Running everyday but where are the results

Hello! So I started running +walking 5K or more 6 days a week in the mornings. I eat quite healthy already (no sugar no glutten no fried no processed) and a plant based diet... My metabolism has always been slow since I was a child. And I'm against dieting because in the long run it never works for me.

It's been nearly 3 weeks and I'm not really seeing any results. I'm beginning to get worried. I am about 8-10 pounds overweight.

How long does it take to see any change?

as much as i loved running in my uni years, i'd never pick it up as a tool to get in shape.

try high intensity interval training coupled with strength training instead.

i highly recommend fitness blender.

Jibralta is very experienced in many forms of workout and has a thread on her experience.

also, if weight is your primary concern, make sure you're actually at a caloric deficit. so if your workout burns say, 250 on average, if you also eat at a 250 cal deficit, that's 500 less daily without starving yourself.

i wonder if you're not eating too little though. that can set you back big time.

Seconding strength training and high intensity interval training being added to your routines

Jillian Michaels 30 day shred is pretty good, as is turbo fire, and hasfit has heaps of videos online for strength training

Try this:

1 Drink no alcohol, i.e. sugar, eat no sugary foods or heavy carbs like bread & pasta, consume only proteins and raw carbs - fruit, vegetables, salad - sort of paleo diet stuff but not exactly - eat as much as you like... and feel free to eat meats with fat in them, dairy, offal, whatever. Just steer clear of processed foods, breads, complex carbs and sugars. And no batter.

2 PLUS you exercise 25+ minutes 5 times a week at high intensity.

What I mean by high intensity might differ from other definitions so to be clear:

3 In the gym, do 6 exercises, 4 sets of 12, start on the minute every minute for 24 minutes. Obviously this is low weight high rep stuff. You might not be able to finish the 4th 12, but as long as it hurts that's OK.

4 On the beach, you are doing a circuit of swimming in the surf, then dry sand sprinting, with calisthenic stations in between.

5 On grass, get the traffic cones out, mark out 25m intervals on a straight line, , do 2 laps to warm up, and then do speed build run throughs with strict 30s intervals on turning round for the next one.

If you can do the latter for 20 minutes solidly, you don't need to lose any weight, but if you are obsessed about weight loss then go back to step one, stop eating as much as you like, add up how many calories you were eating, and chop it by 10%.

Try that for a couple of weeks, rinse and repeat.

#thumbsup

I used to do a lot of running as well, about 5km 3 times per week and couldn't drop any weight even though I was eating less and pretty healthy. I then switched to keto and can easily loose 1 kg per week. Same with my friends who tried it as well. Just weighed myself 15 minutes ago and lost another kg. You can try it for one week and see if it works for you.

as much as i loved running in my uni years, i'd never pick it up as a tool to get in shape.

 

try high intensity interval training coupled with strength training instead.

i wonder if you're not eating too little though. that can set you back big time.

Yes, I absolutely agree.

I have never loved running personally, but once I got into Cross Fit, I started seeing and feeling results quickly. It wasn't even my goal, I simply really enjoy the sport. I had always implemented a combination of strength training and high-intensity intervals, though, so it was a transition that made sense to me. At the base, it's those two elements that bring real, tangible results.

OP, I would keep running as a form of steady-state cardio if you enjoy it, but I would not rely on that alone to bring you closer to your fitness goals. Look at adding strength and HIIT to your regimen. It's a winning combo.

