Shoul I drop to below 100kg (220lb) before I exercise?

You're doing just fine. 1lb/week is great. 2kg/4lbs+ a week is crazy and unsustainable and not even possible in the first place (for most people).

Just keep doing what you're doing. I wouldn't wait to exercise unless you have doctor's orders not to.

Running being hard on joints is at worst a fairy tale told by those who don't run. At beast it's incomplete advice, meaning that sure it's possible to injure your self it you take on an activity be it running or tennis or computer gaming and do it improperly.

Do you have any joint issues? Knees feeling fine? Then you can start now, just ease into it slowly. You need to give your body the time to adapt. Yes, you are carrying more weight than you'd like but guess what, your body is already adapted to that to a large degree.

Ease into it. Run *slowly* (you get tons of benefit while reducing risk). Run shorter strides with higher cadence (foot strikes per minute... don't fret about this now, just use shorter strides and keep your pace slow). Adopt a progressive training program like Couch to 5k (C25K - referenced on this forum frequently) as this will help you ease in properly. Equip yourself with good runners, seek the advice of a good running shop.

And get out there and do it!

Your situation is very similar to mine almost exactly 1 year ago today.

Context: Last September I weighed in at 116kg / 255 pounds and at 53 years old I wanted to run again -- I had been a trim and fit distance runner up until my later 30's. I'd had a minor bout with pneumonia earlier in the year so my lungs just ached but I pushed through it and if you lived near by you'd have seen my lumbering carcass run in the sun or drenching downpours alike all fall and winter.

From September through December I slowly built up my running because I really had no choice. While I could walk for hours even before starting to lose weight, I wasn't able to manage even running 1km without stopping frequently. Wheezing. It was frustrating to me, but I knew from my past that if I just kept at it, kept the faith, that I eventually would rebuild my cardiopulmonary fitness and endurance. By October I was stringing together a couple km at a time; by November 5km and by the end of the year, 7km. Sure, sometimes I'd stop for breather, and I had good and bad runs. From the start I should have adopted a run-walk-run approach but being a stubborn ex-runner has it's price to pay. No matter, at least I listened to my body and remained injury free.

I only ran two or three times a week during that period and covered some 250km by the end of 2014. That really isn't that much distance but it was more than enough to establish a habit and rekindle my love of running.

Over the course of that period of time I dropped 25 or 30 pounds and emerged from the Christmas-New Year holiday season for the first time in years having not gained any weight. That was pretty amazing to me and encouraged my weight loss efforts too.

Since then I've jacked up my running substantially (running 250km a month isn't unusual, aiming for 322km this month) and have lost cumulative total of 78 pounds. I've got a few more pounds to shed but am already very fit.

Just to be clear, I don't run to lose weight, I started running to regain fitness and I enjoy the activity. There are weight loss benefits from improving your metabolic function but the most important benefit of exercise is fitness. You'll still need to work on a restricted diet for weight loss although the calorie burn from running may allow you some meal flexibility.

So... do *you* have to lose more first? Just ask yourself how your body feels today and if you are up for it, there's no time like the present to get going. You can do a lot in a year. Or less!

HassanShuman wrote: »

I have lost 12lb over the past 4 weeks but slowing down to 1lb a week which is putting me down.

I am already on 1200 calories a day and consume 1500 as I burn an extra 300 walking to/from tube and doing house chores. Should I drop to 800 calories? Or am I being ambitious wanting to lose 2kg a week?

Separate answer for this part of your question...

1 pound a week is 52 pounds a year. That is NOT failure but is a terrific result. If you can manage that reliably you should be delighted.

No, you should not drop to 800 calories, such low intake for anyone but particularly for a larger male is unhealthy and unsustainable. You risk doing damage to yourself and having your efforts back fire.

If you do take up running you'll be burning more calories as your distance picks up. You need to replace them too by eating them back as you are now. You might find eating back 1/2 works for you after some experimentation.

Keep on doing what you are doing but don't be discouraged by 1 pound a week. It is still early on for you and that amount will go up and down based on what you are doing. The important thing to do is work on a sustainable dietary and exercise plan that leaves you healthy and fit at the end of the road. A plan you can adopt for life is ideal, because you'll never want to go back to the old you after you are done.

Completely unrealistic 4lb a week. You must have plucked that figure out of the air without fully understanding how you might achieve it. If you did understand then you wouldnt set yourself such a target.
Exercise now as the benefits are great even with modest weight loss. Fitness gains also come quickly.

999tigger wrote: »

Completely unrealistic 4lb a week. You must have plucked that figure out of the air without fully understanding how you might achieve it.

Since he lost those 12 pounds in the first four weeks, I wonder if @HassanShuman is mistaking the easy, early, weight loss for something he can expect to do week in, week out?

Hassan - for those of us starting out with a significant amount of weight to lose there is often a quite large drop in weight that follows soon after adopting a calorie restricted diet. It can be that a large amount of that weight loss is water, especially if you have also reduced your carbohydrate intake significantly.

These large early losses are *not* sustainable and are more a product of chemistry than anything. 1 pound a week *is* sustainable and some people can safely manage 2 pounds a week. Aim for one pound a week while also setting out to improve your fitness (through running or any other new exercise you adopt) and you'll be delighted with your progress before you know it.

HassanShuman wrote: »

I assume that I should aim for a net 1200 calories consumption which should motivate me to hit the road as I can eat more (healthy foods, naturally)

The recommendation for men on MFP is to NET at least 1500.

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals

DopeItUp wrote: »

You're doing just fine. 1lb/week is great. 2kg/4lbs+ a week is crazy and unsustainable and not even possible in the first place (for most people).

Just keep doing what you're doing. I wouldn't wait to exercise unless you have doctor's orders not to.

^^^This I started exercising at 160kg. I lose about 2kgs a month on average.

moyer566 wrote: »

HassanShuman wrote: »

I assume that I should aim for a net 1200 calories consumption which should motivate me to hit the road as I can eat more (healthy foods, naturally)

I want to say that men should not eat less than 1500 cal. 1200 is recommended for women

Also this. Dont eat too little.

BrianSharpe wrote: »

Honesty I'm not a huge fan of C25K in that it sets up a lot of people for failure by creating the expectation that you'll be able to run a 5K in 9 or 10 weeks. For many people this is an unrealistic expectation and frustration sets in, frequently leading to giving up running.

That's a valid concern for sure and I'm with you on wanting to avoid setting people up to fail, especially since setting the stage for achieving success can be as simple setting the right expectations.

I use C25K more as a synonym or short hand for suggesting new runners take a progressive approach using periods of walking and running to develop endurance. There's nothing wrong with the program itself if the person is already at the stage where they can navigate through the progression, but many here on MFP won't be at that point, physically and mentally. Point noted Brian.

Hassan, in addition to Brian's suggestion I'd like to add that at our ages (late 40's early 50's) doing everything you can to avoid injury is important. Keeping speed down helps a lot. Don't forget to stretch; learn how. We heal slower than we did in our twenties but more than the injury itself the concern about being sidelined by injury is that some people will never get back to their health and fitness improvement program once they heal.