This fat girl runs, breathes and believes

This Fat Girl Runs · 21-04-2015 11:53PM

Stheno wrote:

Out of curiosity what is your height and weight?

Hard to believe at your activity level that you are fat/obese[/quote]

I'm 38 years old, 5 foot 7 and 15.5 stone at 24% body fat. So yes. I'm fat.

Everything checks out too; blood, thyroid etc. It's all normal.

menoscemo · 21-04-2015 11:58PM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Oh, that's not what I meant. I mean sugars in their natural state i.e in fruit or natural, unprocessed foods.

Ah that's cool then.
I am sure davedanon picked it up the other way as I did too. It's just you often see gels and the like advertising themselves as having natural fruit sugar as if that is somehow better than table sugar.

Once you're eating whole, unprocessed fruits and veg (not juices with 'natural fruit juice' etc) then I can't see any problem with eating them all the time (My opinion).
The only issue is that after a long long run they are possibly a little low GI (due to all the fibre etc). High GI sugars are probably better in that circumstance, although it's probably marginal.

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 12:16AM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Hard to believe at your activity level that you are fat/obese

I'm 38 years old, 5 foot 7 and 15.5 stone at 24% body fat. So yes. I'm fat.

Everything checks out too; blood, thyroid etc. It's all normal.[/quote]

Where did you get your body fat percentage measures. 24% is in the fitness category, above normal. I don't know you so it's hard to tell, seems a blt low to me. If it's true though, and you are 15.5 stone of lean muscle, I genuinely think you are in the wrong discipline. You'd be made for shot putt. We need more people doing the throws after all

Check out Valerie Adams for inspiration.

NetwerkErrer · 22-04-2015 12:18AM

Chivito550 wrote: »

Where did you get your body fat percentage measures. 24% is in the fitness category, above normal. I don't know you so it's hard to tell, seems a bit high to me. If it's true though, and you are 15.5 stone of lean muscle, I genuinely think you are in the wrong discipline. You'd be made for shot putt. We need more people doing the throws after all

Check out Valerie Adams for inspiration.

I think you're mixing up bf% with bmi Chivito.

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 12:20AM

NetwerkErrer wrote: »

I think you're mixing up bf% with bmi Chivito.

http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

24% for a woman is not high.

RonanP77 · 22-04-2015 07:22AM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote:

I'm not trying to lose weight specifically.

I find this a little confusing, I'm sure your coach and trainer have advised you that losing weight would be a good idea. The more experienced long distance runners on here have told you that it would be of massive benefit to you. It'll seriously reduce your likelihood of injury and make you a faster more efficient runner.

Is it that you want to be known as the fat girl that runs and that if you lose the weight you'll just be another girl that runs?

This Fat Girl Runs wrote:

I'm 38 years old, 5 foot 7 and 15.5 stone at 24% body fat. So yes. I'm fat.

We're similar heights but I'm 5 stone lighter. My body fat would probably be high teens, maybe even 20. I'd be shocked if someone so much heavier than me would have such low body fat. Girls are normally a good bit higher than fellas too. Did you get it properly checked?

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 07:40AM

RonanP77 wrote: »

I find this a little confusing, I'm sure your coach and trainer have advised you that losing weight would be a good idea. The more experienced long distance runners on here have told you that it would be of massive benefit to you. It'll seriously reduce your likelihood of injury and make you a faster more efficient runner.

Is it that you want to be known as the fat girl that runs and that if you lose the weight you'll just be another girl that runs?

We're similar heights but I'm 5 stone lighter. My body fat would probably be high teens, maybe even 20. I'd be shocked if someone so much heavier than me would have such low body fat. Girls are normally a good bit higher than fellas too. Did you get it properly checked?

Ronan, first post of yours that I've 100% agreed with.

annapr · 22-04-2015 07:50AM

menoscemo wrote: »

Eating fruit itself is fine, but once you take the sugar out of the fruit and put it somewhere else (Fructose I think?) it's just as bad as table sugar.

Remember table sugar also comes from a plant, it's just as natural as fruit sugar.

