How long until I see a difference?

PinkChick

Hi, I started running a month ago. Am doing about four runs a week for about 30 minutes each. I started running because I wanted to improve my fitness and to lose weight, mainly tone up my thighs. I am seeing huge differences in my fitness. But weight wise I feel bigger. My clothes are tighter and I put on four pounds. I don't mind the scales so much because I know I am probably building up muscle but the clothes things is getting to me. I am trying not to get so down about it that I stop because I am really enjoying it and love the fact that I am seeing such improvements in my fitness and running. My question is can anyone remember how long it was before they noticed a difference in their body when they first started running? I was so chuffed with myself for getting off my bum and doing something and am a bit gutted by no improvement.

macinalli

You are seeing an improvement! Feeling fitter, healthier & better about yourself are important - weight loss will come, although there's no easy answer on 'when'.

Two things to consider would be diet and routine. If your diet isn't good, it takes a lot of running to compensate for that. Your appetite will also increase with exercise - be careful not to compensate with snacks. The other point is that running the same route/speed every time isn't a good use of your time. There are lots of threads here with good advice on this - try to have one session a week where you focus on trying to improve your speed (e.g. intervals), include recovery runs (i.e. run slowly) and try to increase the distance of your longest run (gradually)

Some of these will be a bit of a challenge at the start but if you stick with it you should definitely feel the benefits. Keep it up!

PinkChick

Hi macinalli. I am on Weight Watchers based diet (except no processed foods or WW ready meals etc but counting points) and have increased my points accordingly. Am running in the morning and definitely do need to eat more at breakfast, after my run. Have added a poached egg to my normal toast and it makes a difference. My diet would be good overall. Not a lot of snacks and the majority of them are healthy. Although by no means perfect!! But I am happy with my diet and really want to focus on the exercise now. I have educated myself a lot on foods and diet over last year or two.

I have started altering my runs, on advice I got here, alternating between improving speed on some runs and increasing distance on others. I guess I am just being impatient, I am the type of person that needs to see results to keep going but am making myself fight the urge to give up, which is my normal. This is the first time I have kept up exercise so determined. Hopefully it will pay off soon!

mloc123

Could you be over eating after starting to run, 4x30mins a week is about 900cals maybe? so about 130cals a day. Most people over estimate how many calories are actually burned while running.

PinkChick

I added by WW points and it only was 2.5 - 3 points more, depending on how long run is. Definitely don't feel I'm overeating. Only changed my breakfast to include egg. Eat tuna salad for lunch and a balanced meat, potato and veg dinner. If I am hungry in work might have a yogurt or cereal bar. Generally within my points. I know it's different with calories but my head works in points :-)

To be honest, I really want to focus on the exercise and am happy with my diet. I lost weight on it and got to my goal weight but never toned up, which is what I am trying to do now. I had put back on some of it (as you do!) but am back on the WW plan now so it will come off again. Had put back on less than half a stone.

HardyEustace

PC, I don't mean to imply you are but a lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that doing a bit of running is an excuse to eat all round them.

I think where it helps is that you feel better, you feel more energised, it makes you more inclined to make better choices. From what I've read/learned/observed a lot of overeating is down to habit and self-esteem, two things that running or any form of exercise can really help with.

Don't forget that running a mile only burns 100 calories. Therefore cutting out one chocolate bar a day (in my case a post-lunch moro) is equivalent to running three miles a day.

In you read through this forum and the nutrition & diet forum then you'll see that the old adage of "six packs being made in the kitchen" does hold true.

I would recommend keeping a food diary - either use the log in nutrition and diet or a site like fitday.com.

Best of luck.

average_runner

Remember it takes along time to lose weight when your running, its your diet that will cause you to lose the weight!

HardyEustace

And remember - it didn't go on overnight, it won't come off overnight but equally once it's off, it'll stay off

Dow99

I'm the same as you PinkChick,,, I have been running since April and in total I've actually put on about 4lbs. I'm about a stone and a half over weight and thought it would be easy to shift... I'm running about 25km a week. I know that at the start I was eating the wrong stuff and getting huge hunger pangs. But I was eating at the wrong time and the wrong stuff.
I made a mistake with cutting out carbs,, BIG MISTAKE,, I felt I was going backwards,, I was struggling to do even 2km and wasnt losing weight. You need to fuel your body but be sensible about it.
Hopefully as yours (and my) fitness increases you will be able to run further and faster and then burn more calories. I can now do 10km comfortably and I'm looking more at my diet.
But until 2 weeks ago I was putting on weight but in the last 2 weeks I've lost about 4lbs so far,, Not bad - and my training and running has greatly improved.

The_Morrigan

PinkChick wrote: »

Hi, I started running a month ago. Am doing about four runs a week for about 30 minutes each. I started running because I wanted to improve my fitness and to lose weight, mainly tone up my thighs. I am seeing huge differences in my fitness. But weight wise I feel bigger. My clothes are tighter and I put on four pounds. I don't mind the scales so much because I know I am probably building up muscle but the clothes things is getting to me. I am trying not to get so down about it that I stop because I am really enjoying it and love the fact that I am seeing such improvements in my fitness and running. My question is can anyone remember how long it was before they noticed a difference in their body when they first started running? I was so chuffed with myself for getting off my bum and doing something and am a bit gutted by no improvement.