Take an inventory of your nutrition, to make sure you're eating a balanced diet and not going too far over or under your recommended daily intake. I personally do not subscribe to any specific diet that is unsustainable long-term even though it may yield short-term results. You're not likely to stick with something that is too restrictive or difficult to maintain, and the weight will come right back once you stop. Eating well, eating fresh and unprocessed food, eating plenty of plants - this is where I where I feel best and what my body likes.

i forgot to add that in my runner days, i was on a diet identical to OP's. While i never had bloodwork as excellent as then, i do not believe that it helped my fitness goals.

i am by no means an expert, so this is just my observation, but running alone doesn't seem to help females much in regards to their shape. male runners, i can tell they run. i don't know what it is about the female body though that seems to make it harder for us to get in shape through running. of course it's a generalization, I just know many who have been running for decades. no offense intended but by looking at them i could never tell. while i understand there are other benefits they may be enjoying, i never quite understood why someone who is willing to keep a routine doesn't choose something more efficient.

running didn't help my muscle tone or definition, it did have some effects on my overall endurance, and i liked the psychological benefits, but in no way do they compare to those of HIIT and strength training to me. i was slim to begin with so can't comment much on the weight aspect other than i didn't seem to lose any, and more unfortunate for me, i wasn't gaining muscle either. nowadays, if i run, it's because i feel like being outdoors.

HIIT and strength training gave me immediate results, to other people, they became apparent in under two weeks. from then on, it's been an unbelievable party. i must sound like i'm in a cult because i cannot recommend it enough.

Have you had a complete physical including thyroid tests? Start there. Stop using artificial sweeteners particularly stevia. They trick your brain chemistry and mess up your insulin functioning. What do you mean by "plant based"? Hopefully you are also avoiding starchy foods and sticking with healthy produce/lean protein. Also make sure you are getting adequate healthy fats.

Check what your total complete protein intake is. If you are very active, working out or running daily it should be roughly the amount of grams your height is in inches. For example if you are 70" tall, strive to get 70 grams of complete protein. Only animal products have complete proteins. Complete proteins have the all the required amino acids needed for all metabolic functions and rebuilding tissues.

You can't build muscle and thus improve your metabolic rate if you are using artificial sweeteners and non-nutritive items as well as not eating enough complete proteins to rebuild muscle. Make sure you are not just running to "burn calories" and using a more comprehensive fitness program which includes building more muscle strength, a stretch program and a variety of physical activity.

My metabolism has always been slow since I was a child. It's been nearly 3 weeks and I'm not really seeing any results.

All of this ^^^^^^^^^

I should have added to my earlier post - stretching -is-good.

Push and hold the stretch a bit - till you get some burn.

It mobilizes the oxygen in your blood stream, and your body metabolism increases to replace it.

You are burning energy even o your warm down.

Hello! So I started running +walking 5K or more 6 days a week in the mornings. I eat quite healthy already (no sugar no glutten no fried no processed) and a plant based diet... My metabolism has always been slow since I was a child. And I'm against dieting because in the long run it never works for me.

 

It's been nearly 3 weeks and I'm not really seeing any results. I'm beginning to get worried. I am about 8-10 pounds overweight.

How long does it take to see any change?

I agree with Wiseman and I don't agree with no gluten unless you've been tested and are allergic/have celiac etc. There was a recent good article about why low carbs are bad for you.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to lose weight and I do a power walk -more like a run given the MPH every single day and I am not sure if helped me lose weight (I didn't need to lose weight) but it motivated me to make better dietary choices and -this is key -drink a lot more water. I treat water now like a vitamin/medicine - and make myself drink at least 10 glasses a day and if at all possible between meals instead of with. And no diet sodas anymore (I used to be a diet coke fiend many years ago - now I have a diet soda maybe 5 times/year) and I try to limit caffeine/coffee. I don't diet but i stopped nibbling on sweets between meals because that can add mindless eating calories and is a bad habit IMO. You have to get more in touch with your hunger cues and often if you drink a lot of water you will know that you're actually hungry and not thirsty since you are hydrated.

I don't think you have to do a diet, I wouldn't do any quick start or keto diets but if you were willing to do Weight Watchers (not sure whether being 10 pounds overweight is enough) I think that would help you just like a nutritionist might. JMHO -not a medical professional at all. I dieted like crazy for a number of years in my teens/20s which was not the best plan, never been overweight other than post-baby weight but have been exercising regularly since 1982 and I think it has huge benefits for weight maintenance and weight loss if the diet is in the same mindset as the healthy mindset promoted by exercise.

