Recently started jogging.

[BlueBird]

I need a reality check so hopefully some more experienced runners will chime in. I've really let myself go, I'm fat and very out of shape and I'm sick of how I look and feel. Last month I decided to get more active and started walking and then jogging (really not much faster than a brisk walk). I'm consuming fewer calories and trying not to eat junk food. I do feel a little better about myself and I know I need to keep on going. I went running (I use running loosely here) and I jogged 3 miles in 39 Minutes and 37 seconds. This is really slow and took a lot for me to finish the three miles but I was determined. How out of shape am I if I was able to jog 3 miles with out stopping? My first thought when I finished was wow I just jogged 3 miles maybe I'm not so bad off.

Here's the problem I feel famished! For breakfast I had 1/2 cup of old fashioned oatmeal and a banana with a cup of black coffee. For lunch I had a bowl of home made tomato and vegetable bisque soup, low sodium, low fat chicken stock and tomatoes as the base with lots of vegetables and a can of sardines.. Then a few hours later I went for my jog. When I got home I feasted on a grilled 12 oz sirloin steak, about a 1/2 cup of mashed taters and 1/2 cup of steamed green beans. How healthy would you say my diet was today? I am hungry! I won't eat until the morning. Oh I did drink a 12 oz German Pilsner after I hydrated and ate my dinner.

Am I on the right track? I don't feel like I lost any weight yet but we don't own a scale. I still feel and look fat. I'm going to run tomorrow but a shorter distance and a faster pace I hope. I can tell I will be sore.

 

[littlelady]

My hub ran in high school, college and the Marines. Then he stopped for 20 years (plus he wrestled and played baseball and continued the baseball/softball thing into his adult years for a long time). One day 6 years ago he said he wanted to start running again. He ran down the drive way and back, then he ventured out further and further. He now is an ultra runner. He has done one 100 miler and is getting ready to do his second in April. He went through all that you are talking about as far as diet and all. He has become extremely dedicated to his running hobby. He keeps the running sites like Running Warehouse in business; he goes through shoes in no time. He has a lot of running shoes and all that. One important thing about his running is that he had really high cholesterol and was on meds. His doc saw it all coming down year after year, and now he is on no cholesterol meds. Hub has even learned how to keep his heart rate down. You have to be careful about running on hard surfaces such as the street and asphalt because that can cause problems, as well. Try to run on dirt and trails. As far as diet, hub has done the paleo and low carb thing, but once he was running every day, he eats what he wants; you need the carb energy for endurance. Also, he bought an incline treadmill for our basement, so he can run on inclement days. He has a wall mount tv down there and watches movies while he runs/walks. It can't get better than that! Anyway, this is just my summary of what I know my hub has done/does. I should have him post to give you more advice. Good for you! Running is a good thing. I stay home and hold the fort down and watch the couch! Just to add, my hub is 61 years old. Good luck and may you enjoy your running. I hope you love it as much as he does.

One more thing. Read the book, Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. It is my hub's fave and very inspiring, and awesome. I read it, too.

 

[hitchicken]

Good for you. IMHO suggestions...

Yeah, I'm a calorie counter...

.5 cup of oatmeal (prepared?) 160 cals.
banana (average size) 105 cals.
black coffee 8 cals
tomato bisque (no size given, guessing 1 cup) 124 cals
can of sardines (guessing in oil) 150 cals
12 oz sirloin steak 576 cals
.5 cup mash potatoes (prepared, no butter, no salt) 81 cals
.5 cup steam green beans (no butter) 22 cals
beer 12 fl oz 144 cals

Total: 1370 calories. At this rate of daily calorie consumption, you wiil definitely lose weight. Typically a person of average metabolism will burn 1800 to 2200 calories a day just by being alive. It depends on the initial weight. Is calorie counting exact? Not by a long shot, but it's a reasonable place to start.

