Forums >General Running>How long did it take to see change in your body from running? (Overweight)
Latent Runner
I have to disagree; running is widely regarded as the single most effective exercise for weight loss.
Fat old man PRs:
Mmmmm...beer
Disagree with what? Running is great exercise, there's no arguing that. But you can easily out eat the average runner's mileage. Weight loss requires a caloric deficit, plain and simple (barring legitimate medical issues, which is a small percentage of the population, regardless of what some people may think). You can get there by eating less, burning more, or a combination of both, take your pick.
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
Right on. It's all about what you eat, running won't do shit for you if you eat a crap diet and make up for all lost calories. I have been running a little over 2 years now with absolutely no change in weight or appearance because of this fact.
But you can easily out eat the average runner's mileage. Weight loss requires a caloric deficit, plain and simple (barring legitimate medical issues, which is a small percentage of the population, regardless of what some people may think). You can get there by eating less, burning more, or a combination of both, take your pick.
This sums it all up. My wife and I got on this discussion last night, (while stopping at Taco Bell). Running DOES make you hungrier. It is important to look at the food you eat. I can eat a salad, and gain a couple hundred calories or I can eat a double quarter pounder (1600 calories). Either way, I fill my craving, but the result is "slightly" different.
I was responding to the following comment:
Run for better heart health, or because you enjoy running; if you primarily want to lose weight, focus on nutrition and strength training, both of which tend to be more efficient for weight loss than cardio activities.
Like I said, running is widely considered to be the single most efffective exercise for weight loss (with or without dieting, something which I refuse to do).
It may be "widely considered", but it's a myth. There have been a bunch of studies over the past couple decades and the facts are that exercise, including running, does not work for weight loss (example). It's an important part of a healthy lifestyle and one component of changes that lead to weightloss for many people, but not a significant factor by itself. For some people with consistent diets whose weight had creeped up over time, running can produce a calorie deficit that makes weight creep down, but for most of us the running calories are within the daily variation and running isn't going to do anything by itself.
I started running when I was young and thin and just got older and fatter over the years, so the idea of losing weight by running is foreign to me.
It may be "widely considered", but it's a myth. There have been a bunch of studies over the past couple decades and the facts are that exercise, including running, does not work for weight loss (example). It's an important part of a healthy lifestyle and one component of changes that lead to weightloss for many people, but not a significant factor by itself. For some people with consistent diets whose weight had creeped up over time, running can produce a calorie deficit that makes weight creep down, but for most of us the running calories are within the daily variation and running isn't going to do anything by itself. I started running when I was young and thin and just got older and fatter over the years, so the idea of losing weight by running is foreign to me.
Nothing in your "example" disputes anything I said, the facts as I understand them are that no form of exercise (which can be sustained for relatively long periods of time) will burn as many calories per hour as running; burn the calories, lose the weight.
I started running when I was young and thin as well, and I too got older and fatter over the years. I got serious about my running back in April of this year, I didn't change my diet one bit, and yet I've lost over 40 pounds in less than 4 months. Sounds like running works pretty darn well.
Run because it makes you feel bad;
Well, I can't argue with that.
If you run and don't eat well then you probably won't lose weight, but if I have an hour to exercise and I want to burn as many calories as possible, I'm going for a run. So in that sense, running is a good start to losing weight, but most people overcompensate their calories when finished.
Thank you for taking the time to read my signature!
Half Fanatic 12680
I have found that running regularly did not cause me to lose much weight but I really did not need to lose weight. After running fairly consistently for about 5 years my weight still goes up and down within a 5-8 pound range depending on how healthy I am eating and how much I am exercising and sometimes I gain a few pounds when I run more because I am just more hungry. However, several months after running seriously for at least 25 miles a week and often more, I found that my body had changed. I went down a size without losing more than a few pounds (and sometimes gaining them back). After a couple of years I just gave away my larger sized clothes. Even if I weigh as much as I did before I was running regularly, my former clothes were still too loose. So I think you can see a change in your body after a few months of consistent running regardless of weight loss.
You Rang?
Weight loss is all about what and how much you eat. Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you consume. I lost 140 lb. in about a year, and I did it by treating calories like money. Unlike the Federal Government, I don't spend more money than I earn. As to calories, I ate 1000 calories less per day than I burned. I did this by slavlishly logging everything I ate into an app and stopping when the app said to stop.
Running helped me lose weight in two ways:
1) I was credited with calories for exercising. I was permitted to eat more food because I went for a run. When I started losing weight and running, I generally did not eat any of the bonus calories because the calorie credit was not significant, (generally > 500 cal.), but I didn't feel so confined as to what I could eat. Now that I'm running farther and faster, I find that I need to eat some of the extra calories or I will get dizzy and lightheaded.