Yes, exactly. And it helps reduce rick of injuries from over-tight tendons/muscles.

 

I should have added to my earlier post - stretching -is-good.

 

Push and hold the stretch a bit - till you get some burn.

 

It mobilizes the oxygen in your blood stream, and your body metabolism increases to replace it.

 

You are burning energy even o your warm down.

 

Hello! So I started running +walking 5K or more 6 days a week in the mornings. I eat quite healthy already (no sugar no glutten no fried no processed) and a plant based diet... My metabolism has always been slow since I was a child. And I'm against dieting because in the long run it never works for me.

 

It's been nearly 3 weeks and I'm not really seeing any results. I'm beginning to get worried. I am about 8-10 pounds overweight.

How long does it take to see any change?

What, exactly, are the results you seek?

Attempts to watch numbers as small as 8 to 10 pounds DO something on a scale is like watching paint dry. IMO, that's barking up the wrong tree. You're using your largest muscles to move yourself across 5k, yet strengthening those will trick your scale: you've traded soft tissue for tightened solidity.

That's a good thing, but it's not going to lower your weight. It might even raise your scale despite making you smaller.

If you don't see or feel a difference where you want it, identify exactly where you want to see a change. Then try resistance work specific to those areas along with your core.

Most strength trainers I know have ditched tedious or high impact cardio unless you LOVE it. Otherwise, trade running for something FUN.

Yes exactly. Throw out the scale and get a tape measure. As you may know, the best indicator of health and fitness and potential health issues is waist circumference.

Attempts to watch numbers as small as 8 to 10 pounds DO something on a scale is like watching paint dry. That's a good thing, but it's not going to lower your weight. It might even raise your scale despite making you smaller.

Hello! So I started running +walking 5K or more 6 days a week in the mornings. I eat quite healthy already (no sugar no glutten no fried no processed) and a plant based diet... My metabolism has always been slow since I was a child. And I'm against dieting because in the long run it never works for me.

 

It's been nearly 3 weeks and I'm not really seeing any results. I'm beginning to get worried. I am about 8-10 pounds overweight.

How long does it take to see any change?

I would disregard everything posted in the above. There are several reasons why you are not losing weight, first the most important reason is muscle to fat distribution in your body. If you body isn't made up of a lot of muscle chances are you will not lose weight easily because most people don't realize this but muscle actually weighs more then fat, yet it consumes more energy (calories). So a person with a more muscular body will naturally lose more weight faster then a person who has less muscles even if they both weight the same.

Second thing, it doesn't matter you exercising or not exercising, that's not going to help you lose weight unless your doing heavy lifting (which will help you gain muscle) and most people aren't doing that. Your weight is entirely based on calories in vs calories out very very simple stuff. When the average person starts working out or exercising they don't lose weight because they increase their metabolism which increases their need to eat more, this means most of the calories they burn they put on by increasing the amount of food they regularly eat.

If you want to lose the weight either dramatically reduce the amount of calories you consume or increase the amount of calories you burn. This will leave you at a deficit in terms of your total calories (its simple math really). Most people who have a 6 pack or look good are actually hungry all the time. Getting to 8-9 percent body fat is not easy and its not comfortable at all. You think fitness athletes are any less hungry then you or me, they are not.

If you try fasting, you will see how quickly you will lose weight. If you don't like dieting then I guess you don't like being thin either, you over weight because you are over eating, this is very simple math. Most people cannot maintain a healthy weight over a period of time because they do not have healthy eating habits, thats just the reality of life. You can deal with that or keep denying it and wondering why nothing your doing is working.

3 years ago I lost 100lbs in 4.5 months. The first month I exercised an hour a day and as an experiment the next month I didn't exercise at all. Exercise only made .5kg extra loss over the month.

