Hey women!

I was on a plateau a month or so ago and met with a personal trainer. She said that the ONLY way I was going to keep losing weight was to start running. I tried, and I hated it. Seriously hated it. Fortunately, I kept exercising and started losing again.

Has anyone here hated running and then learned to love it? Do you feel like you have to start running in order to meet your weight loss goals? If you love running, what do you love about it? Has anyone here TRIED to run and hated it, stopped, but kept losing anyway?

I guess I am a little scared about the comment she made that basically, if I was going to make it to the finish line, I'd have to make it by running.

So, thanks for reading!
Alicia

I don't think there is any magic about running. If you hate it, there are PLENTY of other ways to do cardio which burns fat. Maybe what she really meant was that you have to do some sort of high intensity cardio to keep losing. Even that isn't a true statement, but the cardio sure speeds up the process and makes you healthier in the long run (groan)!

Some people can't run- injuries to knees, hips and spine would make it impossible. Others (like you) hate it. Why do something you hate? Yes, maybe you'd learn to love it, but there are alternatives. Does your gym have elliptical cross-trainers? You can get a great workout on those. Meg lost and has maintained her loss of over 120 pounds using a cross-trainer for cardio. I do my cardio on a combination of recumbent bike, elliptical, spinning classes, and running. If I run every day, my hips and knees are in agony. I've been experimenting this last week with different forms of cardio and my heart rate monitor. Running feels like the hardest workout, but I can get my heart rate higher, burn more calories, and stick with it longer on either the recumbent bike or the elliptical. All that jarring just makes it feel like you are working harder, but the heart rate monitor tells a different story.

Mel

I got to goal without running a single mile if that helps. I guess I just never learned to run. Not that I wouldn't like to, but I certainly would've been discouraged if the *only* way to lose was to run it off. I prefer the elliptical myself... I also incorperate other things like fitness classes (pilates, dance, NIA, spin when I feel couragious...)

I've been running for about 10 years off and on now. I don't think it's the only way to lose weight, plenty of cardio options are out there, but I will tell you that FOR ME, it is the quickest way for me to see results. And besides that, it really makes my legs look great. They key is to 1) breathe properly and 2) take the right pace and 3) don't hesitate to entertain yourself with music, tv, a podcast, whatever will pass the time. I find that I hate the first 7 to 8 tenths of a mile, and then after that it's not as bad. Also, try running at different times of the day. If I run on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, it is soooooo much better than 5:30 on a Monday morning.

I love running, but find it to be the hardest form of cardio to work up to. It is very intense, and it goes much better if you work into it gradually, with run/walk intervals and very slow pacing. It is so intense for me that it clears all my stressors out of my head, and makes me feel like I've done something really good for myself. Like I'm an athlete.

But having said that, if you hate running, find something else. I think the idea that only running will get you to goal is bogus. Personally I find that if I'm running a lot, I have a very hard time losing any weight because my appetite increases so much. Plateaus happen. Time and change usually shake them loose (aren't there a bunch of old plateau threads around here somewhere), and running may be a useful tool for some people, but certainly isn't the only answer.

Anne

Just a note to all those dedicated runners out there- In my late teens (back in the Pleistocene era), my twenties, and thirties, I was a dedicated runner. I ran 2 marathons in my 20's, continued to run while overweight in my thirties, and trained for one in my late 40's. I still run occasionally. BUT...I blame most of my knee and hip problems on decades of running on hard pavement, especially while overweight. Yes, it made me feel like an athlete, I forgot about everything else, kept my weight under control for years, but it also aged my joints.

Be careful about running if you are overweight. I realize the whole point for most of us is to lose the weight, but longterm, you may not be doing your body a favor by chosing this form of exercise

Mel

Me, too. I HATE running - at my age, it hurts. I think the key for ALL of us fatties is to find an exercise that we like to do 'cause otherwise we don't have a prayer of keeping it up for the long term.

I got to goal by rebounding (what's not to like about jumping on a mini-trampoline?! it always seems more like play to me than exercise ) and pilates. Oh, and during the summer, bicycle riding.
Look into rebounding - it gives you the best cardio workout for the least impact AND it's a great toning exercise (the inches just flew off me ).

When I read the title of the thread I just thought: Well DON'T run!! We can't all like, or like me running... Like Mel said, Meg lost all of her weight without running and using different types of machines. It all what works for YOU... Don't force yourself on doing something you don't like because you will stop working out all together and that's not good.

Mel -- I do agree and wonder what the long term effects of running will do to me. But at almost 50 and never running more than 25-30k/week, I hope that it won't affect my joints too much... I also hope that 20+ years of weight training will help protect my bones and joints....

It's funny that you mention this, Mel and Ilene, because I purposely put off running regularly until I got down to my current weight. I did it now and again because I enjoyed it, but even then, I could feel slight aches in my hips and knees that made me realize I was probably doing long-term damage. Ouch!

Now that I'm down to a reasonable weight, I have begun to LOVE running, but I know to be VERY CAREFUL from watching my father blow out his knees with his 10-13 mile-a-day habit. I still don't do it every day for that reason (and because I like to shake it up).

Alicia, I honestly feel like your trainer is dead wrong. As long as you're doing aerobic cardio of some sort, you can certainly lose weight and keep it off. Heck, I've lost over 115 pounds running only a couple of times a month! I'm with everybody else, pick strenuous activities you ENJOY and can do for a LIFETIME, and you can't go wrong.

Jennifer, you're new avatar is looking quite slim ... and you're almost at goal ... Way to go

Have you tried walking for longer distances?? I've read that it basically does the same thing and is a lot less stress on your joints.

Also, have you tried taking an ipod or other mp3 player with you when you went?? That makes ALL the difference to me when I walk, I won't walk if my ipod is dead LOL

Lacey

That seems like such an odd thing for your trainer to say. I say forget running and find something you *do* love, or at least like! I lost 125+ lbs without ever running. I have back problems, and stick to low impact activities like biking, walking and swimming.

I used to hate running and learned to love it. But I also learned that the reason I hated it was because I was totally out of shape and running was so much harder for me than, say, the elliptical. I felt better about myself thinking "I can do 40 mins on the elliptical" than "I can't run for 5 minutes without feeling like I'm going to pass out." I slowly worked up my running endurance and now I love it. HOWEVER, my knees don't love it so much so I am on a running hiatus.

I say if you hate it, you hate it, then do something else. It is in no way the ONLY way to lose weight (though it is really good exercise).