That's exactly right Meno. Fruit juices are as bad as Fizzy drinks because the fibre is removed, making it mainly sugar. The benefit of eating actual fruit, like firedance says, is it comes with fibre and vitamins, etc. There's also a school of thought that says to include protein every time you eat fruit too... Just a few nuts for example.

I'm surprised that TFGR is not losing weight given her calorie intake, healthy eating and increased exercise. I'd say the pounds will come off gradually during training.

annapr · 22-04-2015 07:54AM

+1 to the comments re. Body fat %. I had mine checked as part of an overall health assessment about 5 years ago and it was 30%+. That was with a normal BMI. So I would be sceptical about the 24% too.

This Fat Girl Runs · 22-04-2015 08:19AM

Ug. I feel like asking you all out for a pint so we can talk properly. Anyone interested?

My goal is to be healthy. End of story. Losing weight is NOT my end goal and that is OK with me as long as I live a healthy lifestyle and make healthy eating choices. Which, as you all know, I do.

I know a skinny girl, size 8, you'd look at her and go Phwoar she's fit. But she'll eat a box of cornettos in one sitting then have a madeira cake for dinner. She eats an entire victoria sponge cake in one day. She drinks fruit juices and fizzy drinks and eats chocolate and all the processed stuff that I avoid. She once told me that when she sees fat people she 'thanks god she's slim'. She may be slim but she is NOT healthy. I don't know how she stays slim as she doesn't exercise either. She's in her 30's too.

So no, my end goal is NOT being skinny, it's being healthy.

As for the 24%, I might be reading that wrong off my assessment results from my trainer (he measures me every couple of months. The 'body fat' number right now is, sorry, it's 25.54 and the 'lean mass' number is 74.46. Whether that's percentage or not I'm not sure. When I first started working out with him the numbers were 34.14 and 72.86.

I really hope you're understanding me here. I'm not trying to stay 'fat' so I can be 'thisfatgirlruns', if I wanted to be fat it would be easy to eat crap food and sugary drinks and takeaways etc. If I wanted to stay fat I wouldn't be working out twice a week or running as much as I am.

I just want to be healthy.

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 08:27AM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Ug. I feel like asking you all out for a pint so we can talk properly. Anyone interested?

My goal is to be healthy. End of story. Losing weight is NOT my end goal and that is OK with me as long as I live a healthy lifestyle and make healthy eating choices. Which, as you all know, I do.

I know a skinny girl, size 8, you'd look at her and go Phwoar she's fit. But she'll eat a box of cornettos in one sitting then have a madeira cake for dinner. She eats an entire victoria sponge cake in one day. She drinks fruit juices and fizzy drinks and eats chocolate and all the processed stuff that I avoid. She once told me that when she sees fat people she 'thanks god she's slim'. She may be slim but she is NOT healthy. I don't know how she stays slim as she doesn't exercise either. She's in her 30's too.

So no, my end goal is NOT being skinny, it's being healthy.

As for the 24%, I might be reading that wrong off my assessment results from my trainer (he measures me every couple of months. The 'body fat' number right now is, sorry, it's 25.54 and the 'lean mass' number is 74.46. Whether that's percentage or not I'm not sure. When I first started working out with him the numbers were 34.14 and 72.86.

I really hope you're understanding me here. I'm not trying to stay 'fat' so I can be 'thisfatgirlruns', if I wanted to be fat it would be easy to eat crap food and sugary drinks and takeaways etc. If I wanted to stay fat I wouldn't be working out twice a week or running as much as I am.

I just want to be healthy.

Being obese is not healthy though, regardless of what lifestyle you lead. If you are eating and exercising like you say you are, the weight should be falling off to be honest. Simple science of calories in vs calories out. That's why people are asking questions.

You might want to get more understanding of those body fat figures by the way. Something seems amiss.

annapr · 22-04-2015 08:39AM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Ug. I feel like asking you all out for a pint so we can talk properly. Anyone interested?

My goal is to be healthy. End of story. Losing weight is NOT my end goal and that is OK with me as long as I live a healthy lifestyle and make healthy eating choices. Which, as you all know, I do.

