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Running and Can't Lose the Weight
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2000 1:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm 30 years-old and began running a year ago to trim down and relieve stress. The stress part is great now, but I am not losing any weight. In fact, I am gaining. I run about three miles approximately seven days each week. I am currently working up to four miles a day. I really enjoy it, but I want to trim some fat off of some troubled places. My diet isn't too bad. I really try to eat light and right. I just don't know what to do. I am 5'7" and weigh 140 lbs. I do not feel that I am overweight, but I feel a little better around 130 lbs. Could this be the result of muscle mass? I am about to throw out the scale. PLEASE advise. Thanks!!!!!!!

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Melodi Hermsmeyer']
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Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2000 4:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Muscle mass is quite likely the answer. Don't forget that muscle weighs twice as much as fat, so weight and appearance are often not as closely related as they are given credit for. How you feel is the most important in my mind.

I'm a strong believer in high intensity exercise being more effective for burning calories (i.e. losing weight) than longer duration, lower intensity aerobic-type activities.

Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2000 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Re: Melodi

I agree with Dan. But there is something else to consider. Your body requires periodic increases in stress;whether it takes the form of increased intensity or increased mileage or both.

If not, your 3 miles a day becomes increaslingly LESS STRESSFUL ergo less effective in weight reduction.

You may also consider your peculiar metablolism.
You may have the mixed blessing of a "runners heart"; a term usually used for those with a dramatically low resting heart rate( and in some cases ,like my daughter, combined with low blood pressure). This requires above normal exertion for the stress benefit others require less effort to achieve.

GOOD LUCK
BOB
ps Iam also in a weight loss mode. Its a slow process for runners and should be taken very cautiously.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'bunchrt']
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Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2000 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good points, Bob. Even if you are not in training for competition, there is a lot to be said for alternating "hard-easy" to keep from getting into a rut. A lot of people believe you need to adjust workout routines every 3 weeks to keep from getting to acclimated.

Dan
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Adam
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2000 7:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree that adding intensity or distance to your current routine would be effective. As you begin an exercise program, it is easy to lose weight partly because the fatigue and muscle damage from the new exercise suppresses the appetite. The lower your weight gets, however, the more hunger you experience from the body's anti-starvation drive. So assuming you only eat when you are hungry, your weight will eventually stabilize for a given level of exercise.

Adding more high intensity running would increase appetite suppression from new fatigue and muscle damage, thereby making it easier to lose more weight.

Another thing to consider is what you are eating. With the information you provided, it is impossible to say for certain how it could be improved. However, after examining the diet records of hundreds of people such as yourself who before the analysis offered that their diet wasn't too bad, or pretty good, there is probably room for improvement. People have different ideas about what consitutes a "pretty good" diet. You should probably compare yours with that of a dietician or nutritionist. I remember one guy who told me he ate pretty good, and it turned out that 70% of his calories were from fast food.
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Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2000 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sheesh, what counts as "pretty bad"?!

Dan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2000 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello!

I sure am getting a lot of information. Thanks to all of you. I guess I need to clarify a few things. I am positive that I do not eat perfectly. I try to eat a variety of foods daily, but I have problems with vegetables and sometimes struggle to get protein. I have taken a look at proper eating programs, and I think that I may be undereating during the day because I fight the urge to eat and because the scale keeps going up. I have never lost any weight running at all, not even in the beginning. I have questioned whether my body fights to store fat because I deprive it sometimes. I frequently have severe sugar cravings. I have tried for the last week to eat when I am hungry and the cravings have subsided quite a bit. I have also increased my workout to a steady four miles and have been mixing it with the treadmill to monitor speed in order to increase it. I can say that I have increased stamina and power as a result of running. I just find all the information that the nutritional media and diet guru people put out very confusing. I honestly don't know what I am doing wrong, if anything.

Thanks,

Meloid

[Anonymously Posted by: 'mllhz31']
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2000 3:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oops!

It's Melodi and not Meloid. How awful!

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Melodi Hermsmeyer']
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Dan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2000 3:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It sounds like you already know what I'm about to say -- eating less just makes your metabolism slowing down. When you find the right level of exercise intensity, your body will most likely tell you how much and when it wants to eat.

Intense sugar cravings are not a good thing. You didn't hear me say it (because it flies in the face of medical advice -- a nutritionist I trust more than any doctor in the world recommended it, and it worked for me), but supplementing chromium picolinate might help reduce those cravings.

I'm not much of a vegetable eater, either. I'm able to do a bit better by keeping vegetable juice around. Maybe that would work for you?

Dan
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Adam
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2000 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Melodi,

One last suggestion that might help: I've noticed that people who eat a large portion of their day's calories later in the evening often have tremendous difficulty losing weight. Most of the calories eaten near bedtime are probably stored as fat while you sleep. Eating when you are hungry throughout the day is a good way to avoid this problem. If you have a taste for turnip and broccoli juice, even better!
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2000 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good point, Adam. Some countries make dinner their lightest meal of the day, and their collective health is much better...

Broccoli juice??? I don't think I could stomach that. Smile

Dan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2000 2:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello!

Thanks for all of the information. I think, though, that eating in the evening is not the problem because I run during the evening hours. I recently went on vacation and increased the intensity running on hilly ground. It was tough. Where I normally run is so flat. I think that Sue is probably right. I eat too little because I am trying to really drop that weight. My thinking is somewhat distorted. I have muscles that I did not have in my twenties, and I feel really strong with some definition. I am going to try to eat when I am hungry and take the focus off of food for a while. I had my husband hide the scale and I am working up to five miles a day. I would like to run about eight. Thank you. Thank you. By the way, there is no way that I could drink that juice. I did try the V8 Splash (carrots). That is pretty good. Talk soon,

Melodi

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Melodi Hermsmeyer']
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Dan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2000 5:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hiding the scale is probably a good thing. Put the focus on the process, not the result. How you feel is much more important than what the scale says. It knows nothing about your body composition. I once put on 10 pounds in about 3 weeks of an intense strength building phase, and I felt far lighter than ever before!

Dan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2000 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that the running makes me feel great inside, and it is changing the way that I look outside. I have so much more muscle, but the muscle seems to enlarge my composition rather than thin it out. I have very big, muscular legs, and running intensifies that area of my body. Overall, I am pleased with the running and will continue to run. As a matter of fact, I don't think that my body will let me quit. If I try to skip, I almost feel it telling me to get the shoes on and get out there. Thanks again for all of your help.

Melodi

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Melodi Hermsmeyer']
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Dan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2000 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Melodi,

You're welcome. It's nice to see another runner for life. Smile

Cheers,
Dan
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