Exercise is good for you, to be sure, but for losing weight, it's an effort in futility. To burn off a 1/6 slice of a regular 12" pepperoni pizza you would have to walk 'briskly' at 2 mph for more than 1 hour. It's easier to just not eat the slice in the first place. Walking a half a marathon at the same rate will only burn about 1300 calories, less than the total of the calories you ate. That's just not worth it.

In any case, good for you. Keep doing what works for you. I respectfully submit that you should buy that scale... and get a food scale that measures in grams (the universal weight units used on nutrition labels) with a TARE feature. Is calorie counting hard? No. Is it tedious? Yes. Is it worth it? It depends on how far a person is willing to go to lose weight. I'd say, "YES!"

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Roman]

Just keep in mind BB that Rome wasn't built in a day, so go easy on yourself. It's good that you don't own a scale because IMO, if you don't see a difference in a day or two, you just might lose interest in what you're trying to accomplish. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat.

 

[BlueBird]

Thank you for the encouragement. I haven't started introducing any sort of weight training or muscle building in to my routine. I need to drop the weight and get my cardio up where it should be before I start trying to add muscle or tone up. I have a lot of muscle already but it's hidden behind all the fat so theoretically if I can lose the fat then the muscles should start to show. When I do finally start to do some weight lifting it will be very light with many reps in an effort to simply tone up. I'll run again this evening but admittedly i am very sore and feel tired today.

No one answered my question. Is being able to run 3 miles at 13 minutes a mile good or does it mean I'm really out of shape? I hope to to start seeing some improvement soon and yes I'll be buying a scale.

Breakfast this morning: 1/2 cup oatmeal, no sugar. 1 cup of black coffee.

 

[hitchicken]

Just another opinion...

3 miles in 39 minutes is about a 4.5 minute mile. That's consider a very brisk walking rate, almost running. Excellent. Depending on your weight, you'll burn about 275 calories running at this rate for 39 minutes. You ate 1/2 cup of oatmeal with coffee: 168 calories. You have 107 calories left over to splurge on a 1/12 slice of pepperoni pizza!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=27

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/calories-burned/walking-4-5-mph-very-very-brisk-pace-199

IMHO, exercising for health: good. Exercising for weight loss: too hard... but that choice is totally yours.

 

[getbent]

You also do not want to over train. Several years ago I started jogging. I went everyday for about 2 miles each day. Felt great for about a week then I could barely do a mile. I over did it and my body was too tired. Jogging a couple times a week is a great start. You can always add days once you become more accustomed to running. The hardest part ( I think) is just starting. Remember, no matter how slow you think things are going, you are still lapping everyone on the couch (including me, lol).

 

[BlueBird]

3 miles in 39 minutes is about a 4.5 minute mile. That's consider a very brisk walking rate, almost running. Excellent. Depending on your weight, you'll burn about 275 calories running at this rate for 39 minutes. You ate 1/2 cup of oatmeal with coffee: 168 calories. You have 107 calories left over to splurge on a 1/12 slice of pepperoni pizza!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=27

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/calories-burned/walking-4-5-mph-very-very-brisk-pace-199

IMHO, exercising for health: good. Exercising for weight loss: too hard... but that choice is totally yours.

According to my Runtastic app I burned 576 calories based on my weight. One advantage to being fat is that I burn more calories because I have to work harder to run. As I drop weight my calorie burn rate will drop and I'll have to run longer to get the same benefit. I agree with you on that it's easier to lose weight by controlling my calorie intake. Running just increase my calorie deficit and is good for my over all health. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, High triglycerides and I'm close to being diabetic. Running is good for all these things. Questions is will my knees feet and back hold up? I need to take it slow which I am doing but still push myself too. I could never walk 4.5 MPH. Last week I went for a 3 mile very brisk walk and my average speed was 3.6 MPH. I am tall at over 6' and this felt like I was walking at a very fast pace. Thank you for the links they are helpful.

Are there any other obese folks here who got off the couch and started running? I would like to hear your story and results. Thank you.

 

[Roman]

With the health issues you have, have you checked with your Doctor to see if s/he thinks it's OK for you to exercise that much? I assume you're older, and it would be in your best interest to go easy until checking with the Doc. Better safe than sorry BB.

