Not Losing Weight & Jogging!

[Anonymous]

I've been jogging for 7 weeks now. Admittedly, I've never consistently exercised in my entire life. I'm 20lbs overweight and am COMPLETELY SICK OF IT and DISGUSTED. I'm 100% comitted to a lifetime of exercise. I started out only being able to jog for a mile. After a mile, I felt like I was going to keel over and die on the spot. Now, I am up to 2.2 miles. I am really proud of my progress and am especially proud that this jogging thing is getting easier each week. My neighborhood is full of hills and I'm jogging 4-5 days a week and then an additional day of walking 5 miles. My goal is to be able to jog at least 5 miles at a stretch. I really think I will make it there in a year at the rate I am going.

I'm discouraged though, after 7 weeks I have gained 1lb! I've lost nothing. I certainly feel MUCH better and my heart and lung capacity has improved at an amazing clip. Even if I never lose weight, I feel great and that is motivation enough. However I would like to one day see the fruits of my labor.

Is it just taking my body a long time to register that I'm exercising? Any thoughts?

BTW, I do not eat ANY processed foods (ie no HFCS, no trans fats, no fast food, no cookies, crackers, or sweets), but I DO cook from scratch and that does often include pleanty of olive oil, some butter, and carbs. Could my problem be my diet? Now that I'm exercising, I'm quite hungry, but I still don't think I really eat that much. I just feel like I no longer have a metabolism

[Anonymous]

First of all - good for you! It takes enormous discipline to work out as often as you are, and it sounds like you've really worked hard to improve.

If I were you, I would put the scale away for a while. You're gaining muscle, which is heavier (but leaner) than fat. So you may be losing fat and inches, but not lose any weight.

It sounds like you eat a pretty healthy diet. If you cut out all carbs or oil or something drastic, it won't be a sustainable lifestyle change. Stick with what you're doing and wait another few weeks/months before you worry about the scale. I'll bet your clothes are feeling looser and your legs are looking great already!

[Anonymous]

I'll second the PP. Weight shouldn't be the goal. Muscle is denser so will weigh more than fat and can give a false impression that the exercising isn't working. Rather you'll know the exercise is working based on how you feel (healthy) and how you look (toned).

With only 20 extra pounds you probably don't have enough extra to show the dramatic early weight loss you see on "Biggest Loser" type shows.

[Anonymous]

OP, I had the same problem as you.
1) You are gaining muscle. So agree with using a measuring tape, not a scale.
2) you aren't burning as many calories as you think while jogging..so in addition to the exercise, you need to scale back on your caloric intake. Depending on your weight/frame/age/activity level, your caloric intake should be about `1800 kcal/day to lose weight.

I would recommend cutting out the simple carbs (bread, potatos, etc)...they just increase your appetite and pack on the pounds.
Expand your lean protein and vegetable intake. Do a sort of modified Atkins diet (not the rigid no carb crap because that's not sustainable). I have tried this and it has worked wonders for my waistline, mood and energy level.

Congrats on your successes thus far!

[Anonymous]

Don't obsess about the number on the scale. It's discouraging. When I used to do that, I'd gain the weight back bc I got discouraged.

Have you been losing inches? Do you notice that your clothes are a little looser? One suggestion. Don't snack before bedtime. The energy in the food all goes to fat because you're not using it. That's how sumo wrestlers pack on the fat.

It really takes an enormous amount of discipline to start a regular exercise regimen. Good work.

[Anonymous]

PPs are correct about muscle being heavier than fat. Every time I take a few weeks off from the gym, when I go back, I gain a few pounds before I lose anything. Normal part of the process.

However, I have also heard of research showing that women eat more when they exercise while men continue to eat the same amount! Argh! But I haven't looked into the research to see how solid it is.

At any rate, I'm sure you're gaining muscle. Think about this as a long term strategy. I don't know about you, but if it were me I would be careful not to push too hard too fast. When I used to do that, I would get sick or injured and then quit completely. I am much better if I focus on working out consistently rather than increasing the difficulty of my workouts.

You're feeling better, OP, and you have a lifetime of feeling better ahead of you if you stick with this. That's great! Congratulations!

[Anonymous]

Keep track of your progress by measuring your body (hips, waist, legs, etc) once/month. It makes a big difference mentally to see the progress you are making on paper. I am a runner, so I know how slow the progress can be. In fact, I had to slow down my running (because of some issues related to my pregnancy; I ran until 8months w/ my first) and I lost a lot of weight AFTER I stopped running! Same thing happened to me when I returned to my usual running routine after running a marathon (I lost a lot of weight). Running makes you fit, not necessarily weigh less. Maybe try doing yoga/pilates/strength training 1x/week along w/ the runs. You'll see some more progress that way as well. Good luck and congratulations! Running is the best once you get over the hump!

[Anonymous]

you need to run in the middle of the road...

[Anonymous]

The PP's have given you some sage advice. Right now you need to trust your mirror and not your scale. Make sure you are closely watching your calorie intake but not starving yourself. Focus on protein and veggies, and try to keep the carbs to the recommended daily allowance.