PinkChick,
I'm a bit like you, I started the C25K programme a few weeks ago and I've put on weight aswell. I'm by no means running as much as you (yet) but on closer inspection I've lost cm's/inches in places that I wouldn't notice on my clothes - like right under the bust, the waist (or skinner part over the spare tyre!!), thighs, calves!!
The OH has noticed that I've lost weight, and I've toned up, but I don't see it yet.

Keep at it - the fitness levels increasing is reason enough to carry on, the rest will fall into place eventually!!

aero2k

OP,

I've just had a look back at my records. I did a bit of running over 3 or 4 years, 3-4 times per week mostly easy, and I only lost about 3 kg. When I decided to train for the Dublin Marathon in '08, I lost 6kg in 5 months. I put most of that back on when the training intensity dropped over the next couple of months, even though I was still running about 4 times per week, then lost it again during training for the '09 marathon. I'm much more consistent in my training now, I keep an eye on what I eat, (without beig too rigid) and the weight is fairly constant.

As others have said it's mainly down to diet, you have to do a lot of fairly fast running to lose any noticable amount of weight unless you change your diet too.

It is important to eat soon after your runs, but you don't need to eat a huge amount. Drinking lots also helps cut down on the hunger.

menoscemo

PinkChick wrote: »

Hi macinalli. I am on Weight Watchers based diet (and have increased my points accordingly).

I think there's the issue there. If you have incresed you points accordingly (i.e. are eating more as a result of running) you can't expect to lose weight. You would lose weight slowly through running only if your diet remains the same as before and you eat no more as a result of running.

I say slowly because if you keep up running as you are now and eat NO MORE on your non running days you should lose about a pound every 3 weeks through running. I calculte that on the following basis: a 30 minute run (I assume that is around 3 miles?) will burn 300 calories on a normal sized person. Running 4 times a week means you burn an extra 1200 calories a week. In 3 weeks you will have burned 3600 calories which is the equivalent to burning a pound of fat.

If you eat an extra 1200 calories per week becuase of running you will not lose any weight, if you eat more than 1200 calories you will put weight on. If you were previously inactive you will probably put weight on anyway due to building muscle.

Conclusion: Running in itself will not make you lose weight, rather creating a calorie deficit through what you eat and the excercise you do will make you lose weight. Run more + eat equivalent amount more = no change.
Running should be enjoybale and help you get fit, and whether you see the results on the scales or not, getting fitter will have many health benefits and will make you feel great about yourself.

2nd Row Donkey

Bloodly hell

100 calories = 1 mile of running.

i have a 2 finger kitkat every day at luch time = 5 x 102 = 510 calories.

Therefore one of my 5 mile runs only counter acts a few measily kit kats!!


Bahhh!!!

*mumbles to self*... bloody kitkats

HardyEustace

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Bloodly hell

100 calories = 1 mile of running.

i have a 2 finger kitkat every day at luch time = 5 x 102 = 510 calories.

Therefore one of my 5 mile runs only counter acts a few measily kit kats!!


Bahhh!!!

*mumbles to self*... bloody kitkats

I know, it puts chocolate bars in a whole new light - looking at a moro and going hmmmm, is it worth a three mile run...

2nd Row Donkey

I'm a big fan of moro's myself (as is someone else in my work place who likes to help themselves to mine occasionally!) - a nice cold one from the fridge with a cup of hot tea but no moro is worth 3 miles!

Seres

not fair , i love treating myself with choc after a run

fungirl1

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Bloodly hell

100 calories = 1 mile of running.

i have a 2 finger kitkat every day at luch time = 5 x 102 = 510 calories.

Therefore one of my 5 mile runs only counter acts a few measily kit kats!!


Bahhh!!!

*mumbles to self*... bloody kitkats

I am seeing my choccie additction in a whole new light..:mad:

I started running last year built myself up from 100m (I am not joking...) to about 12km...it was only when I was running 6km twice a week and 10km plus run at the weekend that I really started to notice weight moving.

While I woudl be a big fan of weight watchers generally I am not convinced it mixes very well with lots of exercise...I was always more successful loosing weight when i stuck to my points and did not exercise that when I exercised and added on the points as instructed by WW...odd...

shanagarry

I'm similar to the above, I only really see weightloss once my long runs go over 10km, and then it isn't huge, although the toning, and effect on body shape is obvious.

I would also not be adding on the extra points, or at least not all. If you are feeling hungry, go for slow release carbs. A bowl of porridge for brekkie would fill you much more than adding the egg.

Also look at doing some sort of resistance/weight training program to supplement the running.

earnyourturns

The good news, however, is once you get into the bigger miles for marathon training things look a bit different, ie; takes 3 miles to burn off a choc bar, but my long run is 17 miles this week and I'll have run 41 miles overall so don't mind if I do