Can overweight middle age women actually start running?

[SweatyTulip]

Please help. I'm desperate to lose weight and get fitter. I'm 45 and a size 18. I really want to start running but I'm scared. I've never run before. I walk daily, but that's clearly not helping my weight as I haven't lost any, despite 10,000 daily steps. Can I actually do this? Has anyone else been in a similar position and successfully started running? Please send motivation and support. I've downloaded the couch to 5k app.....

People always say on these threads that exercise doesn't help you lose weight and that weight is about what you eat. While that's true in the short term, long-term it is important to build muscle mass, especially when you are middle aged. More muscle % increases your metabolism. Extreme dieting contributes to muscle wastage, so you will lose weight in the short term and then find it difficult to stay that weight because your muscle % has decreased. Obviously, sensible healthy eating will help you lose weight, but yes, exercise, especially strength training is crucial to maintaining a healthy weight as you age.

So don't take the "you can't outrun your fork" type comments to mean that you shouldn't exercise and should just crash diet. Terrible, terrible idea.

Being hungry a lot of the time is not good for your MH either. Exercise is. A lot of weight issues ae tied to MH.

Yes you can, but don't pin your weight-loss hopes on it. Unless you train like Madonna does, I doubt you'll lose more than half a stone. You will enjoy it, feel a sense of achievement, perhaps make new friends and improve your health. If you do strength training too by lifting weights, you'll lose more.

You can definitely do it. You will ache like mad for the first week but then it will get easier and easier with each run and you will eventually enjoy it. Make sure you have some really good running trainers though so you don’t get shin splints or other injuries.

It won’t do much for weight loss though, if anything - you’ll need dietary changes for that.

I started couch 2 5k a few months ago with a BMI of 36. I’m 39. I’m now running 30+km a week and have got my BMI down to close to 30. Planning to do a half marathon in the new year and hope to be a bit lighter by then too.

why not?

Yes! My Mum started running at age 50 and a size 20. She did a weightless programme and couch to 5k.
She has lost 6 stone and has run 3 marathons now

I started running again for the first time in 10 years in April. I'd lost my first stone on my diet and had 3 more to go ( 13 stone down to 9) I am now at target and running on the couch to 5k programme has a lot to do with it. The first day was the worst, OMG! I felt I was going to die after running for one minute! Now I'm running 3 x a week, with a head torch when it is dark in the mornings, and doing maybe 6 to 7k each time.
I am 65 and had a slightly dodgy ankle and the muscles around my knees ached a lot to start with. I do pilates too and the combination of the two means that now my ankle is 100% reliable and I have really good knees. I get so much excitement and satisfaction from the running it has boosted my morale with the diet and made it so much easier. I'm not sure it actually increases weight loss but it sort of feels as if it does. 45 is nothing, at your age you can do anything you want. I've tentatively started cycling again, but I'm petrified of that so it is slow going and I'm also going riding again next spring, now I don't have to worry about being allocated a cart horse to carry me. Go for it!

I'm in your situation, and personally I'd be likely to wee if I ran at this weight. I'd also worry about my knees and getting a saggy face. My plan is to carry on with the walking, do some weight training and some home hiit workouts with no bouncing!

These are really inspirational! I'm 47 and have never run but would really like to seeing as it's a free way to get fit.

Whoo hoo ! I run C25k courses and of course you can do it ! My only words of advice would be remember to slow down when you need to run for longer. I’ll often get people who say they can’t do it, but they’re just trying to run like they did at school sports day, once they overcome the fear of being ‘too slow’ they go on to run 5k. Just take your time, relax, breathe and distract yourself by thinking nice things, counting or looking at houses at you’ll be fine - 5k for Xmas and a whole load of present ideas for family and friends. Well done!

You can but you can't out train a bad diet so you are only going to lose weight with a change in your eating.

Well done OP. Keep going with what feels good for you, including the fuel you need.

