Anyone not lose ANY weight doing Couch to 5K?

[Anonymous]

I've been doing a Couch to 5k running program, currently midway through week 7, so up to running 25 mins at a time (treadmill). I have not skipped at all, and run without stopping (though my running pace is slow, only 4 mph). I did this with the hope of jump starting some weight loss (I'm 5'3" 190lbs). I have not lost one single ounce. In fact, I'm up 3 lbs. I was hoping it was at least due to building a little muscle at first, then it might drop, but no. I haven't noticed my clothes fitting any better so I don't think it's just fat changing to muscle either. I'm trying really hard to not get discouraged and quit, but I feel like I'm not making any progress other than being able to run farther which frankly I don't care about if I'm not getting in better shape.

My diet has room for improvement, for certain, but I'm not doing anything egregious either. I'm trying to make small improvements (e.g. only having unsweeted tea in the mornings instead of sweetened coffee, reducing night snacking) but I'm trying to do things gradually so it doesn't add to my frustration and up my risk of quitting. Maybe I just need to go ahead and get more extreme with the diet, I don't know.

Words of encouragement? Suggestions? Commiseration?

[Anonymous]

You diet to lose weight. You exercise for health.

You don't burn nearly as many calories as you think from exercise. Cardio also tends to increase appetite.

It takes a lot of calories to maintain 190 lbs and you don't need to do an extreme diet to lose weight.

Take a goal of losing 20 lbs which is a goal weight of 170.
You could eat 1700-2000 calories to get there.

[Anonymous]

Being able to run farther IS getting into better shape. The above poster is correct about what diet and exercise can do, but think of how, the faster and farther you can run, the more benefits to exercise you'll be able to see. Daily activities will be easier, and you'll be capable of more intense, more calorie burning workouts.

That said, if you're only running for weight loss and hate running, you should consider other forms of exercise. Just don't give up on exercise.

[Anonymous]

I did Couch to 5k about 11 years ago. It gave me a great fitness base to build from, but I didn’t start losing weight til I started tracking calories and eating at a deficit. Running gave me a lot of perspective about what I was eating, understanding that a mile “only” burned about 100 calories or so. Understanding the effort I had to put in to burn 100 calories made me a much more mindful eater.

The good news is running definitely contributed to a 25lb weight loss, but it was only with calorie tracking. I went from 160 to 135 in about 18 months.

Running does not build as much muscle as you may think. Some in the legs, particularly if you weren’t in shape to begin with. Running (and a calorie deficit) made me smaller, but it didn’t transform my shape until I added strength training in. I’m now settled at 125 with a lot more muscle/lower BF% than when I was running exclusively.

Congrats on getting this far with C25k- it changed my life! It’s just so good to establish that fitness base you can build on, or use as a weight loss/weight maintenance tool.

[Anonymous]

You're not going to lose serious weight getting into 5k shape. And I don't say that flippantly. Getting into 5k shape is GREAT, for you, for your body, etc. But it is like, basic level fitness, not something that will greatly move the needle. But keep reading I'm not trying to be negative at all.

I was you 2 years ago, plus 15 pounds. Exercise alone just didn't do it. I paired peloton with intermittent fasting. You have to do stuff you know you can stick with though. I now weigh 160. But I feel like the hard truths are that it isn't easy. It really requires a life overhaul. I worked out HARD for months and months. I rarely took days off of my eating regimen.

But for all the dedication, I also chose to make changes that were manageable. I do IF, but I don't really monitor what I eat in my window. I don't sweat it at a family event or a night out with friends (which for me is admittedly like a once every 2-4 week event). And the thing is it is now so ingrained that I generally feel crappy cheating and don't even want to. On vacation, I never follow it and still just naturally find myself falling into my own routine. With peloton, I exercise 4-5 days a week. I take two days totally off, but when I'm on, I'm on, I'm pushing myself, I'm doing it when I have my period, I put a schedule and I throw myself all the way in.

I did not lose weight fast. It was SO slow, like 1-3 pounds a month. If that. Some months nothing. But here I am, two years later, and I can run for an hour without stopping, I've lost 50 pounds, I'm in the best physical shape of my life (which I have to say, has payoffs entirely apart from the physical that are really undersold, I am stronger and more flexible and more capable and that really feels incredible).

For me I think the key was paying attention to the benefits that weren't the scale. The scale moved PAINFULLY slow. I had to remind myself, 190 is better than 210, even if I never lose more. 180 is better than 190! 170 is better than 180! And now, as I've hit a pretty significant plateau, I am able to be ok with it, because I believe really strongly that every pound was an improvement on the pound before. I started strength training and my body has really changed in the last few months. I just keep picking new goals, pushing myself.

