Run/Jog everyday or every 2nd day?

[exhile]

So, I've set a goal to reach my desired weight by Halloween. Running everyday would help pull it off but that much exercise is bound to take a toll on my legs. I've done running every 2nd day but the problem with that regiment is I gain 1-2lbs on my days off but I get the rest. So there are trade offs to how I should do my cardio exercise.

Has anyone figured out a course of action to approach a problem like this?

[WavyDavey]

Hi @exhile,

I'd start off with every other day, then see how you're feeling with it. Gradually, you can add as you need it. Rest days are important, but there's no reason to not do some active recovery like walks on those days.

On rest days, limiting calories eaten is a good way to prevent gaining unwanted weight. It's my opinion that it's much easier to manage weight by restricting calories rather than ramping up exercise.

Fitbit has a nice food log that is a big help in tracking calories. There is also a weight plan in the app that will let you know if you're on track with how many calories you're taking in. I highly recommend using it, if only for a month or two, to get a sense of what's happening.

[exhile]

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@WavyDavey wrote:

Hi @exhile,

I'd start off with every other day, then see how you're feeling with it. Gradually, you can add as you need it. Rest days are important, but there's no reason to not do some active recovery like walks on those days.

On rest days, limiting calories eaten is a good way to prevent gaining unwanted weight. It's my opinion that it's much easier to manage weight by restricting calories rather than ramping up exercise.

Fitbit has a nice food log that is a big help in tracking calories. There is also a weight plan in the app that will let you know if you're on track with how many calories you're taking in. I highly recommend using it, if only for a month or two, to get a sense of what's happening.

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Your suggestion of a walk & run on alternate days is a good idea. Though nothing beats a good run that equates to a lost of 1.4-2.0lbs loss of sweat & water. I have found that the first week of restricting calories is easier than the second week. I just have to eat and it's healthy food that I'm eating too.

I've been using the FitBit food log for the past week and a half since I joined the website. It's quite useful but sometimes cumbersome because not all the foods I eat or on the list. I'll most likely use the food log until the end of October and see if I reach my goal weight or not.

[Dominique]

@exhile: I think the impact of your running/jogging on the daily fluctuations of your weight should be the least of your worries, even if you’re looking to drop weight. Weight loss is something you should look at with a longer term perspective. What individual food item you eat today, or what individual exervise you do today, and what impact this has on your weight tomorrow is irrrelevant. If you can achieve a sustainable caloric deficit over the course of several weeks/months, your weight will come down, independently of daily ups and downs.

What’s more important, especially if you’re overweight and out of shape, is to make sure you don’t overdo it and develop injuries to your knees, tendons etc. Listen to your body, start easy and increase the length and speed of your running progressively.

From a weight management perspective, running is always going to be better than walking, because it burns more calories per unit of time. It’s also going to be more beneficial to your cardio fitness. If you can do it safely, great.

[exhile]

@DominiqueI do have a long-term goal weight in mind that might be achieved in Spring of next year ideally but realistically I don't know. Even www.trendweight.com states my goal weight will be reached at such and such a date at the current rate I'm at. Eating healthy and daily exercise have an impact on my weight loss. Calorie deficit is also a factor in weight loss.

I started my exercise regiment since New Year's day of 2017 and have continued since. I have done what you said which is, " listen to my body and increase the length & speed of my running progressively". There has been an instance that I over-trained my body but didn't realize it until the effects took hold of me.

I totally agree that running is better than walking because my heart rate will drastically increase when running rather than walking. My treadmill has a heart rate monitor that adjusts speed based on certain heart rate zones from 55%-69% for fat burn and 70%-85% for cardio training. As we age our maximum heart rate goes down.

I have had a weight loss of 30lbs prior to joining FitBIt.com and recording my weight at trendweight.com

[Mukluk4]

You have about 30 lbs on me currently but we have basically the same journey as I started at 340.  I used to do extensive cardio every day and that helped me lose the first 50 but then I injured, over trained, and stuck at about 285 +/- 5lbs

At the beginning of this year, I incorporated some cross fit  4 times a week and that was able to get me to 260ish with only minor changes to my look.