What makes a big difference is cutting carbs and staying away from vegetables like carrots, peas potatoes and corn. Water intake is also very important..... 2-3 L a day. If I drank any less I would halve my weight loss for the day. Eating an early breakfast and dinner in the evening also made a difference to my weight loss. Cheat days don't help and also alcohol. One alcoholic drink stopped my weight loss for 2 days.

Weight will fall off if you can cut calories to achieve a state of ketosis. I was hungry for a week and then, I struggled to eat a small salad without feeling full . I put 15 kg on recently and lost it in 3 weeks. The first week I lost 6kg.

Second thing, it doesn't matter you exercising or not exercising, that's not going to help you lose weight unless your doing heavy lifting (which will help you gain muscle) and most people aren't doing that. Your weight is entirely based on calories in vs calories out very very simple stuff. When the average person starts working out or exercising they don't lose weight because they increase their metabolism which increases their need to eat more, this means most of the calories they burn they put on by increasing the amount of food they regularly eat.

I respectfully disagree and wrote above how exercise helped me in losing weight including the mindset/perspective it reinforced. It is simple and for some it's more complicated -either because of psychological reasons or sometimes hormonal, etc. (good idea to have a doctor check that out, OP).

If you try fasting, you will see how quickly you will lose weight. If you don't like dieting then I guess you don't like being thin either, you over weight because you are over eating, this is very simple math. Most people cannot maintain a healthy weight over a period of time because they do not have healthy eating habits, thats just the reality of life. You can deal with that or keep denying it and wondering why nothing your doing is working.

I fast once a year for other reasons and lose weight (not interested in the weight loss). I know some people intermittently fast. I don't think fasting is a long term answer for losing or maintaining weight. I udnerstand what the OP means by dieting because dieting made me unwell when I did it for years. She means I think some sort of formal diet. My mother is 83 and underweight now. She's always been thin or slim. Never overweight. She never dieted and was raised on butter and cream, etc. I've never been overweight except for two times in my life -always been thin or at most "slim"- pregnancy/post pregnancy and because of an awful birth control pill for a few months. The last time I dieted was when I had a near eating disorder in the 1980s. I've been exercising regularly since 1982. What I do do: portion control; learned about my personal hunger cues and what is healthful for me to eat/how much when I am hungry/depends what kind of hungry; portion control in the sense of never cleaning my plate just because it's there; limiting my snacks because I am already too much of a foodie so having food in my mouth randomly during the day or too many snacks is a bad thing; cutting out diet soda because it triggered my sweet tooth and had other nasty effects and drinking tons of water, especially in the last few years as my systems have um changed in my 50s.

What works for me might not work for her just pointing out that I don't diet and my mother did not diet. And I know a lot of other kind of annoying people like me who seem to have a lucky genetic component working in their favor. If she doesn't she might need a nutritionist or maybe weight watchers short term to teach her how to make good choices for her, and re-training in knowing when she is legitimately hungry (and not thirsty/bored/emotional) and what to eat.

I don't really like the "don't listen to them" comment for a number of reasons. OP you need not listen to me either and I think you've gotten some interesting and good advice here.

I Most people who have a 6 pack or look good are actually hungry all the time. Getting to 8-9 percent body fat is not easy and its not comfortable at all. You think fitness athletes are any less hungry then you or me, they are not.

I agree with this. I've been losing a bit of weight recently, by logging everything meticulously into MyFitnessPal, and making sure my protein intake is high and my simple carbs are low to nonexistent. I've learned to not be "all-in/all-out" with any type of food. If I say "no bread, ever", then I'll just kick myself for eating that delicious hot bread at that one restaurant, or those couple of glasses of wine. So, I eat it, log it, and move on. None of this has made much of a difference, as I still count them in my daily calorie total (I strive for 1200), and my clothes are looser every day.

But yes, I'm often a bit hungry, which is fine. On a scale of 1-10, how hungry are you? With 10 being so stuffed you can't breathe, I'm often at around a 6 or 7, with 8 being "ok I need to eat something". I keep little containers of cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and string cheese for those "I'm so starving I don't think I can wait" moments. Those only add 80 calories.