 

[lucky_bee]

Have you tried the Couch 2 5K app? I know many people who successfully used this app to get themselves back into running. I tried it myself but I absolutely hate running and instead get my cardio thru spinning and HIIT workouts. Anyways, the app has a 9-week program that starts you off with interval running, increasing your running intervals and decreasing your "rest" or fast-paced walking intervals each week until you can finally run the entire length of your time (usually 30 mins). You can coordinate it with your GPS to track where you're walking as well. It's fairly easy to use and you can even repeat weeks should you feel you're just not quite ready to increase your running intervals.

 

[hitchicken]

Sorry to be a pest: You said, "I jogged 3 miles in 39 Minutes and 37 seconds." You also said, "I could never walk 4.5 MPH." Guess what? That's 4.62 MPH! YOU DID IT!

 

[BlueBird]

With the health issues you have, have you checked with your Doctor to see if s/he thinks it's OK for you to exercise that much? I assume you're older, and it would be in your best interest to go easy until checking with the Doc. Better safe than sorry BB.

Yes the doc says to keep jogging but to take things slow. If I haven't hard attack et then it's unlikely that doing something that will strengthen my heart and cardiovascular health will hurt. As long as I don't over do it. My rule is that if I feel ike I can get out and run or walk then I should.

 

[BlueBird]

Sorry to be a pest: You said, "I jogged 3 miles in 39 Minutes and 37 seconds." You also said, "I could never walk 4.5 MPH." Guess what? That's 4.62 MPH! YOU DID IT!

I was jogging not walking. I had to trot to go that fast.. There is a difference. Would you tell a person who's 5' tall the same thing?

 

[BlueBird]

Have you tried the Couch 2 5K app? I know many people who successfully used this app to get themselves back into running. I tried it myself but I absolutely hate running and instead get my cardio thru spinning and HIIT workouts. Anyways, the app has a 9-week program that starts you off with interval running, increasing your running intervals and decreasing your "rest" or fast-paced walking intervals each week until you can finally run the entire length of your time (usually 30 mins). You can coordinate it with your GPS to track where you're walking as well. It's fairly easy to use and you can even repeat weeks should you feel you're just not quite ready to increase your running intervals.

I've tried a simliar plan before. Run hard for a min or two then walk for a min or two and do this for 30 minutes. problem is my heart rate was wayyyyy too fast and that's not so good for a man my age, in my condition. Doc recommended I try and keep my heart rate steady in the cardio/fat burning zone for 30-45 minutes. As my cardio improves I'll have to work harder to get there. At that point I'll start introducing some weight lifting (lightly in to the mix). It doesn't take much right now to get my heart rate int he fat burning zone.

 

[lucky_bee]

I've tried a simliar plan before. Run hard for a min or two then walk for a min or two and do this for 30 minutes. problem is my heart rate was wayyyyy too fast and that's not so good for a man my age, in my condition. Doc recommended I try and keep my heart rate steady in the cardio/fat burning zone for 30-45 minutes. As my cardio improves I'll have to work harder to get there. At that point I'll start introducing some weight lifting (lightly in to the mix). It doesn't take much right now to get my heart rate int he fat burning zone.

glad you're working closely with your Dr. and are aware of what you can and cannot handle.

I was jogging not walking. I had to trot to go that fast.. There is a difference. Would you tell a person who's 5' tall the same thing?

I'm only 5' and 4.5mph is officially running for me

 

[hitchicken]

I misunderstood. I thought BB was implying she wasn't doing 4.5 MPH when, in fact, she was... whether it was walking, jogging, running or crawling. It's just math. Incidentally, you don't need your doctor's permission to put less calories in your mouth. You can achieve healthy numbers with weight loss by dieting as well.

