A 15 stone beginner - Beginners

mikie

07/05/2003 at 13:52

I am a 15 stone male runner. I have been running 3 times a week for the last eight weeks. I love the running, but I still have a belly. Most of my friends tell me that I can't be a runner because I have a belly. When I say to them why don't you come out for a run with me, there full of excuses. Any hints on how to get rid of the belly. Sit ups? thanks

WildWill..... pirate

pirate

07/05/2003 at 14:00

Just continue with the running the belley will come off

I was 18stone wahen I started and am now down to 15 - I run and do TRIs @ 15stone just keep at

It may be worth getting into the gym once or twice a week - do a bit circut training this will firm up and 'lift' the muscles

Good luck

Hetpayne was Hetfinch

07/05/2003 at 14:01

Do you drink beer?
Then don't!

That was a bit brutal, wasn't it?!

I'm sure you'll get lots of replies on this. I found that the only way I could effectively lose weight (and the equivalent female belly) was to take in less calories than I was using. And then do the sit ups!

And that meant less Stella....

Heather :-)

mikie

07/05/2003 at 14:09

well I don't drink. well I never really drink a lot. I guess I better start to watch what I eat. I have cut out snacks and other treats.

SalfordRower

07/05/2003 at 14:17

My weight sticks around the 13st5 to 14st mark depending on the time of the rowing season (I'm ligher in the spring/summer currently 13st6) i found the biggest thing for me (I was at 15st2 when i first began training) was lifestyle changes.

I swapped most of the crap i ate for fruit and yoghurt. And i drink lots and lots of water.

The amount i eat scares me when i write it down just that i eat things that are "better" for me now. Still have the odd muffin on the weekends so don't limit myself.

The belly will come off, and circuits will definatly help with that. If you're doing a sit up programme don't do them every day as they won't recover properly between sessions

The Tortoise

07/05/2003 at 14:25

Just to say good luck Mikie, my husband weighs around 15 1/2 stone and runs a few times a week to keep fit, did his first 10K race in Jan in 51 mins. Still has a belly but then he does like the odd beer.

However, his sister says that even when he was incredibly fit having completed a year long attachment to the US Army, and weighed 12 1/2 stone, he still had a bit of a belly. Most of his family seem to lay down fat in that area, his sister, brother and mum are the same. Is there a similar tendency in your family? If so maybe you have to contend with genetics as well as food/drink intake and will have to adapt eating and exercise to take account of it?

mikie

07/05/2003 at 14:38

thanks for the info. My family is kinda "big boned" so that could be a problem. I will look carefully at my diet and see what i can change. :)

digby

07/05/2003 at 15:01

Just keep on keeping on, half the time you dont notice the small changes in your body shape and i,m sure your mates as with mine would be last ones to tell how much better you are looking!

mikie

07/05/2003 at 16:03

lol yeah your right. thanks greg

Duck

07/05/2003 at 16:29

mikie, i sympathise, i have a belly also after a couple of months, im sure there is a fit body underneath this lot somewhere dying to get out!

ultra meerkat

07/05/2003 at 16:49

Sounds like the friends are more of a problem than the belly, mikie! I'd tell them they have no right to comment about your bod unless they run too.

GPS

07/05/2003 at 23:52

I'm with Duck. My six pac is as good as anybody. You just can't see it yet. It's a bit 'covered'

Fit Chick version 2.0

08/05/2003 at 22:21

Mikie

Good luck with the running!

Have you thought about swimming on the days your not running or going to the gym and doing weights. Every little bit you do will help tone your body. Keep it up!

mikie

08/05/2003 at 22:34

I have thought about swimming. But at the moment it's just running monday,wednesday and friday and sit ups monday thru friday. my weekends are pretty full. I work both saturday and sunday.

Fit Chick version 2.0

09/05/2003 at 08:22

Mikie

I work full time, also Mother of two. I run twice a week, gym two lunchtimes, swim tueday nights, work as youth leader Friday night until 10 pm, go Church housegroup Wednesday evenings and sew banners for Church in between plus on Church cleaning rota, and also clean own home etc I am sure you can fit it in somewhere. Its called prioritising. Where there is the will there is the way!

runfrit

09/05/2003 at 08:29

Hi mikie, i lost over 2 stone by running but there is no two ways about it you need to diet too. I bought a little book which gave the calorie content of all food and kept a bit of a diary of ALL i ate for a few weeks. It was a bit of a pain but I was shocked how many calories sneak in. I cut back and the weight just melted away. Everytime I went to snack I thought about how much easier it would be to run if I weighed a little less and the urge to nibble went away.

lazy lou

09/05/2003 at 10:16

I agree with runfruit. You never actually notice quite how much you are eating and how many calories you are consuming until you start to write it down. If you keep a food diary for a few weeks and work out the calories from either the food label or a book i think you'll be surprised. I was. i'm a lot more aware of what i eat. that said even i slip up sometimes and need to start writing it down again. I have a habit of eating even when i'm not hungry- instead you should apparently rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10. If its anything less than six then find so something else to do other than eat!!

runfrit

09/05/2003 at 11:30

keeping a record for a few weeks also teaches you pretty quickly what is OK to eat and what isn't. it isn't long before you don't need to look up everything.

Graydon

09/05/2003 at 11:37

mikie

I've been running off and on for four years, but I'm afraid to say that I still can't shift my belly. When I first started running I lost about half a stone, but I'm now permanently around the 14 stone mark.

But I know I'm a runner even if nobody else does.

Vaseline

06/10/2003 at 13:24

Mikkie,

I to can sympathise with you, i have been running now for 8 weeks, quite often 5 times a week and have completed a half marathon. I have stopped drinking beer and have really been watching what i eat, but i have only gone from 15st 4 to 15st 1.

So i to would like some answers!