I know a skinny girl, size 8, you'd look at her and go Phwoar she's fit. But she'll eat a box of cornettos in one sitting then have a madeira cake for dinner. She eats an entire victoria sponge cake in one day. She drinks fruit juices and fizzy drinks and eats chocolate and all the processed stuff that I avoid. She once told me that when she sees fat people she 'thanks god she's slim'. She may be slim but she is NOT healthy. I don't know how she stays slim as she doesn't exercise either. She's in her 30's too.

So no, my end goal is NOT being skinny, it's being healthy.

As for the 24%, I might be reading that wrong off my assessment results from my trainer (he measures me every couple of months. The 'body fat' number right now is, sorry, it's 25.54 and the 'lean mass' number is 74.46. Whether that's percentage or not I'm not sure. When I first started working out with him the numbers were 34.14 and 72.86.

I really hope you're understanding me here. I'm not trying to stay 'fat' so I can be 'thisfatgirlruns', if I wanted to be fat it would be easy to eat crap food and sugary drinks and takeaways etc. If I wanted to stay fat I wouldn't be working out twice a week or running as much as I am.

I just want to be healthy.

It's a bit early for drinking

You're exactly right to focus on being healthy... the weight will take care of itself if you do that.

Firedance · 22-04-2015 08:56AM

annapr wrote: »

It's a bit early for drinking

You're exactly right to focus on being healthy... the weight will take care of itself if you do that.

yes I think I'd agree with this, same thing happened to me but now I deliberately aim to stay at a lower weight because since loosing 3 stone I understand that despite eating healthily enough being overweight is very bad for your body, puts excess strain on your heart and lungs and if your a runner can cause all sort of injuries including back problems.

I understand what you're saying, you want to eat healthy foods and exercise and that's really great, too many people as you say eat rubbish and don't look after themselves. However, for me being 'healthy' encompasses a healthy weight, being fit and good balanced diet, take away one of those and in my opinion I wouldn't be properly healthy.

davedanon · 22-04-2015 09:04AM

If TFGR's body fat figures are correct, though, IF, then it would indicate that she's not overweight due to fat, but extremely muscular. Which wouldn't be a health issue at all, although she might want to have a think about whether she should have running as her main exercise. Be it muscle, or fat, it's hard lugging all that weight around, and not good for the body long term.

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 09:28AM

davedanon wrote: »

If TFGR's body fat figures are correct, though, IF, then it would indicate that she's not overweight due to fat, but extremely muscular. Which wouldn't be a health issue at all, although she might want to have a think about whether she should have running as her main exercise. Be it muscle, or fat, it's hard lugging all that weight around, and not good for the body long term.

If BF% is true, then she should ditch the jogging IMO, and join an athletics club and put that lean muscle to good use, get building up that strength and focus on an explosive event like the shot putt. You'd be suited to this and the depth is terrible in Ireland right now so with the right approach you could contend for National medals in time. That would be my advice, taking the 24% at face value.

Anybody know what Valerie Adams' BF% is? I can't find it through a quick google search.

GBrownie · 22-04-2015 10:07AM

The wonderful read. My advice to you: each week, identify the next actions that will get you closer to your next targets. I just want to see you as you will achieve your goals and Good luck.....

Ososlo · 22-04-2015 10:14AM

Just something to bear in mind too and something I came across last year with some runners.
I don't think that the weight loss will necessarily 'take care of itself' just because you're training for a marathon. Many marathon runners actually put on weight as they're overcompensating with food for the increase in exercise as the appetite may increase a lot. I'd keep an eye on the scales if I were you.

RacoonQueen · 22-04-2015 10:27AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Just something to bear in mind too and something I came across last year with some runners.
I don't think that the weight loss will necessarily 'take care of itself' just because you're training for a marathon. Many marathon runners actually put on weight as they're overcompensating with food for the increase in exercise as the appetite may increase a lot. I'd keep an eye on the scales if I were you.

Yep, I saw this at the start of IM training. I lost weight initially but then I was constantly ravenous. Weight loss ceased and weight started to fluctuate and then went back up.

