HELP: All This Running But No Drop in Weight

My experience with running is that you need to run about 45 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week to lose weight. Don't get too hung up on your speed...it is not the point of running. As you run for a longer time you will naturally speed up without even realizing it. You are not seeing a weight loss right now as you are probably putting on muscle and losing fat. Muscle weighs more than fat, so give yourself a break. Have you seen a change in your hips or legs? You will, but you may just need to give it a little bit more time. The best part about running really is the 'feeling' that you get when you are done and, I think, the freedom you have to just 'take off' out the door with a pair of good shoes on your feet and no other special equipment. Rejoice in that.

Good for you about your food choices! You are way ahead of most people in our country! You seem to be one that just decides to do something and does it.....without a lot of struggle. Be thankful for that. I think I read somewhere that only 10% of people run.......so, give yourself some credit, keep running, give it some more time and the weight will come off. It you are really wanting to accelerate this you could add some weight training a few times a week. Work on your upper body with push ups and of course, sit ups. Don't tell me you can't do push ups! Everyone can. Just start with one, and then two the next day. Soon you will be amazed and will be doing 25! Just remember that with weight training you will gain weight, but you are making your body more lean and will drop sizes. With the weight training you will also increase your metabolism......so, you will be burning calories just hanging around having fun with your friends on Friday night! Go for it!! Good luck!

You are trading fat for muscle, so, weight loss is not a good indicator or progress. Running performance is! and it seems like you progressing.. just keep it up, the weight loss will come naturally. And, think long term.. after a year or 2 of running your body weight will stabilise.. in the short term there will be wide fluctuations.

Also, you absolutely DO NOT NEED to run for 45 mins 5-6 days a week. Speed vs. distance depends on your goals for running. I strongly suggest that you visit s running specific website for advice on running techniques. They will be more than willing to help you out.

The above two comments are great. The idea being that you are burning fat and building muscle. So no change in absolute weight. The best way to find out is to get a scale which has a fat percentage indicator and water percentage indicator. You might also have more water than before so the body is getting ready to sweat. We should find out what the weight is composed of before we conclude anything. You are also in your healthy weight zone and not overweight. How long have you been away from the 130 mark? Your body may have found a new happy place to be. Then it would be hard to nudge.

Are you male or female? Genders have different ways of burning and building muscle.

I agree you should include wt training. Something simple twice a week. A quick routine that you can do on days you don't run.

Drop your running to 3 days a week for 30 minutes. Take your heart rate after the run and post it here.
Include the wt training the other 2 days. 2 rest days. Get the fat and water percentages and then we can get a better answer to the above.

I have to disagree with the above comments.

First of all you don't "trade fat for muscle" - it's not a one-for-one deal. And second of all you don't build a whole lot of muscle by running. You build muscle by stressing muscles. You may have strengthened some leg/calf/thigh muscles and built up your endurance, but you're not building strength or growing muscle mass by running.

It is possible, however that your body is retaining fluid from the running. Most runners retain larger amounts of fluid in the leg and glute muscles than non-runners. Since those are 2 of the largest muscle groups in your body, when you retain fluid there, it can add quite a bit of weight to your scale.

So it's possible that you are losing some fat, and replacing it with retained fluid.

But ... there's also this: It is possible to eat too much healthy food. It sounds like you eat healthy things, but if you're getting more calories than you need (easy to do with seeds and nuts especially) or if you're eating enough to equal your maintenance calories, then you won't lose weight.

Running for 30 minutes at a pace that gets your heart rate up into the 70% to 80% range only burns between 300-400 calories. You *might* be burning 500 calories max, if you're really pushing yourself.

I would suspect that you're maintaining your current weight through a combination of retained fluids and eating at a maintenance level of calories. Maybe spend a couple of days really tracking your food intake (use one of the many free online calorie logs) and see exactly how much you're eating and what balance of nutrients you're getting. It might help you see where you can cut back a few hundred calories here and there and aid in the weight loss.

Running is not a very good way to burn calories. It's hard on your hips and knees and doesn't burn very many calories to begin with. It's much easier to simply cut your calories. Not eating 500 calories is much less work than running for an hour.

Also, if you're not counting calories, how can you possibly know whether or not you should be losing weight?

This approach amazes me. It's like someone who is shocked because their bank is charging them over-draft fees, and yet they have never once balanced their check book and have no idea how much money they have in the bank. Does that sound smart?

Running is also a terribly catabolic activity. That means it's a great way to eat up muscle. Ever seen a marathon runner? Thin as a rail. Yuck.

Try lifting weights to preserve the muscle, use light cardio like brisk walking for thirty minutes three times a week, and let your diet make the calorie deficit.

Of course if you're not willing to count calories, you might succeed and you might not.

My personal experience with weight loss and running (I'm a marathon, half marathon and 10k runner) is that my metabolism takes a few weeks before any results are seen. You are on the right track!

When I first started running, it took 2 months before I saw any big changes. One reason for that is that as a new runner, I was not able to run long enough (or alternatively at enough intensity) at the beginning. Recent scientific research has suggested that if you change nothing else (diet/other lifestyle factors) you will not see weight loss until you reach a distance of 20 miles per week. Interestingly, this mirrors my own experience. Is it true for everyone? I have no idea.

