I need inspiration

That's it, I've had it... I've been trying as hard as I can and I'm getting nowhere, not faster and not thinner.

Pleas someone inspire me with their story of triumph over adversity!!

Comments

  • With the exception of my last thred, I've lost 6lbs to date. Only started running a month ago. Hoep that helps.
  • With the exception of my last thread, I've lost 6lbs to date. Only started running a month ago. Hope that helps.
  • I've lost 9lbs in 8 weeks, with a combination of running, walking and (to tone the flab) simple muscle build-up stuff like sit-ups and push-ups. And I'm eating more (although I think the fitness kick has made me think about what I do eat, ie loads more fruit & yoghurt, less chips!). Having said that, I accept I've not got the frame to ever be like Kate Moss, but I'm happy with where I've got to at the minute.

    If I start to lose motivation, I go and sit at a pavement cafe in Bath, watching people of my age waddling past (you know the ones, spray-on leggings and midriff-exposing t-shirts) and think "with a bit less effort and a bit more lard, there go I". That normally does the trick.
  • MC - have been trying too hard? This running & exercise thing is supposed to be fun, I'm a great fan of goals, targets, milestones etc but sometimes I just do it for me because I want to.

    I'm feeling frustrated because I overdid it a few weeks ago and strained both knees, so on Thursday I went out a did just one mile (my normal short run is 3m), no time pressure no nothing - when I got home I felt like I'd won a big battle with myself so rewarded myself with couple of large red wines.

    Walked round the zoo with my family for 4 hours yesterday which I wouldn't previously have counted as training but now I do. Are there any variations you could try to spice things up for you for a bit - swim, cycle, gym, walk etc [marathon hopscotch session :)]
  • Froggy Jo - If that's the view from the pavement cafes in Bath, I might join you soon...

    As to motivation, if I knew the secret, I'd be a lot fitter than I am. But there's no denying that runners lose weight - it just might take a little time at first. I guess the trick is to enjoy the running, not just aim for an end result - although I agree, that's why most of us start running in the first place.
  • Dear Melon, Don't be sad,
    don't let it get you down,
    It's much more fun to run
    with a smile and not a frown.

    Running makes you fitter
    and stronger that's a fact
    as long as while you train
    you keep your bodywork intact

    You ask for inspiration
    we'll give you that for free
    but your desire and perspiration
    will shift that weight - you'll see!

    Stick at it Melon - run for fun.

    Steve.

  • Thank you for your messages of support, specially Cat in the hat (the rhyming couplet kid!!)

    Gonna try doubly hard tomorrow - Here's a shout for all you Gazelle Wannabees!
  • Melon,

    That's the point - don't try doubly hard. Think of ways to enjoy it twice as much. (Eating a Magnum whilst running does not count!)
    Trying harder and harder is likely to just do you in and de-morolise you.

    Steve.
  • Melon - I suggest going for a run through a park early in the morning where there is a playground and you can have a go on the swings and stuff. It will be deserted of children if you go early, and is just fun. Not exactly a triumph over adversity story, but motivates me!
  • I am 37 and had balooned to 18 stones by last summer - combination of too many chips, too much guiness and nowhere near enough exercise - the final straw was when my size 38 inch waist trousers started too get waaaay too tight.

    Anyway, I started dieting and lost a couple of stone (low carb thing - NOT Atkins, don't think I've ever eaten so much and still see the weight coming off, although more slowly now)
    After I lost a wee bit of weight I started swimming again, I was a national standard swimmer about 20 odd years ago, so it was a gentle ease back in. After getting a bit of stamina back I started going to a circuit training session 2 or 3 times a week to build my general fitness and a couple of months ago someone finally persuaded me to go for a run... started with 3 miles and have slowly built it up now to 11 miles (I've only done this once and feel so good about it now)....
    Anyway, where am I now? ..... down to 14.5 stone, size 34 waist and feeling fitter than I have done in many years...

    Set yourself a couple of easy to reach goals and treat yourself to something special when you reach each one, sort of worked for me.... now all I need to do is pack in the fags!!!!!
  • As Nick said, try something different. Cycling, roller-blading simply going for a walk (better if it's hilly), walking to the shops instead of taking the car, use stairs instead of a lift. Get of the bus/tube a few stops early and walk.... you get the idea.

