<p>That’s FAST! Did you say you were a previous runner??</p>
<p>I would generally recommend just working out regularly and keeping an eye on the food and not worrying that much about the scale. If you have the calorie deficit, then the fat loss will come. I have lost weight quickly when I felt it was urgent and found that it took a ton of effort and will-power that was not sustainable in the long run. It did work but I got frustrated when it stopped working. At some point, it gets a lot harder. I think that the body fights weight loss much harder as you get closer to some bodyfat level.</p>
<p>My feeling on losing weight is that controlling diet to something reasonable (say 250-500 below maintenance) and running five miles a day will get the job done. That running five miles a day, though, can be difficult though you certainly have the time available for it.</p>
<p>My problem with the injury is that once you get to five miles a day, you feel like doing six. It’s that addictive thing about running that gets me into trouble.</p>
<p>Oh, I couldn’t remotely run 5 miles :-).</p>
<p>I think that the exercise regimen that you’re considering is at least as difficult as running five miles a day.</p>
<p>Well, I’ve been exercising 1.5-2 hrs many days to help get this weight off. Sometimes it’s just been elliptical or brisk walking, other times its been these new activities. I have a major mental hang up about not being athletic so for me to actually like / crave activity is something I want to leverage if that makes sense. My eating is very “clean” - more fruit than Idad likes 
but otherwise good. I’m just really focusing on taking care of myself physically as I head to the big 50. And I’m vain, I want to look great in clothes (or out).</p>
<p>I find that waking up and getting ready early in the morning motivates me to get going. Once I have my shoes on and in out, it’s simple.</p>
<p>PG, it sounds like you’re doing great. Wanted to give some quick input. The reason why I think it’s good to do gradual increase on the running, whether distance, speed, or how many days a week, is to protect joints and avoid injury. There’s impact with running, and I feel it is important to take that into consideration.</p>
<p>Glad the knee is coming around, BCE.</p>
<p>Just an example of weight fluctuation- I hit an extremely low number on the scale this morning. This would be a drop of 4 pounds in 3 weeks, which is not happening. I also barely made it through a 2 mile run. I am still having some stomach issues from the heat/race and apparently am dehydrated. All this matters. I’m sitting here at work with what is left of 32 ounces of Nuun rehydrator (with caffeine). I expect to be up at least a pound tomorrow, which is fine.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl- I also agree that you could do a 5 mile run. Right now. You would need to slow down, maybe have some walking breaks, but you could do it. This I know. Sometime try setting that treadmill on 11:30 pace or so and see how long you can go and watch your HR. You might be surprised.</p>
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<p>I didn’t worry about how I would look when I started but it’s something that I think about now. I think that we all want to look good; after we get to the point where we feel good. It is a nice reward down the line. But you have to do something that is maintainable or you will lose the weight and then gain it back if you stop, for whatever reason.</p>
<p>I think that there are many here that didn’t have an athletic past that have an athletic present. I saw my daughter lifting weights in the basement this past weekend. I was mildly shocked - she doesn’t like others to see her exercise. I’ve been pushing her on the strength-training as some of the jobs that she is applying for have strength requirements.</p>
<p>50 is the best time to get yourself into shape because your body can deteriorate in your 50s to the point where it can become difficult to get into shape because of accumulated damage.</p>
<p>MOWC, which do you think tends to be easier on the body for newer runners (less than 2 years of steady running), working on increasing distance or speed?</p>
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<p>Looking forward to getting in a run sometime today. This week has been a blur. I need more of those cat-style workouts!</p>
<p>I think building distance is easier. Most people I know who get injured do it trying to do speed workouts. I think you can certainly increase speed while building distance by doing some pickups- doesn’t have to be all-out at all. Just 30 seconds or so at a tempo pace a few times during a run. One thing I used to do (came from Runners’ World) was do 10 steps faster (one foot, so really 20), 10 slow, 20 fast, 20 slow, up to 50 and back down. It’s a painless way to get some speed in. </p>