I switched up to 3 days a week strength training, hard cardio 3-4 days a week (sport effort), and about a 60 minute walk with the dog almost every day.  I'm averaging about 20K steps/4-5K calorie burn a day. In the last 90 days, my weight has stayed relatively the same, but I've dropped 4 inches from my waist and went from a 3x to a 2x shirt.  

I've gotten these results (a) without running every day, (b) no longer tracking food, and (c) having fun doing it.

[exhile]

@Mukluk4My maximum weight plateaued at 332 in November of 2016 and since New Year's of 2017, I've lost about 40lbs of fat but have gained muscle in the process since I can bench press 195lbs x 9. It's good to know that there are others similar to me who are on the same weight loss journey. I used to run 5+km everyday at a speed of 10-12km/h in my 20s but I can't do that now since I'm older.

I've set a goal for 260 as well and hope to reach that weight by Halloween but theoretical goals and actual results may differ. I'll see how it goes.

I lift weights 5 days a week but the jogging/running is not as consistent due to pains & injuries in the past few months. I've tried running everyday for a month until my outer right leg began hurting and I've done running every 2nd day (which works out to 3-4 days a week) but changed to walking because my knees started hurting. I've also had a similar situation as you where my clothes are becoming loose and my shorts are slipping off my waist.

I guess I can cross out running everyday and only do it when the target date gets closer by the weeks (procrastinating). I am still conscientious about what and the amount of food I eat but tracking the food I eat is cumbersome. Glad to know you are having fun eating and exercising.

[Mukluk4]

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@exhile wrote:

I've tried running everyday for a month until my outer right leg began hurting and I've done running every 2nd day (which works out to 3-4 days a week) but changed to walking because my knees started hurting.

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Are you street running or on a track?

Thankfully, my small town works with the local college so I've got access to an indoor and outdoor track (easier on the old knees) and actual gym floors for basketball.

I tried the running everyday before work with everything else that I was doing in the hopes of getting to where I wanted to be faster, but my running buddy's (dog) hips weren't recovering like they should even though she set one helluva pace.  It was also impacting my sports in a negative way.

I went back and evaluated my goals and wrote down a list of all the things I was doing in order of how much I enjoyed them (easier to keep them going).  The running ended up on the bottom of the list and I realized that other activities were essentially doing the same thing.

[exhile]

I'm running on a treadmill. It snows and rains in the winter here in Canada so a treadmill at home is more convenient than outside.

Having access to an indoor and outdoor track is quite accommodating. Running outside gives the body a more realistic feel of the road/track but unfortunately where I live, I can't do that all year round.

Since I've started running in Spring of this year, my distance and speed has improved and my weight has gone down. Other activities and running keep the heart rate up which means burned calories. Running would be at the top of my list compared to other activities.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

I run 5 days and take 2 days in a row off.  

Running doesn't help me lose weight.  I do think it helps make my body leaner. 

[exhile]

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@MagsOnTheBeach wrote:

I run 5 days and take 2 days in a row off.  

Running doesn't help me lose weight.  I do think it helps make my body leaner. 

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I guess running has different effects for different people but certainly running has helped me lose weight.

[Daves_Not_Here]

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@exhile - do you know what that "Danger Zone" means?  Risk of heart attack?  Death?  Injury due to over-training?  Reason I ask is that my activity frequently puts me in that zone.

[exhile]

@Daves_Not_Here  My highest BPM was 189 but I never got a heart attack or died from that high of a BPM. Perhaps, huffing & puffing hard. Ideally 70%-85% is where I should aim my target heart at. I've over-trained myself but stopped doing that since I read more information about it.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

That is awesome.  Exercise makes me extra hungry but more muscley and give me good headspace, but I've never kept everything the same and just add running and have any kind of effect on my weight.