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Run streak for weight loss (Read 152 times)

AndyTN


Overweight per CDC BMI

    Hi all, it has been a while since I posted. I maintained the best I could during the covid lockdowns trying to run a daycare at my house while my wife and I worked full time jobs. Was able to maintain anywhere from 5-15 miles per week April-July and I didn't become a couch potato but I have gained the covid-15. Running races was my motivating factor and since these will not start back up any time soon, I need something to work towards. My wife and I are taking a trip to the Caribbean end of November and I want to use that as a target as if I am training for a race to lose the 10-15 lbs I gained since March. I lost 30 lbs over 2 years just running so going back up 10-15 is not a big deal but my clothes are noticeably tighter.

     

    Anyway, planning out a race plan focused on weekly mileage much more than pushing for times, I came to realize this may be a good time to do a run streak. During a training regiment, I would normally take 1 day per week as pure rest with a 2nd day per week as cross-train or another rest day. This worked for me because I was always running for improved times and needed the rest days even with 2-3 recovery runs per week. Now that I am just going to focus on building up my weekly mileage, I am thinking I can take it easy enough to not need pure rest days.

     

    Feel free to let me know if I am thinking the wrong way but if I completed 24 miles last week and build up by the 10% rule adding no more than 2 miles per week, will doing a run streak be a good idea for my target of weight loss? I will still mix it up with long, tempo, and recovery runs each week as a normal but my 1-2 rest days will now be easy runs of 2-3 miles. I don't know if I will go this high but 11 more weeks would put me at 46 miles per week which is more than I have done in the past training for half marathons. Anyone see any pitfalls in doing a run streak for this purpose opposed to my normal training plans with 1-2 rest days? My goal is the weight loss with the buildup of weekly mileage as the mechanism. The run streak just seems like a way to keep me motivated on building the mileage.

    Memphis / 38 male

    5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10

    CanadianMeg


    #RunEveryDay

      Run streaks are not for everyone. Keep that in mind. Some people get injured from running every day. If you want to streak, then you need to make sure that one or two days a week are recovery effort. You can still run, but just dial it back a little extra. It's easy to be tempted to do a regular easy run on a rest day. (I've got a streak going. Please don't think I'm saying not to try it.)

       

      I don't know if it will give you the weight loss you are looking for. Weight isn't that simple. A good chunk of it is the kitchen and what you are eating. If you are running more days, you may also find that affects your appetite.

       

      Good luck! If the streak helps you build mileage, that's a positive.

      Half Fanatic #9292. 

      Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.

        Andy- there are a number of pretty fun and motivating virtual races right now.  There is one that goes between cities in WV and you log your mileage every day.  Another one goes between major league baseball stadiums in the midwest.  You might check into these to keep your mileage up.   Remember- weight loss is 80% food control and 20% exercise.

        Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth

         


        delicate flower

          A good chunk of it is the kitchen and what you are eating.

           

          This.  All of the extra running won't do much if you don't get your diet in check.

          <3

          jeffdonahue


            I agree, run streaks are not for everyone.  That being said, we do have a group for streaking here that you can check out

             

            https://www.runningahead.com/groups/mileaday/

             

            Having been on a run streak for the past 12+ years, I can say that it has worked for me.  It gets me out there every day - becomes a matter of "when am I going to run today" rather than "am I going to run today"

             

            When starting I recommend doing your usual run schedule, but on the two rest days that you typically have, just do one really easy mile.  These days are not trying to finish a mile as quickly as possible, in fact when I first started I used to try to run them as slowly as possible to make sure it just got the blood flowing but truly rested the legs.

             

            Best of luck

             

            Jeff

            AndyTN


            Overweight per CDC BMI

              I am not arguing against the factual points about diet but let's keep that separate for now. My diet has always been moderate, I just need to cut down on the beer intake which is really the only thing which changed about my diet during the pandemic. My focus with the question is more towards two different training strategies to get in mileage and my diet would really be the same for each.

               

              I am just trying to run mileage for calorie burn with secondary benefit of improving my endurance base for races in the spring (hopefully). If I am not focused on pushing the paces, just mileage, would a run streak be a bad idea compared to my normal training plan with 1-2 rest days of no running? Assume I will still be doing the same total mileage per week with just 1 long run and 1 tempo run of 5-8 miles. If I was pushing the pace targeting a certain half marathon time, I would definitely want the 1-2 rest days but my thought is doing the run streak will be another goal for motivation to help with mileage and weight loss.

               

              Maybe the virtual races are fun for some people but all the competitive drive for me is gone unless all the other runners are racing the same course at the same time. I know many races are for charity fundraising so I may still donate but I am annoyed with all these races “going virtual” as a way to still get your money without providing a product. This is a debate for another time.

              Memphis / 38 male

              5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10

                 

                I am just trying to run mileage for calorie burn with secondary benefit of improving my endurance base for races in the spring (hopefully). If I am not focused on pushing the paces, just mileage, would a run streak be a bad idea compared to my normal training plan with 1-2 rest days of no running? Assume I will still be doing the same total mileage per week with just 1 long run and 1 tempo run of 5-8 miles. If I was pushing the pace targeting a certain half marathon time, I would definitely want the 1-2 rest days but my thought is doing the run streak will be another goal for motivation to help with mileage and weight loss.

                 

                 

                I have no idea what it does for weight loss, and I'll echo everyone else as far as that being more related to eating than running. I have generally not found increased miles to contribute to weight loss, With the exception of when I get to 70+ mpw - then I seem to drop a few pounds. Otherwise I manage to replenish all the calories I burn.