<p>I know iDad will say the pounding of distance is worse, but my experience seeing lots of runners is that the problem with speedwork is trying to do it too fast and doing too much. There is SUCH a fine line between the right amount and injury. I have stopped doing any speedwork except my occasional 5Ks because I simply think that at my age I don’t want to risk injury from it. Sometimes I’m tempted to go to the track and do some quarters, but I get over it…</p>
<p>OK, here’s what I’m thinking, given my schedule and the location of the yoga, pilates, boxing etc classes (all near my home, but in different places). All is between 5:30 - 7 am unless otherwise specified, which is really the time I have to devote to it. I’m better getting it all done in the morning.</p>
<p>M - Run (Couch to 5K program) - 0.5 hour (may ultimately extend)</p>
<p>T - Yoga Sculpt with Weights - 1 hour</p>
<p>W - Run … Dance class at night (more fun than a true workout)</p>
<p>Th - Run</p>
<p>F - Pilates (private)</p>
<p>S - Run, circuit training with instructor</p>
<p>Sun - Bike ride (w spouse - tandem bike - 2 hours), Kickboxing</p>
<p>Since I’m now “upping” my speed on running, I’m ok dialing it back to fewer days a week.</p>
<p>Comments/ changes?</p>
<p>I have a Fitbit so I make sure to get 11,000 steps a day - as perspective, the run gets me about halfway there - but then I make up the rest by walking the dog, etc. at night.</p>
<p>Part of what I think I’m reacting to is that I use the WW ActiveLink whereby you get X number of activity points which you can eat or not (I typically don’t eat them). Right now it wants me to hit a baseline and then get 5 - 7 AP on top of that, but their system really seems to reward a) cardio and b) moving around during the day, and not reward yoga / pilates / weight training quite so much. it’s just that I feel a hour of yoga isn’t “enough” exercise in a day, esp as I have a sedentary, sit on my butt at the computer type of job.</p>
<p>That sounds better than what you posted yesterday.</p>
<p>You can always increase what you do but I’d always suggest starting out slowly. I absolutely start out slowly when I’m recovering from an injury and it’s frustrating but it doesn’t work to do too much at once. I think that’s true if you’re starting out too.</p>
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<p>I LOVE this. I can’t tell you what a hang-up I have from being the uncoordinated kid picked last in gym class right before or along with the fat kids. I play no sports (like tennis or anything) and I wouldn’t try something like zumba if my life depended on it. The first time I ran a mile straight (in my early forties, with a trainer helping me) I sat and cried like a baby. So a lot of this is about finding my limits and pushing them back, which is why it’s good for me to try (kickboxing, hot yoga, etc.) and realize that the world won’t end if in the middle of the class I take a break or rest in downward dog or topple over. I got really nervous before my 5K, even though intellectually I knew - a) I’d run 3.1 miles before on the treadmill and b) the worst that would happen is that I’d walk the rest of the way.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, me too. I still marvel EVERY time I go out to run a couple of miles and realize that I can now do this. </p>
<p>My biggest concern for myself is that I have no desire to encourage injury. So for me, I’d rather take things slow and steady but CONSISTENT. Nine months after starting on this journey I DO see progress, I have met goals, my body shape has changed and I feel in control. It took me 53 years to get here - I want to STAY in this mindset and have the ability to within my control, keep things going, injury free.</p>
<p>The other part is that I’m married to an exercise freak - my H does 2 hours every day, without fail, mostly cardio with some weights, and I think it’s affected me such taht I think that doing yoga, pilates, etc. is “nice extra” but that cardio is / should be the core of it all.</p>
<p>Best I could do today was a 3 mile walk early this AM. I was having dinner at a local restaurant last noght and bit into a piece of fish that had something small like a stone in it–I felt it immediately. Turns out that I lost a cap on my front tooth and cracked the one next to it. To top it off, I got a mosquito bite and my eye is sworn. Leaving vacation home to go to my dentist at home–got the last appointment of the day. I’m definitely feeling unhealthy right now.</p>
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<p>I think it’s all pretty tough on the body! 
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<p>My lone running injury resulted from “speed” work, well “speed” for me – accelerating from a walk to a run! I would guess that speed/sprinting probably increases the risk of a muscle injury. The distance is more cumulative wear and tear on joints.</p>
<p>Ah, Bromfield, that’s no fun. Eating fish is supposed to be good for you, not wreck your vacation…</p>