About a year ago I too started on a quest to lose about 25 lbs. and did the exact same thing you are doing now. I started jogging and didn't see the results as quickly as I wanted, but did become accustomed to increased amounts of exercise more quickly than expected. To try to kick start the weight loss I began to overtrain and ended up getting shin splints. Without any "backup" exercises to fall on I fell off the exercise wagon. Once my injuries healed in early fall Biggest Loser was back on TV and I got re-inspired. I decided to change my approach and joined a gym. I got into a 5 days a week gym rhythm that combined cardio with weight and resistance training and within a few weeks the lbs started melting off. I reached my 25 lb goal by Christmas and have been able to keep it off ever since. Even though with weight training your muscle mass will increase, this is critical to weight loss because as your muscles recover from exercise they burn tremendous amounts of calories. The more lean muscle you build, the more calories you burn the rest of the day. As long as you don't eat more to compensate, with resistance training you should start seeing the results in the mirror as well as the scale.

You'll want to find a regimen that works best for you, but here is what I do.

Day1 - Weight Training focusing on chest/back/shoulders/abs and END the routine with 10-20 minutes of cardio. (Walk a mile or two at a fast clip, do the elliptical for 20 minutes, etc.)
Day2- Weight Training focusing on Legs/abs and END routine with 10-20 of cardio
Day3- Weight Training focusing on Arms/abs and END routine with 10-20 of cardio
Day4 - Do a few ab exercises then a full hour of cardio. This is the day I jog for as long as I can. Sometimes I just jog a few miles and walk the rest of the hour and other timers I'll jog the whole time. In time you'll be able to reach your 5 mile goal.

I just keep repeating this. I try to make it to the gym 5 days a week, so one of those days is a repeat of something I did earlier that week.

If you live near one, I recommend Fitness First gyms. The monthly fee is very reasonable and includes free access to trainers who will help you get setup with a sensible routine. I go when they open at 5am and the morning trainer was never booked so when I first got started we worked out together every morning at no additional cost. I think this was critical to my success.

Lots of luck on your new fitness quest. You'll not regret it.

[Anonymous]

Former personal trainer here. First of all, muscle is a bit denser than fat, but not much, and if you're jogging and not lifting weights, the "muscle is replacing fat" argument is probably not correct. The jogging is great, but I would suggest that you add some weight training to your routine -- that way you'll also give your knees an occasional rest. The weight training is often helpful in jump-starting the weight loss. The other thing is, DON'T IGNORE THE SCALE. A scale is objective. It can't persuade you that your pants shrunk. It's excellent in helping to make sure those pounds don't creep on. Weigh yourself at the same time every couple of days. Don't be freaked out by a 3 pound or so variation -- that can be from a number of factors, even as simple as eating salty food the night before. And finally, the increase in your activity level may be causing you to eat more -- I'd recommend keeping a food diary for a week or so. I know it sounds silly, but you can really get a good idea of how much you're really eating by doing this. Good luck! You can do this!

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thanks for the responses! To the people that suggest weight training/gym time. I have joined what seems like thousands of different gyms/classes. I've found success in running because I can just step out my front door and do it. For some reason, I just cannot get into a gym. Maybe I should try again since I am committed. I have thought about weights and will take this suggestion. Do you think 2xs a weeks on weights is enough? Should I do cardio on these days as well or just the weights?

Also, does anyone know of a personal trainer not associated with a gym? Maybe someone free lance? I would like to hire someone to show me what I can do at home in conjunction with occasionally going to the community center gym. Can anyone suggest a good yoga or pilates video? There is a ton to rent on NetFlix. I tried Yoga once, but it was just so easy, I wanted to fall asleep. I know yoga can be really hard, maybe I could start with a video. This would help me not feel like such a goof if I joined a class.

[Anonymous]

add stretching to your routine and stay hydrated.

[Anonymous]

If you want to add some variety in between weights and the gym, how about taking Zumba? It looks fun, with a variety of Latin beats.

[Anonymous]

I hate to say it, but food intake (I hate the word "diet") is more important than exercise in losing weight. I say this as someone who loves exercising, and I never diet. But if I consume less calories and drink more water, the weight comes off much faster. Dramatically limit sugars and late-night eating (like you've done with processed foods), and you can't help but lose weight.

Also, weight-lifting changes my body more quickly than anything, although I always do some cardio (walking) to burn calories. But the problem many people make is TOO much cardio, which only makes you hungry and, for a normal person, really can't burn off enough calories (to offset all the ones we eat). It sounds crazy, but I weigh 10 lbs. LESS now, with far more moderate exercise, than when I was constantly training for marathons. All those miles made my hungry and I justified eating a lot more. Now I work out far less, but I also eat less -- just not as hungry. But this is just to provide another perspective -- not to discourage you from running, which is a great component of losing weight.

Yoga is a good to maintain, but it does not burn enough calories if you are trying to lose 20 lbs. You must really PUSH your muscles to change your metabolism -- that requires resistance training, whether with weights or your own body weight (push ups, dips, etc). I love the "BodyPump" type classes - lift weights for an hour and it's actually fun! Sounds like you are doing great, so keep it up and you will see results eventually.

[Anonymous]

I'm like PP - I weighed less when I exercised more moderately than when I was training for marathons and triathlons. (Now post-baby, I'm struggling to get there again, but that's a different story.)

OP- Have you by any chance started drinking sports drinks since taking up jogging? In this heat, your body will crave those, but they also can add calories.

Also, I personally cut out artificial sweeteners years ago and that has done wonders for allowing me to maintain my weight (no more carb and sugar cravings).