (miles) X body weight (lbs)

    Read this Fitness and Exercise forum sticky:

    So you want to start running
  • lac925
    lac925 Posts: 12
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    I've lost 20 lbs just from running, some free weights, and watching what I eat (no junk food, but occasional treats). It can get boring after awhile, but just switch to some other form of cardio - I like Zumba :) I've lost an inch on my calves by running, and my legs look nice and lean now :)
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    MEPQ44 wrote: »
    What is your take on jogging? can a person lose a significant amount of weight by jogging everyday? I have started jogging just to try it and I really like the way I feel after I am done, yet I fear that the jogging isn't enough. Any pointers?

    You lose weight through eating at a deficit, you don't need to train.

    Personally I've lost three stone, and reduced my bodyfat percentage by a third through predoinantly running supplemented with cycling and some bodyweight resistance training.

    That said, I don't run every day. At the moment I'm on four sessions per week; intervals, tempo, recovery and long run, but my objective is about half marathon performances in the spring.

    All that said, as a newbie runner doing an introductory programme like C25K then you're only consuming around 300 calories per session, so whilst it can help in deriving a calorie deficit, it can lead to a false sense of opportunity. One still needs to be pretty rigorous about managing the intake.

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