How heavy is too heavy to run?

I discovered running at 195lbs. I got up to an hour a day and I loved it! I guess either the weight or the over doing it caused my right foot to hurt (like a metatarsol break) I am back up to 208lbs. because I stopped running but I LOVE it and I do not want to stop. So my question is, am I too heavy to run? My dad thinks I need to lose another 50lbs. before attempting to run again. I see these guys on biggest loser running and I can't understand why it doesn't bother them so much. Please help, thanks.

I have never heard of anyone being too heavy to run! I really doubt it, but I could be totally wrong. If it does give you a lot of strain though, try power walking. If you're walking fast enough, it will get up your heart rate, but not put an impact on you as much. Also, double check you have good quality shoes and the ground is good. If you run on a side walk, it will be much harder and have a harder impact on your feet/calves than running on a track or treadmill. Honestly, running hurt my shins SOO BAD when I first started I couldn't do it till I built up the strength on a treadmill with great shoes. I wear Nike's (:

You know, I have the same problem when I workout. It's any work out for me really, not just running. There's no weight limit per se, but like maddiey said, your weight may be putting extra strain on your foot. You may want to try going to a podiatrist so that they can check it out and give the the proper supports you need for your shoes so that you aren't causing any injury.

I'm still heavier than you, and have been running for quite some time. (I'm doing a half marathon next week.)

It's more likely your injury is down to something else - poorly fitted shoes, running regularly on a surface that is cambered in a way that puts strain on your leg, overload (too much too soon), etc.

I think you are okay to run at any weight. As for your foot pain, (if bad go see doctor) make sure you are giving yourself time to recover between runs. I pushed myself way to hard and got to enjoy 3 weeks in a boot with a stress fracture. I learned to listen to my body and supplement my running with an exercise bike on off run days. Best of luck to you.

I weigh over that and I fast walk for .5 miles then jog for a 1 mile @ 5.2 MPH. When I first started I was doing 1 mile then I went up to 2 miles a day for 3-4 days a week. It feels great and I haven't had an injuries because of it. As long as you feel great and you don't have any pain afterwards I say go for it. Just make sure you are comfortable, have great shoes and don't push yourself. I never thought that I would ever hear the words " I love to jog" come out of my mouth but it does every time I finish my jog.

im by far heavier than u by alot and i was running today well jogging i may not can run a mile like i use to but i can pick my feet up off the ground and run rather it be 5 minutes thats more than not running at all prefer to run than walk anyways why walk for 30 minutes when u can run for 15 lol .. i also agree a good shoe support may help u can do it though dont give up you can do anything u put your mind to hun

anybody else have to read this like 4 times and still not understand?

im by far heavier than u by alot and i was running today well jogging i may not can run a mile like i use to but i can pick my feet up off the ground and run rather it be 5 minutes thats more than not running at all prefer to run than walk anyways why walk for 30 minutes when u can run for 15 lol .. i also agree a good shoe support may help u can do it though dont give up you can do anything u put your mind to hun

anybody else have to read this like 4 times and still not understand?

If you breathe in the right places, it's almost like punctuation, and then it makes perfect sense.

i ran at 242....still running at 206...

I have been running since I was around 300 lbs so I am sure you're fine, just get a good pair of sneakers

That has happened to me even walking - I think I had my shoes too tightly laced. Hurts for about a week terribly, all bruised on the top of the foot, then goes away. I've never stopped exercising because of it, just laced my shoes more lightly and kept trucking.

Here's method I've used to stop the injuries I always seemed to get by overdoing it.
I used to go by HR to decide speed, but you can improve your heart much faster than your joints may be able to take the load.
And it is a bummer that running is one of those things where if you are injured, the recovery is bear even with normal walking many times. And would hate to blow the knees out before you get to a weight to really fly and enjoy it.

So this table shows weeks to change goal, I just changed that to 5 lb ranges. Week 11 of doing 20 min non-stop is about 10 lbs above goal weight. And then keep adding 5 lb range to each week. So that covers a 50 lb range of loss.

As you lose 5 lbs you go to next week. If that still hurts knees, you adjust the scale again. What's nice about this too is basically you are doing intervals, especially when you get to point of making the run part faster. And intervals can help burn that fat faster than steady state cardio.

http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/JogWalkProgram.html

im by far heavier than u by alot and i was running today well jogging i may not can run a mile like i use to but i can pick my feet up off the ground and run rather it be 5 minutes thats more than not running at all prefer to run than walk anyways why walk for 30 minutes when u can run for 15 lol .. i also agree a good shoe support may help u can do it though dont give up you can do anything u put your mind to hun

anybody else have to read this like 4 times and still not understand?

I started to read it and, to me, it simply isn't worth it.

Refusing to use punctuation is an excellent way to cut down on the number of people who might otherwise be interested in your ideas.

I discovered running at 195lbs. I got up to an hour a day and I loved it! I guess either the weight or the over doing it caused my right foot to hurt (like a metatarsol break) I am back up to 208lbs. because I stopped running but I LOVE it and I do not want to stop. So my question is, am I too heavy to run? My dad thinks I need to lose another 50lbs. before attempting to run again. I see these guys on biggest loser running and I can't understand why it doesn't bother them so much. Please help, thanks.

The amount of stress that being overweight puts on our entire body is staggering. Depending on who you read, every pound puts something like 4 pounds of stress on our knees.

I'm 6' 1" and tried running when I was about 230 pounds. No way. The pain was just not worth it. Understanding that obesity compromises so many of our body systems, I came to the conclusion that there was no way I wanted to put my recovery systems through that abuse. Instead, I stuck with the elliptical, which is zero impact.

I didn't start running 'til I was 209 pounds and that allowed me to follow a training plan. On August 19, 2011, just ten weeks after I started running, I ran a half marathon and finished it easily with zero injuries.

I would recommend against running when seriously overweight.

According to Runner's World, two out of three recreational runners are "injured" over the course of a year. Knowing that the injury rate is that high, why would you take a chance?

Some running injuries are due to trauma, most are overuse injuries which come from putting too much strain on the lower half of the body. The problem with overuse injuries is that most times, you don't feel anything 'til it's too late. As a novice runner, you don't have the experience to know what injuries to watch out for (there's about half a dozen common injuries) yet you're stilling beating up your body each time you run.

In that obesity puts so much more strain on the body and in that there are other exercises that give a safe cardio workout, why would you take the chance?