Dubgal72 · 22-04-2015 10:38AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Just something to bear in mind too and something I came across last year with some runners.
I don't think that the weight loss will necessarily 'take care of itself' just because you're training for a marathon. Many marathon runners actually put on weight as they're overcompensating with food for the increase in exercise as the appetite may increase a lot. I'd keep an eye on the scales if I were you.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Yep, I saw this at the start of IM training. I lost weight initially but then I was constantly ravenous. Weight loss ceased and weight started to fluctuate and then went back up.

My tuppence worth for this: I get a handful of nuts and raisins into me within 20 minutes of a long/hard workout plus a drink and I don't get 'eat the fridge' syndrome two hours later.

This Fat Girl Runs · 22-04-2015 10:54AM

I have fairly muscular legs, given all the walking and running I do, I'd say that's where most of my muscle mass comes from. Most of my fat is concentrated around my hips/butt with some around my belly, although I have a much smaller waist in proportion. My arms are getting more muscular too at the moment.

I do more by what my clothes are doing than by what the scales are saying. So far I've dropped two jeans sizes but only a stone in weight. Scales are deceptive! If I went by what they said I'd be too disheartened!

This Fat Girl Runs · 22-04-2015 10:57AM

Dubgal72 wrote: »

My tuppence worth for this: I get a handful of nuts and raisins into me within 20 minutes of a long/hard workout plus a drink and I don't get 'eat the fridge' syndrome two hours later.

What do you drink?

I only drink water (2-3L per day), and decaf coffee (two cups a day). After a run I would have a banana, maybe peanut butter and water, sometimes protein milk if I have it.

Dubgal72 · 22-04-2015 11:15AM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

What do you drink?

I only drink water (2-3L per day), and decaf coffee (two cups a day). After a run I would have a banana, maybe peanut butter and water, sometimes protein milk if I have it.

When I was marathon training I used a powdered isotonic drink called isostar available in Holland and Barrett if I remember correctly. This is more to replace lost minerals and electrolytes, the more I ran, the nicer it tasted...my body saying "gooood"

Order online and it's substantially cheaper. It was recommended by my dad and he's run around the block a few times, literally

He's also very careful about what he puts in his body so despite the *non-natural* list of ingredients, I went with it.

For post-workout repair, I use chocolate milk but as said above, milk and a banana will do the trick too. And of course it goes without saying, water!

The mixed nuts and raisins really do the trick for me, you might need to experiment to find what works for you. After a hard workout, nothing ever tastes so delicious. sometimes if I go to eat them later, they don't taste so good which again to me, is my body's way of saying "I need this" after a workout.

22-04-2015 11:19AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Just something to bear in mind too and something I came across last year with some runners.
I don't think that the weight loss will necessarily 'take care of itself' just because you're training for a marathon. Many marathon runners actually put on weight as they're overcompensating with food for the increase in exercise as the appetite may increase a lot. I'd keep an eye on the scales if I were you.

This is the reason I made the decision to do my long slow runs on a Sunday evening, so that I come home, have something small to eat and go to bed. Rather than the morning, where my day is then taken over by exhaustion and potential binge eating.

Big brekkie on Mondays instead!

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 11:28AM

Wanting to be healthy is a good start though it must be said. So many people don't care about their health so you've made a good start by actually caring what you put into your body.

BUT, I feel you need to lose the apathetic attitude to weight loss. Comparing yourself to an unhealthy skinny girl. Yes she's doing herself harm, but that does not change the fact that having excess fat is a health risk.

My advice would be to ditch the "This Fat Girl Runs" stage name, ditch the blog and Twitter. Keep this log as you'll get good advice here, and start entering races under your real name. You'll be surprised at how much your priority towards weight loss will change once you no longer have that Stage name which you subconsciously need to live up to holding you back.

This Fat Girl Runs · 22-04-2015 11:29AM

Deleted User wrote: »

This is the reason I made the decision to do my long slow runs on a Sunday evening, so that I come home, have something small to eat and go to bed. Rather than the morning, where my day is then taken over by exhaustion and potential binge eating.