 

[itsbob]

According to my Runtastic app I burned 576 calories based on my weight. One advantage to being fat is that I burn more calories because I have to work harder to run. As I drop weight my calorie burn rate will drop and I'll have to run longer to get the same benefit. I agree with you on that it's easier to lose weight by controlling my calorie intake. Running just increase my calorie deficit and is good for my over all health. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, High triglycerides and I'm close to being diabetic. Running is good for all these things. Questions is will my knees feet and back hold up? I need to take it slow which I am doing but still push myself too. I could never walk 4.5 MPH. Last week I went for a 3 mile very brisk walk and my average speed was 3.6 MPH. I am tall at over 6' and this felt like I was walking at a very fast pace. Thank you for the links they are helpful.

Are there any other obese folks here who got off the couch and started running? I would like to hear your story and results. Thank you.

I'm with you..

Our son swims two or three times a week and last fall I got tired of sitting at the side of the pool watching him go back and forth, back and forth.. I started walking.. First was maybe a slow couple of miles.. then I upped it to 4 miles.. then 6...

Now I have it in my head that I can make it to 10.. Drop him off at 6 pick him up at 7:45 and get in 10 miles. My goal is 10 minutes a mile for 10 miles.

I have been walking/jogging/running at the college campus 2 or 3 times a week, and going out on weekend walks with the family as much as time allows. During the winter I'm stuck on a track due to the dark, but that's worked to my advantage as far as pace and distance goes. I started jogging a lap, walking a lap.. then walking a little faster, jogging a little faster.

Now I walk 1/2 a lap and run 1.5 or 2 laps.. when I want I can run 2 or 3 miles straight (getting ready for the 5k season) but generally can do the walk/run sets for the 1.75 hours and still get in 8 miles.

I think I can maintain 10 minute miles for extended periods but want to get to sub 9 minute or 8 minute miles for the 5Ks..

I retired from the Army in 2000, and haven't ran more than 10 feet since then.. when I was walking I just asked myself.. "Wonder what would happen if I tried to run??" I ran maybe 100 yards that first night and I didn't die..

Weight loss?? All of this running I haven't lost an ounce.. actually put on a couple of pounds. Had a lot of luck with the Atkins Low Carb approach in the past so may go back to that. I really need to take off 20 pounds to see how it effects my times/pace.

 

[itsbob]

I've tried a simliar plan before. Run hard for a min or two then walk for a min or two and do this for 30 minutes. problem is my heart rate was wayyyyy too fast and that's not so good for a man my age, in my condition. Doc recommended I try and keep my heart rate steady in the cardio/fat burning zone for 30-45 minutes. As my cardio improves I'll have to work harder to get there. At that point I'll start introducing some weight lifting (lightly in to the mix). It doesn't take much right now to get my heart rate int he fat burning zone.

I use the bejeebus out of the mapmywalk and mapmyrun apps.. I love them.

Looking at getting a FITBIT to link to my phone and the apps to track my heartrate better.

 

[wunsent]

I started running approximately 2 1/2 years ago using the C to 5K program, and this is what helped me work into it. I make sure that I run 3-4 times a week, and have only implemented cross training since the beginning of the year. I wish I'd done it sooner. If you're looking to improve and get the most out of your runs, you need a strong core and strength training. Yes muscle weighs more than fat but the cross training helps tremendously with your overall health. As for eating habits, I watch what I eat and rarely get on the scale. I measure the changes in my weight by the fit of my clothes...I can tell when I've fallen of wagon.

If you'd like something to work toward, consider signing up for a 5K. There's one next month in Charlotte Hall. You can find out more information at www.CommunityMediationSMC.org/LFT5K. There's one in May at Kings Dominion as well. The cost of that 5K will also get you admission to the park for the day. If you're on FB there are also lots of groups out there that are all about encouraging new and long time runners. There are also local running groups that you can join.

I started running to improve my overall health. I never thought I'd do more than a 5K, and in February I ran 22.4 miles over 3 days. My weight hasn't drastically dropped but my overall health and stamina has improved greatly. Good luck and keep at it!

 

[wunsent]

This is also an inspiring story about being overweight and a runner.

http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/ultra