Second, of course you develop muscles by running. But they are specific to the type of running you are doing. As a long distance runner, I have lean muscle, not bulky muscle. If you want to tone more than just your calves and your quads, etc, you'll need to start doing some weight training (which is a great fat-burner.)

That's just my experience, good luck, keep at it!
Melanie (@girlgetstrong)

When beginning exercise for the first time or after a layoff, your muscles will retain more water than before. When I recommitted to an exercise program a few years ago, I actually gained a few pounds the first weeks. Just stick with it and consider incorporating some resistance training into your regimen as well as it is more effective for weight loss than traditional cardio.

You could definitely be retaining water because of all this new activity; your muscles will retain more water than usual when you first start working out.

It sounds like you're eating good-quality food, so try measuring what you eat for a few days and logging it, to make sure your calories are on track. If you aren't keeping a calorie deficit, then you won't lose weight no matter how much you run!

You might also want to look at how your clothes are fitting, or take measurements of your body when you do weigh-ins. You can lose inches without losing pounds, and that can be a big motivator when the scale alone would be discouraging. :)

Hi all!
It is me, original poster, Melissa :)
Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my concern.
There seems to be quite the divided opinion on whether or not running builds muscle. I honestly can I say I have no idea and no thoughts on it...either option/opinion seems viable to me.
Anyhoo, I do count calories. FOr the most part. I dont normally go above 12/1300 ish. And I dont want to lower it even more, cause they say women should never eat below 1200...plus with all the running I dont want to put myself in this 'starvation mode' whichI hear so much about.
I truly believe that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise...I just dont understand whats going on, if I seem to have both nailed. After 5 weeks I expected to see something.
I ran this morning and stepped on the scale again, just to *see* and I honestly started to cry a bit; I just dont see this as fair. You read so many articles
"Just get off your buttts and get moving if you want to lose weight!"
"Cut calories to drop those last 10 pounds!"

What is a young, 27year old lady, with no kids yet and non-smoker/healthy body, to do if she cannot lose a single pound, after heeding ALL of the plentiful advice out there!
Argh.

I would be interetsed in seeing what my body fat level is...I'm not FAT fat, but I can grab handfuls here and there...inner thighs and belly mostly...

There was a story on NPR this week about interval training--running shorter distances with high intensity--vs. just running at an even pace. The interesting part was this:

"His studies have documented the benefits of 20-minute workouts on stationary bikes. Participants cycled three times per week. They alternated between 12 seconds of slow, gentle peddling and 8-second intense sprints, peddling as hard as they could.

"In the 20-minute bout," Boutcher says, the actual hard exercise totaled just 8 minutes, "so it's not that much exercise." But the payoff was significant.

Over the course of four months, participants lost an average of 6 pounds of body fat. By comparison, those who cycled at a steady pace for 40 minutes, without mixing in the interval sprints, lost less than 2 pounds."

Here's the link to the full article

I just started running in February (I'm 25 and never before committed to an exercise program. little league doesn't count...). I would jog or walk for 30 minutes 4-5 days a week, working up a huge sweat. But I wasn't loosing any weight either. I was counting calories too, keeping my intake around 1300 calories/day. It was indeed discouraging, but I just kept going, knowing that eventually it would happen.

About 2 months in, I decided to try interval training. Every other day during my run, I would practically sprint as fast as I could for a minute, then go at a reasonable jogging pace for a minute. Speed up again, slow down, etc, for at least 15 minutes of my total 30 minutes. Once I started incorporating intervals, I finally started losing weight. By May I had lost 15 pounds!

I say give intervals a try. Strength training though is definitely a big win. After I lost 15lbs, I hit a plateau that lasted almost 3 months. I couldn't lose any weight. I actually gained 5 pounds. So I started strength training with a trainer (my company hired her so she teaches a class during lunch every day. i would suggest a class at a gym). I've only lost 5 pounds in these 2 months, but I've gone down 2 dress sizes. Can't complain there! No one noticed when I lost the first 15 pounds. But everyone and their moms (literally!) noticed when I lost these 5 pounds.

I think the biggest thing in losing weight is to be utterly committed to it, which you definitely seem to be. Keep it up and good luck to you!!

Barry is confusing folks here. His priority is to how to build one of those monster T-Nation physiques. The kind you see in body-building competitions. What he is right about is that you need to weight train if you want to lose fat. Just running won't do it, you have to build muscle all over. But unless you train like a mad-man and double-load on protein you will have no chance of becoming a behemoth.

I am really no expert, but maybe you need to increase your caloric intake. If you aren't losing anything now, it may be possible that yoour body is gong into starvation mode and 1200-1300 calories/day. Try eating 1500 cal/day for a week and see what your weight does.

I'll tell you EXACTLY why you're NOT losing weight.

1. You're running at a constant phase for 40 mins? This will barely work. Like someone said above, your intervals should change, your heart rate needs to hit every range possible. Try 5 minutes of light jog, 5 minutes of medium jog then 5 minutes of the fastest sustainable speed. walk for a few mins and repeat.