So figure out a diet strategy that isn't a crash diet or something unsustainable. And keep pushing yourself. Change happens through discomfort. You don't have to be miserable, but you do have to push yourself. Good luck! Keep going! Even if you don't lose weight you have improved your cardiovascular health and gotten stronger! Keep going!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You diet to lose weight. You exercise for health.

You don't burn nearly as many calories as you think from exercise. Cardio also tends to increase appetite.

It takes a lot of calories to maintain 190 lbs and you don't need to do an extreme diet to lose weight.

Take a goal of losing 20 lbs which is a goal weight of 170.
You could eat 1700-2000 calories to get there.

This. I am in a few couch to 5k/running support groups and there is always the question "will running make me lose weight?" Not if you aren't dieting too. In fact, I lost 20 pounds without any exercise. And since I started running, I have only lost a few pounds. It has built up my endurance a lot but you cannot outrun a bad diet.

[Anonymous]

You cannot outrun your fork.

Running is great for all sorts of reasons, but you cannot lose weight without cutting calories. Cut carbs. Cut snacking.

[Anonymous]

I did C25k back in 2008. It jumpstarted years of running for me. I didn't lose a lot of weight, but my arms and legs thinned out. I found that when I stopped running for about 3 days - stopped any serious workouts - I dropped 3-4 pounds. When I started up again, those pounds came back. I think it had something to do with glycogen stores and retaining water in muscles.

[Anonymous]

A 5k is 3 miles. For most of C25K you aren’t even running that. Running a mile burns maybe 100 calories. You lose weight through diet, not exercise . Exercise has other benefits

[Anonymous]

You can fast-walk/power walk 3 miles a day easily. I do. Morning walk 20 mins, lunchtime walk 20 mins, evening walk the same. You get the idea. I make a couple of figure-8s on my neighbor streets and that is that. Podcast helps. Some prefer music. I can do that also on Sat and Sun morning in an hour, but I don;t have one hour straight during the week -- segments work better for me. I walk super fast with long strides for my short legs (I am 5'1")

I feel great (I'm 58) but I do not lose weight unless I keep my caloric intake to 1500 calories a day. It's easy now but was torture for the 2 years I shifted my eating habits to maintain that intake.

Your mantra: exercise is for your heart and lungs and muscles, diet is for your weight.

My parents are dedicated walkers and still do it everyday, now in their late 80s. I have 2 teens who are serious cyclists (and vegetarian) and I like to think the example I and their grandparents set contribute to their health consciousness. If you have kids, do it for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're not going to lose serious weight getting into 5k shape. And I don't say that flippantly. Getting into 5k shape is GREAT, for you, for your body, etc. But it is like, basic level fitness, not something that will greatly move the needle. But keep reading I'm not trying to be negative at all.

I was you 2 years ago, plus 15 pounds. Exercise alone just didn't do it. I paired peloton with intermittent fasting. You have to do stuff you know you can stick with though. I now weigh 160. But I feel like the hard truths are that it isn't easy. It really requires a life overhaul. I worked out HARD for months and months. I rarely took days off of my eating regimen.

But for all the dedication, I also chose to make changes that were manageable. I do IF, but I don't really monitor what I eat in my window. I don't sweat it at a family event or a night out with friends (which for me is admittedly like a once every 2-4 week event). And the thing is it is now so ingrained that I generally feel crappy cheating and don't even want to. On vacation, I never follow it and still just naturally find myself falling into my own routine. With peloton, I exercise 4-5 days a week. I take two days totally off, but when I'm on, I'm on, I'm pushing myself, I'm doing it when I have my period, I put a schedule and I throw myself all the way in.

I did not lose weight fast. It was SO slow, like 1-3 pounds a month. If that. Some months nothing. But here I am, two years later, and I can run for an hour without stopping, I've lost 50 pounds, I'm in the best physical shape of my life (which I have to say, has payoffs entirely apart from the physical that are really undersold, I am stronger and more flexible and more capable and that really feels incredible).

For me I think the key was paying attention to the benefits that weren't the scale. The scale moved PAINFULLY slow. I had to remind myself, 190 is better than 210, even if I never lose more. 180 is better than 190! 170 is better than 180! And now, as I've hit a pretty significant plateau, I am able to be ok with it, because I believe really strongly that every pound was an improvement on the pound before. I started strength training and my body has really changed in the last few months. I just keep picking new goals, pushing myself.

So figure out a diet strategy that isn't a crash diet or something unsustainable. And keep pushing yourself. Change happens through discomfort. You don't have to be miserable, but you do have to push yourself. Good luck! Keep going! Even if you don't lose weight you have improved your cardiovascular health and gotten stronger! Keep going!

Not OP, but thank you for this great post!

[Anonymous]

Exercise is counter productive to my weight. It makes me sooooo hungry. So I burn 300 calories and eat an extra 500, at least.

I do a lot of walking which doesn’t seem to prompt my crazy hunger and carb craving.