AIBU to think you CAN outrun a bad diet?

[HotLatteontherunplease]

Well, am I? Runners? Have you been able to keep eating whatever you want aslong as you run enough to burn it off. All advice I have read has been that obese people cannot outrun a bad diet but I know many people whose story is just that. They were obese or overweight, did couch to 5k, got hooked on running and lost half their body weight through running!

Can this really happen or are all the before and after pictures lying?!

When I said I don't have to watch what I eat to closely I should say I don't eat crap! I also don't drink much and my calorie intake is typically 1200-1500 a day. But if I do have a pizza at the weekend or a biscuit in the afternoon it doesn't impact my weight loss and I think it's down to exercise.

I totally agree you can't eat shit food all day and run it off!

I suppose for me, running means I can have some 'bad diet' foods and maintain my weight, whereas before I started running I could have very few. I also don't want as much, because on that 10th mile you really do feel every glass of wine, every bad night's sleep and every unhealthy food. Running makes me respect and protect my body more than I have ever done.

Oh, absolutely the odd biscuit and pizza won't do any harm! I didn't mean that. Just using exercise to compensate for a poor diet was what I meant

When I was super fit and running 5x per week up to 13miles and then doing gym classes, riding and walking in between I ate pretty much what I wanted. But it was never daily takeaways and I’ve always done my own cooking.

My husband lost 5 stone running. He still eats lots. Mainly nutritious stuff though (except lots of crisps!) And booze actually. So wouldn't like to see the state of his liver.
He runs a lot though. Not just 5k here and there.

I'd have to run, fast, to our local McDonald's and back (up a mile long hill) twice to 'earn' enough calories for a meal there- which is wholly sobering. I have to run well over 10km to burn 1000 calories. I do think people over estimate wildly about how many calories different exercise burns.

Not sure whether you mean bad diet as in too many calories or bad diet as in not a balanced diet providing all the right nutrients? I think of the latter as a bad diet and you couldn't outrun that. Running doesn't provide nutrition.

Depends how quick you run also.
Some people run at almost walking pace which burns naff all.
Eg I run 4 miles in 33 minutes which is around 6 to 7 mph but I've seen some people take an hour to do this.

I think intensity rather than speed is a better measure - what is high intensity / effort for an unfit person, is different than for you. If you're heavy, running even at a 'walking pace' can get your heart rate up in the 140s bpm, so they are actually working as hard as you doing 6mph.

From my personal experience: when I'm fat and unfit, no, I can't. I can't run enough to burn both the fat and the calories.

When I'm thin and fit - yes I can. I can run enough that it doesn't really matter what I eat.

So, I have to do all the hard work to fix myself enough so that I can both run and eat with impunity. Unfortunate I'm currently very much fat and unfit and 3 x weekly 5ks (all I can manage) just doesn't let me eat all the pizza.

You burn off about 100 calories a mile. Doesn't really matter how quickly you run it. So depends how far you run.

You burn about 100 calories per mile. So if you go for a 5 mile run most week nights, with perhaps a long one at the weekend, you could easily burn up the calories from a bad diet.

But if you want to lose weight, it is much easier to do it from diet than from pure exercise, as you actually have to be very fit and motivated to want to move that much in the first place

Someone might have already mentioned it but I think staying hydrated, particularly when exercising, is also essential for keeping the body running efficiently.

For me,exercise is the only way I lose weight. I could eat 2000 calories or 1200 and my weight stays the same. I start exercising, I lose weight.

It depends on what you are trying to outrun.

I have one patient, stick thin because he runs daily, tought he could eat eat cake everyday because he doesn’t put weight on. Blood test revealed he had high cholesterol.

When I say 'bad diet' I don't mean it in the sense of crappy, calorific junk food all the time. I meant is it possible to eat the recommended calories for your gender and still lose weight by running if you are clinically overweight or obese in the first place. By bad diet I don't mean can you treat your body like a rubbish bin and then run it off. I just see all these before and after pics of obese people who take up running and end up half the size they were to begin with. Despite my name I'm not a runner, per se, and I enjoy other sports day more than running. I was just curious about others experiences particularity after reading Run Fat Bitch Run.

The benefits of exercise extend far beyond the calories burnt during the activity.

When you consider how many people put on weight during marathon training then I’d say absolutely not. 80% of weight loss is diet related. Of course technically it has to be possible but realistically if someone has a bad diet then they won’t be running enough to outrun their bad attitude to food.

Yes definitely but not if you're the sort of person who thinks they deserve to refuel after every short run.

Runners eventually hit a plateau it they’re doing it for weight loss, unless supplemented by weight training. So it’s better to start from a higher calorie point so the cuts don’t feel as painful.

I just see all these before and after pics of obese people who take up running and end up half the size they were to begin with.

But they probably end up having to eat less and less the more they lose and run extra just to maintain what they've already lost. Plus they aren't getting fit and healthy or toning their bodies, they have just become smaller versions of themselves with less muscle mass as well as fat, which doesn't look good. It's rarely sustainable to lose weight that way because your body becomes used to the calories vs energy expenditure.

I agree with @agirlhasnonamex - often obese runners turn into smaller, but still as untoned/flabby, versions of themselves. That’s why lifting weights is so important.

I meant is it possible to eat the recommended calories for your gender

It is possible to eat the recommended calories and lose weight without running at all as long as you know the 2000 cal guide is for young active women and not all women.

Work out your TDEE
tdeecalculator.net

I have a sit down job. To stay at the weight I am I need no more than 1650 cals or else I gain. To lose weight you need to reduce calories by 20%

I think intensity rather than speed is a better measure - what is high intensity / effort for an unfit person, is different than for you

Yep. I ran 5k today and my heart rate was average 159 bpm because I'm fat and unfit. Fitbit says I burnt 600 calories which I know is overestimating but I burnt more than 100 calories per mile because the effort of hefting my extra 4.5 stone means I'm working harder
It's impossible to say that everyone burns 100 calories per mile. My brother can run a mile in 8 minutes and barely break a sweat, and he weighs about 10 stone. I doubt that's even 100 calories for him. Whereas it takes me 14 minutes and my heart rate is way high.

My legs are more toned but look chunkier than ever before. I really don't like that side effect but I like feeling healthier

Get your shorts on and embrace it! A lady at parkrun complemented me on my legs on Saturday! I was really chuffed given I have calves like tree trunks...

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