    Just being active will keep you thinner and motivated.
  • MC, about a year ago, i was nearly 15st and went to my local gp for a routine medical, and discovered i had high blood pressure. I'm not seriously overweight, but my lifestyle of minimal exercise and sedentry work with an unhealthy diet was a contributary factor. Anyway, decided that this was a wake up call that i needed, and decided to take up running. For the first month, i couldn't even run a mile, but i kept on pushing myself, convinced that i can do it. I lost a bit of motivation after a while, so then i decided to enter the great south run in sept last year as a motivational factor to carry on training. I made the race and went around in 1.37 and i was shattered, but i thouroughly enjoyed the racing experience. So i decided to join my local running club, who to this day, have given me lots of invaluable help and motivation. I also discovered cross country running this winter and i totally enjoyed this culminating in the highlight of the year so far, a 15m xc in beenfleet earlier this year in atrocious weather conditions. Knee deep in mud conditions, rain, swirling wind and falling over no less than 6 times, but i finished it, and i'm totally fearless now. In less than 3 weeks, i'll be contesting my first london marathon, and i can't wait. But the thing that has made me come this far is that i enjoy my running. I believe, that if you don't enjoy it, you don't get the full experience from running. Although my main aim at the start were for health reasons, i never once thought about running as a means of weight loss. Today, my blood pressure has lowered, and i weigh in at 12.5st. the weight has come off naturally and the fact now is that i eat better, not because of losing weight but for the fact that i want to be in the best possible condition for a race. If you think about doing something too hard, your expectations can easily be downbeat if you don't achieve the result. Just enjoy the running and let nature take it's course. I absolutley love club nights whether it involves speed/hill sessions or an evening run, and i enjoy the thrill of racing on sundays. To date, i have contest over 20 races for my club over 10k,10m,1/2m,15m,and 20m, in my short racing career, and everytime i step out to race at the moment, i'm setting a new pb as i am getting fitter and faster. Just njoy what you do and don't see it as a chore. If you were to tell me that in little over a year that i will be running the london marathon, i think i would have died of a heart attack from over laughter, but here i am today, and so can you!ENJOY!
  • I agree with Simon set yourself targets it really helps. I am training for the marathon after running for a year (little by little) which has helped me give up smoking. I have lost a bit of weight on the scales but more importantly now fit into my suits which I grew out of a couple of years ago.

    Keep smiling and run outside when ever you can rather than on a treadmill as the fresh air (and other runners)gives you motivation to keep going.
  • I find outside harder

    The heckling doesnt happen in the gym, and ive been gong to the gym for so long that im immune to funny looks now
  • I find outside harder also, but the time does go much quicker! (if that makes sense!)
  • Yes it does
    Im slower on tready

    But the psychology of outside is hard
  • Hippo, there's one way around all this, run first thing in the morning. Not only do you guarentee your daily run but it also peps you up for the rest of the day, traffic and heckling is virtually non existent, and have you ever run when it is a beautiful crisp morning and the sun is glistening, that's when i can run for hours. I find the psychology of running on a treadmill is harder. When i first went to the gym, i ran on the treadmill, and could run upto 1 1/2 hrs, but i could not do it on the road 50 mins max. Running outside is pshyically more demanding than on a treadmill, therefore the benefits of being able to run in different conditions, on different surfaces, on different gradients and on winding routes cannot be replicated on a long run on the mill. I only now go to the gym to do tone work, and that's about once afortnight. Come rain or shine, sleet or snow, i will always prefer to run outside. I know there are some people who prefer to use the treadmill, and if you're comfortable with that, then that's fine, but i think it should be used as a back up to road running, than the other way round.
  • Wow, I can't believe the response to my message, thanks to all fellow runners, your are all stars!!!

    You have ceratinly given me inspiration, I hope anyone who reads this also feels the same. The overriding message I see here is be happy with yourself, be realistic with your goals and most of all enjoy yourself.