Yes of course you can. I hit 50 at size 22, barely able to walk up steps and with arthritic knees. At 52 I ran a half marathon. (Am now a 14...)

I wish someone had told me when I was young that once you get beyond a certain level of fitness, it becomes fun and easy. Getting to that point is an utter pig though!

Name change check before I post personal pictures!

Ok.
I just want to put this here.

The left hand picture is me in July 2019, the right hand one is January this year, and the middle one was a bit before that, maybe November last year I think.
I am 40.
I started doing some strength work and core exercise etc in the gym from July to October 2019, lots of walking etc but never running.
I joined a running club two years ago and have never looked back. I have lost three and a half stone and my chest measurement is now smaller than my waist measurement was in that first picture.

I ran the London Marathon on Sunday in 3 and a half hours.

I'm not going to lie, it has not been easy and I have been committed to training and possibly got slightly obsessed, but I definitely started off small with short, slow runs.
Couch to 5 k is great- and then once you can run about 4 miles continuously I would try and join a local club if you can- there are all shapes and sizes and different groups of people going out within the clubs and you will find you come on in leaps and bounds because you really are carried along by chatting.
I also found it great to have a regular running buddy who would come and do a few miles with me as it helps to keep you accountable if you have to meet someone.
Parkrun is a great idea as others have said and is very inclusive.

I also backed it up with regular strength sessions to stop myself getting injured.

RE the diet- you can't out train a bad diet is true but you also can't run with no fuel so make one change at a time, and try to add things into your lifestyle rather than taking them away as you are aiming for a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix which will come undone if you have one bad day.
Why not as a goal try to up your protein intake and make sure you are hitting your 5 a day if you're not already rather than watching the calories minutely? This usually results in more satisfying meals anyway.

Yes you can! I'm a similar age and larger than you.

If you're running for weight loss and cardio benefit, I've been told that the thing to aim for is to gradually increase how long you can run for, not how far or how fast you can run.

I run - walk the same route. The bits I run, I run very slowly so that I can gradually increase the running : walking ratio

The other key thing is good shoes. Go to a good running shop that will look at your gait and invest in some trainers. My favourites are brooks.

YES and also as others have said- the running is hard at first because you need to build up your aerobic base which takes a while but it quickly becomes much more enjoyable!

Thanks again to all those that have encouraged me, and some great success stories, well done everyone! I have now completed 5 runs, so almost at the end of week 2 of C25k. Am eating healthily and haven't had a single snack in between meals for a whole week. That in itself is a big change and I've already lost some weight. I'm still avoiding anyone I know seeing me run, but it's definitely got easier after the first run, which was super tough. Anyone fancy sharing their easy breakfast / lunch suggestions, as my toast and muesli seemed to be wrong?

Yes

I eat either 1 boiled or 2 scrambled eggs. I do a Delia boiled egg - room temp egg into cold water, bring to boil and boil for a relaxed 3 minutes (probably about 3 min 20 seconds). I have it with a coffee with skimmed milk and a piece of fruit.

No massive claims for the healthiness of any particular meal but I find this reasonably filling and enjoy it.

Go for it. Similar size when I started. Park run is great or run talk run if you have one near you. You never know what you can achieve if you dont give it a go. If you can find someone to do it with it's great to support each other.

These are a lifesaver
So easy and you can make a load at once, then just literally grab a couple on the way out if the door if you need to

asassyspoon.com/healthy-egg-muffin-cups/

Well done you!
Exercise and healthy eating go hand in hand to lose weight.
I actually don’t think I lose any weight running. I run around 26-30 miles a week but my body shape has definitely changed.

There’s no such thing as wrong food, don’t get caught in a cycle where you only feel proud of yourself when you don’t snack.

Snacking isn’t inherently bad, and you want to avoid feelings of failure if (when) you have a snack (on a bad day/hormone related/because you’re actually hungry).

Weight loss isn’t the be all and end all - enjoy the feelings of achievement and the endorphins at the end of a run!