Did running help you lose weight?

[LittleMG]

I’ve started running 3 weeks ago and am doing much better, I’ve been following a couch to 5k type thing.
Also watching what I’m eating, have lost a stone of baby weight already but 2 more to go 😵‍💫 did anyone find running really helped. I’m getting fitter (slowly) but I want to be thinner!!!

Well done on the weight loss so far.

Years ago when I got a bit chubby I signed up to a marathon in a fit of stupidity. I did lose some weight but not as much as I thought, however I did change shape and put on muscle. I did one of those clichéd before and after photos and five months after I started training my legs looked way more defined and I had lost my belly fat. I guess muscle is heavier then fat which would account for lack of total weight loss. Felt a fuck of a lot better though.

The ‘can’t outrun a bad diet’ is in my view made up by the diet industry.. I didn’t run but joined a gym and mixed cardio and weights 3 times a week, tough work outs, but I went from size 16 -12 without any obsession with what I ate

Not anymore, but I was very slim in the past when I did 3-4 10K runs in the week. After 5 or so years break and a dc in between I could easily go back to 5K straight away which progressed to 10k 3 weeks after starting. No weight loss whatsoever, so doing a lot of cardio is no longer solving it for me..i do watch what I eat, too.
However. I have a colleague who is under 30 and she started running during lunch breaks in December. She slimmed down a LOT and while she could be eating almost nothing at home she does eat biscuits and cakes (they are free) in the office. I m envious and wish I was 28, too 😂

Cycling was the only thing that helped with my knee pain, being lower impact than running, I could push through it and eventually knee pain resolved itself.

Yes it does for sure but only when I’m running about 100 miles a month!
I’m running about half that at the moment which keeps me slim and fit but no, it’s certainly not making me lose weight.

The ‘can’t outrun a bad diet’ is in my view made up by the diet industry.

My diet has nothing to do with the diet industry. I’d hazard a guess that most people’s doesn’t.

Yes, but only when I was doing longer runs (over 10k) at least once a week.

Not really but I didn't change my diet much, made me look a whole lot better though. I HATE running though so I don't do it anymore, I walk a lot and weight lift instead.

A fifth of my body went after I started running!

Nope. It increases my appetite unfortunately. It helps me maintain, but that's all.

Agree with everyone above. Once i was running 15 miles a week plus conditioning work ( 2 classes a week and a pt session weekly with weights) i could really eat what i wanted and stay slim and fit. However that is quite a lot of exercise (!) and to build up that point takes a long time and its a massive commitment time wise.
I had an injury last year and Im currently about a stone and a half overweight. Im building up my distance again but it is hard work.
Id really recommend seeing a physio if you can about any pain. They can work wonders and help you distinguish between normal aches when starting exercise and when you need to rest

No I didn't lose weight from my half an hour run because I could easily eat all the calories back and I often did but it did help tone up my legs and get overall fitter. It's calorie counting for me even if I don't move it's the calories be it from chocolate and crisps or salmon and broccoli as long as Im within my calories I lose weight.

Not initially actually. I got slimmer and have a much more athletic bodyshape, but in my first 12 months of running I gained a stone I weight on the scales! I was never fat though, just spectacularly unfit and lacking in any sort of muscle tone.

Now, if I gain a couple of pounds, uping the running for a couple of weeks is the easiest way to get it off. Also while I'm out running, I'm not in front of the TV with crisps and chocolate!

I’m running 30-35 miles a week at the moment and I’ve got heavier. When I’m not marathon training I run around 25 miles a week and I maintain my weight.

Yes, but not from pure calories in<calories out reasoning.
If I go out running (plodding) of an evening, I'm not sitting on my sofa eating biscuits.
I sleep better so I'm less likely to eat sugar as I'm tired.
If I'm exercising my mental health is better, so less likely to find solace in chocolate.
When I'm exercising I'm better at meal planning healthy meals.

I'm very slow, and don't really cover much distance!

In my late 30's I trained for a half marathon having never been a runner. I still remember now (20 years on) my disappointment at not losing any weight in spite of going running 3 times a week with distances up to 12 miles.
I still exercise fairly strenuously (but not running) and I can categorically state that exercise alone does not make me lose any weight. Cutting out unhealthy foods is the only thing that works - and even then very slowly.

I used to do about 50-60 miles a week and it kept me in amazing shape, but I still had to watch what I ate. Injury put a stop to it all unfortunately.

I didn't realise it burnt such little calories

I look at it this way, every hour I'm out running is an hour I'm not on the sofa with a Walkers 'sharing bag' and some of Cadburys finest.

Get yourself a Concept 2 erg, burn waaaaaaaaaaaaay more calories.

Sorry not for me either. Even training for 3 marathons I barely lost any weight. I think it’s 95% diet - at least for me

Yes, but not from pure calories in<calories out reasoning.
If I go out running (plodding) of an evening, I'm not sitting on my sofa eating biscuits.
I sleep better so I'm less likely to eat sugar as I'm tired.
If I'm exercising my mental health is better, so less likely to find solace in chocolate.
When I'm exercising I'm better at meal planning healthy meals.

THIS!

I’m so much better at making healthier food choices when I’m exercising. I feel better about myself and my health and want to continue that in what I eat. So it does help me lose weight but because of the psychological benefits, not because of calories burned. And it takes me out of the house so I don’t sit at home looking in the fridge!

I honestly don't know, I have ran competitively for the last 20 years or so. Normally running about 30 miles a week, but I have peaked at around 60miles. My weight has been constant ( I'm now 50) Most of friends who are also good runners are fairly slim too. Its a bit chicken and egg, are naturally slim people attracted to running or does running cause weight loss. I spend a lot of my life running off road and I love it. I wouldn't have the will power to do it to just control my weight.

One thing I’d like to change is that I have really fat calves would be amazing if it helped with that!

I can see my 5 ish miles a week isn’t gonna cut it 😂