2) Running gave me the mental acuity to log the food and address the things in my life that caused me to pack 140 extra pounds onto my body. My obesity was a symptom of a larger mental problem. Running, road racing, or more specifically, the persuit of a faster time than the last race served as a happy distraction and a source of self esteem on the very long and slow journey down from mobid obesity.
Rick
PR: 5k 25:01 (10/15) 10k: 57:44 (7/14) HM: 1:57 (5/15) FM: 4:55 (1/15)
I actually gained weight when I started running. I'm a fit person (fairly well muscled) and had been Stand up paddling an average of 4 times a week for anywhere from 90 minutes to 4 hrs, and run occasionally (once or twice a week for 3-5 miles) in addition to 1-2 days in the gym and surfing whenever possible. When I decided to train for a 1/2 marathon, my paddling dropped to once a week at best and running 3X a week totaling 15-20 miles, long runs about 90 minutes.
Gym work aside, I went from 12+ hours of cardio to 5-6 tops. To be fair, paddling Heart rate is significantly lower than running due to size of the muscles recruited, but still takes enough of a toll on the legs to affect running. Still eating (and drinking) the same, I put on 10-12 lbs in a couple of months.
It's taken some discipline, but I'm taking the weight off slowly. After my race, I'm going back to a more balanced fitness program for overall health and well being to help avoid burnout/overuse injuries from any 1 sport (and I can eat (and drink) more).
rather be sprinting
Hey, just noticed our PRs are within like 1 second of each other for 5k and mile. Weird. Goes to show that different training can = same results, I guess?
Anyway, in terms of running and weight loss, I think it depends on the individual. They've done many studies over the years on hormone response to aerobic exercise. Some have found that running has an appetite-suppressing effect... on some people. (I'm one of them, though that may partly be due to having a delicate stomach). On others it actually creates more appetite. In some people longer, slower runs blunt appetite; in some they encourage it; in some, speedwork takes away appetite and in others it increases it.
But it has been shown in most studies that aerobic exercise UP TO A POINT (not in excess or to exhaustion every day) improve insulin response so your body can regulate and mobilize its fat stores better.
Basically, it's complicated and it depends.
To the OP, it's great that you're lifting, too. Running, especially slowly, won't appreciably improve your musculature, and I find good muscular development and symmetry more pleasing than just being lean. But you do need to lose fat also, and running can HELP with that. Seems like you are on the right track, would love to hear about your lifting program, as well.
PRs: 5k 19:25, mile 5:38, HM 1:30:56
Lifting PRs: bench press 125lb, back squat 205 lb, deadlift 245lb
running metalhead
Couple of weeks from:
"Darling, you don't look good, you should definitely gain some kilos"
To
"Eeeeek, the Living Dead!!!!"And then a coupl of months post-season to: "Darling, you look perfect now, not like a few months ago, you should definitely stay this way"...
And back to 1)
- Egmond ( 14 januari ) : 1:41:40 (21K)- Vondelparkloop ( 20 januari ) : 0:58.1 (10K but did 13.44!!!)- Twiskemolenloop ( 4 maart ) : 1:35:19 (3th M45!)
- Ekiden Zwolle (10K) ( 25 maart )- Rotterdam Marathon ( 8 april )- Leiden Marathon Halve ( 27 mei )- Marathon Amersfoort ( 10 juni)
A Saucy Wench
Anyway, in terms of running and weight loss, I think it depends on the individual. They've done many studies over the years on hormone response to aerobic exercise. Some have found that running has an appetite-suppressing effect... on some people. (I'm one of them, though that may partly be due to having a delicate stomach). On others it actually creates more appetite. In some people longer, slower runs blunt appetite; in some they encourage it; in some, speedwork takes away appetite and in others it increases it. Basically, it's complicated and it depends.
This
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
For me, when my weekly mileage is consistently above 40, the weight starts falling off on a steady basis. I don't eat much to begin with and running acts as a hunger suppressant for me so if i make smart choices in the food that I do eat, the weight goes down. For reference, I was around 195 in November and hit 175 in July with approximately 1000 miles logged (I'm 6'1"). I've been slacking the last 2 months (and eating more than normal due to vacations) and my weight has inched up to 180 but I plan to be down to 165 by January due to 60 to 70 mile per week training routine. Everyone is different, and the only advice I could give is to try not tell yourself that you can have that extra helping or piece of pie because you ran today, stick to you diet, and try to reward your hard work with something other than food, like a pair of new running shoes. Good luck!