Eating a large breakfast, with animal fats, helps too. My breakfast most days isn't until around 10:00 am (I bring it with me in a container, having made it before I leave): 2 eggs fried in ghee (clarified butter), 2 pieces of bacon, and coffee with full-fat coconut milk/coconut oil mixture. I've been eating this breakfast for many years, and my cholesterol has actually improved. Plus, this allows me to have a much smaller lunch, which is maybe salad with grilled chicken and olive oil, and dinner is maybe a piece of fish and a huge amount of veggies in olive oil.

Everything that's been said on this thread is helpful, and everyone has different takes on what helps them.

Running alone won't help, because of many reasons above. My co-worker recently lost 50 lbs., and he attributes it to two things: running, and MyFitnessPal logging. You simply have to have a calorie deficit, and logging food really helps keep you on track.

For me, I log my food the night before, so I know exactly what I'll eat the next day, and I stick to it. So, if I know I'll be dining out, I try to view the menu online and make my selections the night before, and yes, I add the wine I know I'll drink.

Last night, I was invited to dinner, and when I asked what I could bring, it was cupcakes from one of those fancy cupcake places. Darn it, I didn't have "calorie room" for even half of one, as I knew they'd be grilling steaks, and serving potatoes, etc. I already knew I wouldn't have "room" for them, so when I arrived, I just "knew" what I was going to eat. When it was cupcake time, I just hung around and chatted, and I......lived, lol.

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But yes, I'm often a bit hungry, which is fine. On a scale of 1-10, how hungry are you? With 10 being so stuffed you can't breathe, I'm often at around a 6 or 7, with 8 being "ok I need to eat something". I keep little containers of cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and string cheese for those "I'm so starving I don't think I can wait" moments. Those only add 80 calories.

According to Weightwatchers, fresh figs, sauteed with a little honey (very little) are zero points.

Or so I've been told ;-)

However, they came right out and said they don't like dieting. This is a simple question and answer. You can avoid carbs and eat 2000 calories of meat and fruit a day and burn 2000 calories of meat and fruit a day, at the end of the day your still going to be at the same weight. That was the point I was making. Both of my parents are vegetarian, yet they are both overweight, I don't care about diet, unless your in a calorie deficit you will not lose weight period.

Agree. I'm one of those early paleo diet bandwagon adopters, but I didn't ever lose an ounce (I have 10-15 to lose), because I switched from simple carb calories to animal fat calories. I was eating the same amount. Yes, my cholesterol levels improved, as did skin conditions, etc., but my weight was the same.

I know a lot of fat vegans.

We have to get a calorie deficit, which is why IF works so well. For me, I can't stand IF, as I just like to eat a bit more to get through each day, but I also know that it slows down my loss. But if I were going to an event and I had to lose x by a certain time, I'd try it.

We have to each do what works for us, but no matter which plan/food group/whatever you choose, it simply has to be a deficit.

We've all read the guy who lost 20 lbs. (or however much) on the Twinkie diet. He ate nothing but Twinkies for, I don't know, a month? And lost weight, since it was a deficit. Of course, not healthy, but it proved his point.

We also all saw Morgan Spurlock's McDonald's documentary, where he gained weight, but there was another one afterwards by someone else, where the person lost weight eating only McDonald's every day, because yes, that person had a deficit.

I simply have learned that for me to be in an active weight loss state, I'm simply going to get a bit hungry. It's ok, I'll live. I recently read about a woman who lost a bunch of weight, and she said she had to learn that no one dies from not eating between lunch and dinner. That simple thought actually helps me get through the few hungry hours I have.

I've lost more weight on the cross trainer at the gym than any running could do, everyone's body is different but I think working your body in multiple ways helps a lot. Of course you have to crank up the difficulty to make your body work, but consistently you'll loose weight. It worked for me.