Question: Running for Weight Loss

Hard to say how much you'll lose in that time. That being said, LSD
runs will burn more fat than doing the same distance fast. You didn't
say what pace, but if you slow down you'll find you can go
farther/longer, and that combined with not eating afterwards (for as
long as you can stand it) will help you lose the weight.

"BJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am starting college in late August and I want to be in excellent
shape for the girls. I am currently 5'11" and weight 191 pounds -- and
although I am not fat, I believe that I have a somewhat "husky"
appearance. I recently started running 28 blocks every single day. I
have done it 11 days in a row now and I find it to be just enough to
work up a sweat without being totally exhausted when I finish. My goal
is to lose 20 pounds. My question -- is this exercise efficient enough
for me to lose twenty pounds in about 8 weeks? Is it efficient enough
to do anything? I plan to run 28 blocks about 6 days a week, if not
more.

That's a great starting plan - just be careful with injury and make sure
that day-by-day you continue to recover from your workouts. Getting in the
exercise without beating yourself up is good in the early stages - I'm glad
it sounds like you're not setting yourself up to burn out early. I'd say
after a month you'll be able to increase intensity and distance.
Ideally, you'll be able to incorporate some more LSD (= long, slow
distance) runs. Running the exact same distance each day isn't quite as
good as putting variety into it.
I suggest too, starvation will not help you lose weight - eat balanced,
smaller meals. When eating snacks and junk food, eat half the portion.
Keep some carrots or celery on hand to eat when you get the urge to munch -
it's good filler food and very low calorie. Most of us don't eat enough
vegetables, but like running if you get in the habit of eating them your
body will crave them.
Finally, when you get to start classes is where it gets tougher. Beer =
many calories, and most students' diets either go to [censored] or increase if
they're eating at the dining hall. You'll be able to exercise more, and
hopefully score some time with the more athletic healthy chicks. I hate to
make you feel like things are going to go downhill, but 90% of the hotties
in college balloon out from drinking and doing not much else. So hang out
with the people who make exercise a healthy portion of their lifestyle now,
b/c one day you'll look around and everyone will be getting FAT.

Dave

BJ said:

I am starting college in late August and I want to be in excellent
shape for the girls. I am currently 5'11" and weight 191 pounds -- and
although I am not fat, I believe that I have a somewhat "husky"
appearance. I recently started running 28 blocks every single day. I
have done it 11 days in a row now and I find it to be just enough to
work up a sweat without being totally exhausted when I finish. My goal
is to lose 20 pounds. My question -- is this exercise efficient enough
for me to lose twenty pounds in about 8 weeks? Is it efficient enough
to do anything? I plan to run 28 blocks about 6 days a week, if not
more.

How effective depends on how big the block is. Just keep working at it.
Gradually increase the amount of distance you do as your fitness improves.
I'd suggest you aim to *gradually* build up to running about 40 minutes a day
or so. It will probably take longer than 8 weeks to lose 20 pounds. Fitness is
a lifestyle choice, not a quick fix. It probably took years to get out of
shape, so it will take more than 8 weeks to get into shape. Stick with it,
and be patient.

As David says, diet is also half of the equation. Be attentive to it. Start
by reducing your portion sizes. Don't pile food on your plate, don't eat
food because you're happy, sad, bored, or because someone put the food in
front of you. Eat whatever you *need* to eat to avoid getting hungry, no more,
but no less.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Be sure to buy some new running shoes.
All that running on concrete may make your legs sore
after while, especially if you have a few extra pounds.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Hard to say how much you'll lose in that time. That being said, LSD
runs will burn more fat than doing the same distance fast.

Idiocy that still persists. It is energy deficits, not the source of
the energy that matters. That said, beginners should start with easy runs.
28 city blocks is just a bit over a mile; roughyl 100 kcals. Need to
run a lot more to lose the fat.

I would also recommend weight training is you are exercising to impress the
girls.

I would also suggest that you worry less about your body impressing girls
and find girls that like you for who you are and not what you look like.

You didn't

Quoted message said:

say what pace, but if you slow down you'll find you can go
farther/longer, and that combined with not eating afterwards (for as
long as you can stand it) will help you lose the weight.

how much further would I have to run to lose the fat?

If you're aggressively trying to lose weight, you can roughly consider
each mile you run to burn around 100 kcal. At 5'11"/191lb., you burn
roughly 2000 kcals/day as a moderately active person. If you were to
add 3-5 miles of running a day you could expect your daily caloric burn
to run around 2500-2700 or so. Since a pound of fat is 3500 kcals, you
could lose about a pound a week by going into 500-700 kcal deficit on
a daily basis.
More info can be found at :

http://www.hussman.org/fitness/deficit.htm

have a nice day
roah