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Jandlmom
Jandlmom Sendmail

how to lose weight while keeping energy for running?

posted 7 months ago | Report

I'm stuck.. I have about 50 lbs to lose from my last pregnancy, and it just isn't coming off. I run about 15 miles a week (3-4 runs, usually 4 or 5 miles a run), and I do other cardio 2-3 times a week plus 2 full weights workouts and a yoga class. I exercise with a HRM and burn 3500+ calories a week.

I've tried weightwatchers and my weight did not move much. I'm trying to figure out calories, but the online calculators don't seem to allow for as much exercise as I'm getting.

Does anyone have any advice for how I can lose weight? What has worked for you? How can I figure out the best daily calorie range? Any advice would be much appreciated - I'm working really hard to lose and I'm not losing :-(

Thanks!

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  • Scott M.
    Scott M. Sendmail

    I'd be interested in knowing how long you have been doing this. You do cardio so you burn fat that way ( especially if you stay in a good heart rate zone) and you lift which builds muscle (that also burns fat)....here's the rub, muscle is dense, therefore heavy. You are working on lean body mass, if you maintain this workout you should eventually start to "lean out", that muscle you are building will take up less "space" but will weigh more, your weight will stay put or even go up slightly as that muscle builds faster than the fat burns, so to speak.

    Then, you will hit that "critical mass" and the weight will start to fall away as the muscle building slows and the cardio + all the new muscle whittles away that fat. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

    I noticed a gain when I started, however, when the loss finally started, the weight just dropped off! I'm now down 50 pounds, hang in there, it'll happen. As far as calorie calculators I used myfitnesspal.com, fill in the data and it should give you some help about where to start out.

    Hope this helps

    posted 7 months ago

  • Gator Mike
    Gator Mike Sendmail

    I lost 60 lbs in 6 months a few years ago and have been able to keep it off so far. I'm not an expert, but I can say what worked for me.

    I think less mileage with a higher intesity is best for losing weight. Long slow running is better to maintain. I ran three times a week, three miles. I was able to set goals for myself on Nike+. I would set my goal each month as 5 runs that month that were as fast as my fastest from the previous month. So, one each run when i would start to slow down I would push myself because I wanted that run to "count." I got slowly faster going from a 10 min/mile to sub 8 min/mile over about a year and a half. I wasn't running farther, just pushing myself harder on each run. I think it's hard to do a lot of distance without a lot of fuel.

    I reduced my portions a lot (basically avoiding fries) and maked some smarter decision about avoiding bad foods. I also made getting 8 hours of sleep a priority.

    Good Luck!

    posted 7 months ago

  • Amy H.
    Amy H. Sendmail

    I had the same problem, until I started to eat more, and more often!! I now eat every 2-3 hours (mostly high protein and I'm learning to not obsess over calories as much). When I started doing that, 50 pounds pretty much "melted" off!! I now have about 25 more I would like to lose and that has been a bit of a challenge!! (I'm also injured right now so I haven't been running...won't be for at least 3 months).

    I eat a lot of low fat string cheese and greek yogurt. I also have a few protein shakes a day also!! And a LOT of water is key!! No joke!! I drink at LEAST 64 ounces a day and that helped a ton!!

    Good luck, it's frustrating when it seems you are doing all the right things and the scale isn't moving. But I also pay more attention to inches now, and how my clothes feel, instead of obsessing over the scale ;)

    posted 7 months ago

  • Stephanie W J.
    Stephanie W J. Sendmail

    Calorie counting worked for me. I did mine by hand. A trainer figured my calorie intake for me. I may have to increase it now that I am running like I am.

    I also eat about every three hours. I have increased my fruit and vegetables.

    The weight training is good. Muscle is what burns calories.

    I hope that these ideas are helpful.

    posted 7 months ago

  • Jandlmom
    Jandlmom Sendmail
    in reply to what Scott M. said: I'd be interested in knowing how long you have been doing this. You do cardio so you burn fat that way ( especially if you stay in a good heart rate zone) and you lift which builds muscle (that also burns fat)....here's the rub, muscle is den... read more

    Thanks for answering. I've been working on losing since February, lost 25 lbs slowly between feb and August. since then, no real change in the scale -maybe 5 lbs, but the math doesn't work - with what goes in and what gets burned off, I should have lost at least 5 pounds a month, not 5 in 3 months. I did up my strength training (was really not very consistent before), and I'm sure I've lost a couple of inches, but it's nowhere near what I was expecting and I'm feeling a bit discouraged.

    posted 7 months ago

  • Jandlmom
    Jandlmom Sendmail
    in reply to what Gator Mike said:I lost 60 lbs in 6 months a few years ago and have been able to keep it off so far. I'm not an expert, but I can say what worked for me. I think less mileage with a higher intesity is best for losing weight. Long slow running is better to maint... read more

    Thank you. I'm impressed with your weight loss! And I especially appreciate the reminder about sleep.

    posted 7 months ago

  • Amy H.
    Amy H. Sendmail
    in reply to what Stephanie W J. said:Calorie counting worked for me. I did mine by hand. A trainer figured my calorie intake for me. I may have to increase it now that I am running like I am. I also eat about every three hours. I have increased my fruit and vegetables. The weight t... read more

    EXACTLY....if you don't INCREASE your calorie intake when you increase your mileage/cardio output, your body will go into starvation mode and will hold. on. to. every. little. thing. you. eat......afraid it's not going to get nourished for awhile!!! That's exactly why you don't lose weight, if you are restricting your caloric intake but increasing your activity!!! Until people realize this, they aren't going to lose weight!!! A nutritionist told me this, and when I listened to her, the weight "melted" off.

    Also, eating every 2-3 hours keeps your metabolism up, and you will burn off more calories!! I don't pay as much attention to calories, as I do protein, carbs and fat!!!

    posted 7 months ago

  • Ryan
    Ryan Sendmail

    The type of food you eat matters also. When I got away from processed foods, I lost 25 lbs without even really trying. It helped that I was doing long runs or long bike rides every weekend - but I reduced empty calories, processed foods, and made lunch my largest calorie meal of the day. Thats what worked for me.

    WW is great if you don't exercise much - what they don't do well is compensate for extra caloried burned outside of normal base metabolism.

    As other mentioned, increase protein (greek yogurt is awesome for that), have a mid morning and mid afternoon snack (I will often have a banana or hard boiled egg or something) to keep metabolism going - all that can help.

    You might be able to find a lab nearby to get your basal metabolism rate checked, so you can more finely tune how many calories you need per day, so that you can maintain a healthy ~500 calories/day deficit for weight loss.

    posted 7 months ago

  • Jenny B.
    Jenny B. Sendmail

    I am using the "lose it!" app and I love it. It calculates calorie intake by your current weight and how many pounds you want to lose per week (1, 1.5, or 2). As you enter your days' weight, the calorie intake reduces/increases accordingly. I have tried cal counting before and got discouraged taking all the time to enter my foods and exercise, but I'm determined to keep at it! Also, the app has a bar code scanner that has a pretty large database of foods, that saves me a lot of time. It has been working so far!! Good luck to you.

    posted 7 months ago

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