I have started running. Okay, so for now it's really slow jogging, and intervals of a few minutes jog with walking in between, and longer walks warming up and cooling down. For about 3 years I've been hiking 30-90 minutes, about 4 to 6 days a week... no loss, eating like crazy, gaining weight. So now I've decided to start jogging at intervals in my hike, stepping up the average to 50-60 minutes hike, 10 to 20 of those minutes in jog pace, (intervals for now, later, a solid run), 5 days a week minimum. I sure hope this will rev up the weight loss. Of course, it's kind of funny how once a person starts to commit to a training regimen, the binge days are less, because the self esteem naturally rises.

I would love to hear about your exercize successes and stories.

The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread title was Mel. She speaks very well about shrinking from exercise. I think she's at work tho'. Let's see if she pops in later.

I could exercise 24/7. If I didn't eat carefully, monitor my calorie intake I could not lose weight. Exercise can only burn so many calories. "They" say that weight loss/maintenance is 80% food & 20% exercise. No way to know for sure just how accurate those numbers are, but I think it's pretty telling regardless.

I will say, you've gotta watch your food.
The problem with doing alot of cardio is that it makes you more hungry, so you eat more.
I just read, sorry I forgot the source, that losing weight is 70% diet and 30% exercise.
Maybe you could incorporate some strength training into your routine.


Ha-I see rockinrobin and I were posting at the same time--our percentages disagree a bit

I've gained weight from just exercising... that doesn't help does it?

I realize it's not the actual calorie burning in the exercize that makes the difference, but the base metabolic shifts. Starting a jogging regimen most certainly is going to change things for me, and I'm not doing this so I can eat more. I just wanted to know how many of you have had a lot of shift on the scale , due to aerobic exercize like running , or run/walk intervals. Thank you so far !

Oh sure, when you start a new exercize program , you always have to factor in muscle gain... (which unfortunately is weight gain), but eventually the fat loss should balance it out, and sometimes one should reconfigure their ideal weight with an athletic lifestyle.

I feel like I am trying to approach this more like I was in my 20's and 30's, I am meant to be athletic, and if I don't maintain a fairly intense exercize schedule, I just gain weight. At 47 now, I think that has been the trend of the last 10 years....as I quit my intense exercize schedule (built a house, got sidetracked for a decade, gained a lot of weight!).

I'm just having to find my balance again.

I have had sooooo many girlfriends over the years try this and fail I hesitate to say I agree with it. Theoretically, between the calories you burn and your metabolic rate increasing, it SHOULD work.

A friend of mine that lives near to me just finished five months with a high-end personal trainer. Five months and 2K later, she WAS 7 pounds thinner. She gained it all back over the holiday. That is only the most recent story I can recant.

This being said, I am a true believer in finding what works for YOU.

I gained 10 lbs back in 2008 and I ran 2100 miles in 2008. Unfortunately when you work out more you get hungrier and unless you are CONSCIOUSLY keeping your food level even you wont lose by exercise alone.

You dont have to change your food, but you have to be just as vigilant to NOT change your food as you would if you were changing. Boy I hope that sentence makes sense.

It takes months and months of STRENGTH training to gain muscle. So, that's not usually the issue with adding in exercise and weight gain.

I think if one wants to keep their weight the SAME as they get older that perhaps JUST adding in exercise is a great way to do that. We all know that the rate at which we burn calories slows down as we get older. Adding in more physical activity can give us an edge there.

But to actually LOSE weight, permanently, and more then a couple of pounds, I just don't see it as an effective method all on its own.

Love the sentence. Yep, it makes sense, but you have to read it just as vigilantly as if it DIDN'T make sense, LOL.

RE exercise alone: wouldn't work for me because I can't do enough exercise to match my overeating, YMMV. However, I'd be cautious about your stated "eating like crazy" - does that remain part of your new plan?

I'm not talking about muscle gain. Its happened to me a couple times where I've exercised without being careful with what I eat. Most recently, last year I was exercising every day, biking, swimming, weights, etc but my food also increased due to the increased activity. Which made me gain fat. Muscle gain is pretty slow, especially for women although sometimes you do see a scale jump due to muscles withholding water but the overall trend on the scale should be down.

Oh and I was reading a blog of a ironman triathlete who said it is a common occurrence for triathletes (and other athletes) to actually gain weight because they end up increasing their food and thus taking in more calories than they burn and its fat not muscle.

I lost 25 lbs by just walking more and gaining about 9000-12000 steps in my daily life when I started my new job without changing my diet.

When Mel lost inches through heavy lifting, she was following a food plan with significant calorie restrictions and major emphasis on clean foods. I don't think she's a good example of losing weight with just exercise.

As for me, sadly I can (and do) exercise for two hours a day and gain weight if I'm not constantly aware of and controlling what I eat.

I don't think I've ever lost a single pound just with exercising alone. Like Robin, I could exercise day and night, but not a darn thing happened until I fixed my eating.