                 

                But I'll comment on the secondary benefit. Running higher weekly mileage improves your endurance base, and it's easier to run higher mileage on more days running. For me personally it's not about a running streak per se. I run every day, but it's just what I've evolved into and gotten comfortable with. Before I did, I ran 6 days/week for a few years consistently. If you're running 5 days now, I'd suggest going to 6 rather than 7. Make the extra day whatever you consider to be a short easy run. Maybe cut back a bit on another day, so you are running the same weekly mileage but on more days. Then slowly increase the total mileage. I don't think adding days where you run 1 mile does anything for your endurance. If you want to try a streak for other reasons like motivation or staving off boredom or whatever, then go for it.

                Dave

                darkwave


                Mother of Cats

                  One note of caution (full disclosure: I am NOT a fan of run streaks)

                   

                  Sometimes, a niggle or "something not quite right" can be nipped in the bud with one or two days off, but will rapidly progress to full blown injury if one keeps running on it, even just a mile.  For that reason, I don't like anything that creates a mental obstacle to taking a day off when appropriate.

                   

                  I'll also note that most of the very good/very fast runners that I know run seven days a week (not all, but most).  But I do not know of any very good/very fast runner who tracks and maintains a run streak.

                   

                  Just an observation.  Obviously there are those who run and enjoy running for reasons other than the relentless pursuit of one's best performance.

                  Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.

                   

                  And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.

                  AndyTN


                  Overweight per CDC BMI

                    After a little more than 2 weeks, I think the run streak approach is not going to work for what I am trying to do here. I have been putting in the miles and I certainly do not have anything that hurts but I have been feeling fairly sluggish on the majority of my runs. Will I still be burning the calories for my main goal? Sure but I hate the feeling of "just getting through a run". I will likely end up with fewer overall miles if I am just running 1-2 miles on an easy run, which would normally be 3-4, just to keep up a run streak. I ran a long run of 8.5 miles last Saturday which felt really good but my long run yesterday was 6 LAZY miles when I wanted to do 8-9.

                     

                    I think my new approach is going to be a cardio streak this Fall which I will run 4-5 days per week and then do the bike 2-3 days. I did a spin class end of last week which my watch says I burned over 1000 calories in 80 minutes and it felt very motivating. I am thinking that doing 30-45 minutes of medium intensity on the bike for off days will be better for overall calorie burn than 1-2 lazy miles.

                     

                    Thanks for the comments and I think my original intention was to say "here is what I am planning to do, tell me if you think it is a bad idea". I think the majority of comments are applicable here and I think doing a run streak is for the wrong reason in my situation. I will get burnt out on the streak soon if my legs are tired majority of the time and I think I will be able to get in more motivating runs if I am mixing in the cross training with the bike.

                    Memphis / 38 male

                    5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10

                    davidg123


                      I don't think it suits everyone, it's all individual. It took me months to find a system that worked for me. Plus, it's a quarantine now, and it's hard to stick to one system, it's snowing outside, and it's dangerous to run, too.

                      AndyTN


                      Overweight per CDC BMI

                        This did not work for me as intended. Running to improve time and distance is much more motivating for me than just running to lose weight. I was feeling really lazy/bored on runs because I was not pushing myself hard and was just getting through the miles. I kept up the cardio streak until the very end a week before we left for our trip when I was starting to have calf/shin pain. I ended up losing approx. 8 lbs before the trip but was still short of the 12-15 I was shooting for.

                         

                        I also lost a lot of my speed due to running at only easy to medium paces. When I ran a 10k race in October, my legs could not keep up with the fast pace but my cardio had no problem. I ended up being right at 2 minutes slower than my 10k PR a year before. I was able to keep my running base but am now having to do intervals and tempo runs to get my muscles trained for faster speeds.

                         

                        I think my success losing weight with running was just focusing on improving time and endurance with the weight loss coming as a bonus. I still do easy/recovery runs but I like to be able to take off 1-2 days a week from running to refresh and keep up motivation for quality runs.

                        Memphis / 38 male

                        5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10

                          I have been a run every second day guy for years but of late I have changed to short runs and I run every day. Admittedly, I am none the worse for wear but I haven't suffered any ill effects to date. The only thing that may change this is when winter finally arrives here (in Winnipeg). - 10 C is good running temp if the wind is low, -35 C not so much... So I'll keep at it til the weather forces me to change. Strangely enough, my weight has been constant for a few years regardless of how often I run.

                          BoutWorkout


                            One note of caution (full disclosure: I am NOT a fan of run streaks)

                             

                            Sometimes, a niggle or "something not quite right" can be nipped in the bud with one or two days off, but will rapidly progress to full blown injury if one keeps running on it, even just a mile.  For that reason, I don't like anything that creates a mental obstacle to taking a day off when appropriate.

                             

                            I'll also note that most of the very good/very fast runners that I know run seven days a week (not all, but most).  But I do not know of any very good/very fast runner who tracks and maintains a run streak.

                             

                            Just an observation.  Obviously there are those who run and enjoy running for reasons other than the relentless pursuit of one's best performance.

                             

                            I agree, safety leads to more runs.

                            AlisonRebecca


                              I think it's great that you're setting a goal for yourself and trying to find a way to stay motivated. As for the run streak, I think it could be a good idea as long as you're not overdoing it and risking injury. It's important to listen to your body and take rest days if needed, even if it's just an easy run. Also, I recommend using steroids for weight loss. I recently discovered some at https://www.laweekly.com/best-steroid-for-weight-loss/. Besides, there are plenty of natural ways to lose weight, such as focusing on a balanced diet and incorporating strength training. Best of luck with your weight loss journey and achieving your goals!