Big brekkie on Mondays instead!

I'd love to do this. But I'm keeping my runs to the same time as the marathon so that I'm used to the routine. When I do my longer runs (2 hours plus), I will need to be getting up early to have my breakfast and get ready etc. That way, on the day of the marathon, I won't be doing anything unusual.

I don't usually feel hungry after a long run, I find I don't have an appetite at all and I have to force myself to eat!

This Fat Girl Runs · 22-04-2015 11:48AM

Chivito550 wrote: »

Wanting to be healthy is a good start though it must be said. So many people don't care about their health so you've made a good start by actually caring what you put into your body.

BUT, I feel you need to lose the apathetic attitude to weight loss. Comparing yourself to an unhealthy skinny girl. Yes she's doing herself harm, but that does not change the fact that having excess fat is a health risk.

My advice would be to ditch the "This Fat Girl Runs" stage name, ditch the blog and Twitter. Keep this log as you'll get good advice here, and start entering races under your real name. You'll be surprised at how much your priority towards weight loss will change once you no longer have that Stage name which you subconsciously need to live up to holding you back.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. My twitter and blog have been very helpful, keeping me motivated and accountable. I get good advice there and lots of help with running questions. The blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts down about running, and the particular challenges that come with being an overweight runner.

And there are plenty of us on twitter; I'm not the only 'fat' girl who runs. It's a nice community and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Why are you pushing me to be skinny instead of healthy? What more would you suggest I do in order to lose weight? You obviously feel that me working out twice a week and running three times a week and eating healthy is not enough?

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 11:52AM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. My twitter and blog have been very helpful, keeping me motivated and accountable. I get good advice there and lots of help with running questions. The blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts down about running, and the particular challenges that come with being an overweight runner.

And there are plenty of us on twitter; I'm not the only 'fat' girl who runs. It's a nice community and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Why are you pushing me to be skinny instead of healthy? What more would you suggest I do in order to lose weight? You obviously feel that me working out twice a week and running three times a week and eating healthy is not enough?

Being of a normal weight (I never used the term skinny) and being healthy are not mutually exclusive.

Simply look at calories in vs calories out. If the latter is greater than the former you will lose weight. It's indisputable simple science. What calories you take in and what you do to burn them off is up to you.

I'll bow out for now. Good luck with your running.

This Fat Girl Runs · 22-04-2015 11:58AM

Chivito550 wrote: »

Being of a normal weight (I never used the term skinny) and being healthy are not mutually exclusive.

Simply look at calories in vs calories out. If the latter is greater than the former you will lose weight. It's indisputable simple science. What calories you take in and what you do to burn them off is up to you.

I'll bow out for now. Good luck with your running.

Why bow out?

Maybe you can explain how you expect that formula to work for me when it doesn't work for my skinny friend who only eats crap, processed foods and doesn't exercise?

I'm asking honestly here. It's baffled me for a long time.

Chivito550 · 22-04-2015 12:05PM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Why bow out?

Maybe you can explain how you expect that formula to work for me when it doesn't work for my skinny friend who only eats crap, processed foods and doesn't exercise?

I'm asking honestly here. It's baffled me for a long time.

What sort of quantities is she eating though? She may have a terrible diet but is her calorie intake high?

Also while she may not exercise in the purest sense, if she moves around during her daily routine quite a lot then she is burning calories. Things like walking up stairs all day, mowing the lawn, gardening etc which wouldn't be considered exercise among the sporting community, are activities that burn calories.

kit3 · 22-04-2015 12:08PM

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Why bow out?

Maybe you can explain how you expect that formula to work for me when it doesn't work for my skinny friend who only eats crap, processed foods and doesn't exercise?

I'm asking honestly here. It's baffled me for a long time.

Think genetics have a part to play here too. My mam would have been inclined to put on weight easily whilst my dad has been the same weight for years. Three of us take after my dad and wouldn't put on weight easily while the other two take after my mam and have to watch what they eat carefully to maintain a health weight.

This fat girl runs, breathes and believes

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