2. Your speed. Constantly staying at 5-6mph is nothing. You haven't ran much before, cool, but still, speed that sh**t up! You've been doing the same thing for 5 weeks, you should have gotten faster/pushed yourself EVERY week.

3. Your eating habits. Whatever you say on the post, guess what. I DONT BELIEVE YOU. Post your food journal. In fact, write down your NORMAL food intake for the next 3 days. Don't change it and don't try and be "healthy" just be normal including the friday night drinks. Average out your daily calories.

Now reduce them by 500 and make sure a majority of your calories come from clean protein. This is your new daily target.

These 3 things ALONE will help you shed 1-2 lbs per week. One last thing you're missing is strength and resistance training. Trying to lose fat without doing resistance training is like baking without yeast.

By the way: What IS a good program for strength/resistance training at home if you don't have any weights/machine/things? Is there any?

I see no mention of a change in your body fat percentage. Did it change? And if you do not know, do your clothes fit better than before?

James Fix's (remember him?) motto - run an hour a day and you can't keep weight on. It has worked every time for over 2 decades for this 50+ female and her friends when needed. And yes it takes about a month to kick in.

Keep up the good work. You are on the right track. You are destined to lose weight and have a happier healthy life because of your lifestyle change.

Well i have to say well done for being so motivated and wanting to loose weight, you have got that perfect.What i think you need to do now is try something new, but don't give the running up. You are doing a lot of running, but running itself doesn't target all th area's of the body it only does manily the calves and other parts of the legs, possibly the hips. How about doing a different sport each day of the week. say:
monday -do your normal running,
tuesday- go to the gym and do weights to target the arms,
Wednesday- rowing machine to target the legs, hips, buttoks and arms,
Thursday- pilates, yoga,
Friday- running again.

At the weekend socailize and go out with friends and have a good time, but remeber to eat healthily as well and drink plenty of water. I hope you manage to loose the weight you need to and good luck x

Well i have to say well done for being so motivated and wanting to loose weight, you have got that perfect.What i think you need to do now is try something new, but don't give the running up. You are doing a lot of running, but running itself doesn't target all th area's of the body it only does manily the calves and other parts of the legs, possibly the hips. How about doing a different sport each day of the week. say:
monday -do your normal running,
tuesday- go to the gym and do weights to target the arms,
Wednesday- rowing machine to target the legs, hips, buttoks and arms,
Thursday- pilates, yoga,
Friday- running again.

At the weekend socailize and go out with friends and have a good time, but remeber to eat healthily as well and drink plenty of water. I hope you manage to loose weight and good luck x

I have never blogged before but this was worth it.I'm in the same boat, but run 40 miles per week (age 42), have lost 22lbs on Weight Watchers (last 8 mths)but putting it slowly on again in spite of the running - hmmmm! Fitjerk inspired me & is right, interval training / log food. It doesn't take much, run normal to one lamp post, sprint the next 2 and keep upping the distance - I'm going to do a few interval miles on the treadmill as well as my road running now. Also strength training at home CAN be done - ball / bands / weights, doesn't cost much. Shape mag -cut out workouts I can do at home, file and use those - it's perfect. Can't afford a gym - you don't have to either. Good luck, I'm with you all the way!!

AH!!!! I feel the same way! I am in your same situation...I eat healthy 99% of the time and I run 5-6 days a week, changing my pace and distance each day. Today I ran 8.4 miles, yesterday 2.6 miles. I also change from flat runs to more hilly runs to work my legs more. I've been running for about a month now and no weight loss. That part is depressing, but I do feel great afterwards! Much better than just lounging around. Anyway, thanks for posting your story, cause it makes me feel like I'm not alone. Great luck as you continue!

Until my weekly miles get above 65, I find I have NO leeway in my diet for junk. Not once a week, nothing. Are you female? With lower metabolisms, females have to be a little tighter.

And there's a lot of misinformation about running... it is not bad on your knees/hips, given current research.. and if it doesn't make your legs muscular, I guess my genetics are just like that because I have huge thighs and calves with very little fat (I'm below 14% as a female) - my legs don't fit in a lot of jeans that fit my waist cuz of the muscle. :) People are silly.

I would say do weight training, too though, it's part of a well balanced routine. (Though I'm a slacker there when I'm chasing down faster times and more wins!)

Really, think about how little it takes to blow a week... Some of those drinks are very Calorie dense.. plus the foods served with? I'd have water! It's worth it! (I was overweight when eating mostly healthy, despite my running... had to clean it up completely.. including all processed foods and sugars)

Ok, here it is. To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit, either through diet or exercise, preferably both :) Running does burn calories, however your body will adjust to doing the same thing over time. My advice is to switch up what yur doing, use a crosstrainer, bike etc. The high intersity intervals are very good at burning fat, they are however very taxing on the body and should only be done once a week. I beleive that the key to weight loss lies in weight training. If you build muscle, you burn more calories each day (1lb of muscle burns an additional 50 cals a day) and you tone up as you lose weight. Track your calories if need be, never drop them below 1000 cals a day you will stall your metabolism and reduce the calories you burn daily. Try calorie cycling or carb cycling which will prevent plateus!