    Thanks MC
  • Spoony, I often run early am!
    Thanks for the advice
  • i am a newbie and have just got my subscription to RW. i started to run/walk on Jan 8th going round the block etc. at first i couldnt run more than a few minutes at a time. then i graduated to the local country park and gradually upped my mileage to nearly three. but i got really bad shin pain and on the advice of a running shop i stopped trying to do lots of miles and a month ago tried to see how far i could run non-stop. it wasnt very far! i can now run 1/4 mile non-stop and then i run/walk in total one mile. my shin pain has gone but my calves and back of my knees hurt now. i am pleased i have got this far but i wonder if i will ever reach my goal of 3 miles non-stop. the leg ache gets me down and the first few minutes of running (every other day) can be quite sore. i warm up and stretch before and after every run. am i doing ok and has anyone got any advice. oh yeah, i am 47 and 2 stone overweight. i gave up smoking 11 years ago. i have lost 9lbs thru dieting over the last 3 months.
  • drilakila, just go very slowly, make sure you can speak as you run, if you can't, you are going too fast,if you need to take walking breaks, that is fine, you will gradually go further without needing them as you get fitter, but don't go for speed. Also don't worry about miles at the mo, just time, and gradually increase that

    Also, running shoes are very important,so do make sure you have them fitted properly

    Most of all just go out and enjoy it

  • VoodsVoods ✭✭✭
    Have just read all the comments from everyone and hope they've inspired / motivated you Melon.

    I think the most important thing for me is the need to set a goal (as has already been mentioned). Without a goal, I find I start to flounder a bit and don't get very far.

    How do you set a goal?

    <Vood puts his Fit2Run training hat on>

    Make it SMART .. that is ...

    Specific (eg, I wanna run the GNR2004 in September)
    Measurable (eg, I ran the GNR2004!)
    Action-Oriented (how you're gonna do it)
    Realistic
    Time Based (September 2004 seems to be looming ever close ... OMG!!!!!)

    Life is full of choices and you are making the right ones. I know it's hard at times and results do sometimes hide away from us but I bet you feel loads better already. Who cares if you haven't lost pounds. I bet your fitness is better than when you started out and that can only be a good thing.

    Keep going and remember ... If It Is To Be, It's Gotta Be Me! (where me means you!)
  • VoodsVoods ✭✭✭
    Just remembered this inspirational thought for you Melon ...

    "If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the thousands who will not survive this week.

    If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in this world.

    If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, unrest, torture or death, you are luckier than three billion people in this world.

    If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of this world.

    If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare charge in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8 percent of the world's wealthy.

    If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare.

    If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

    If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you and furthermore, you are luckier than over two billion people in this world who cannot read at all.

    Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are." - Author Unknown
  • Pammie*Pammie* ✭✭✭
    VS - that is brilliant
  • thanks Bodjit!
    i have good shoes....they were the first thing i sorted. i love running. running is the thing for me and its the only form of exercise i have ever felt an immediate affinity for. its just that i am envious of all the others out there that seem to have taken up running without any obvious effort and can run 3 miles + without thinking about it. it must be my age and level of unfitness...despite all the pain and discomfort and effort i just wish i could be one of the ones that thinks nothing of saying they ran a 5k run as part of thier training. believe me when i say the meagre mile that i run/walk is as much efort for me at present as i imagine the Flora London marathon is for all those that seem to 'take it in their stride'. at the moment it feels as though i will never get better than the small amount i do and it seems to have taken sooo long to get where i am and i have no frame of reference by which to mark my achievement. even tho when i started out 3 months ago i couldnt even run to the end of my road!! perhaps in another 3 months i will eat my words and i will be running 5k and not giving it a second thought! i wish!!!!!
  • Hi Drilakila
    Just been looking at the threads and yours struck a chord. Have been running for about 6 weeks now, couldn't hardly run up the road at first but now go out 5 times a week and am doing between 3-5 miles each time, it has got easier, but I still feel very much a beginner. How long does this feeling last? Joined a running club but they don't seem to have time for novices, only the experienced runners so not much help at all. Anyway, how are you getting on now, would be interested on your progress. I am 50 (just) and need to lose about 1 and a half stones, have lost about 6lbs through running but its taking longer than I thought, even though I have been watching my diet closely too.
    Any tips would be appreciated.
  • I have been running on and off for approx a year now. Winter was difficult dark nights difficult to run, but for the first time ever I cheered when the clocks went forward as it gave me more time to run in the evening. I am probably similar to most of you slightly overwieght ex-smoker who struggles to run more than 10 minutes at a time. However, I am completely convinced that given enough training and time I will eventually run for twenty minutes without stopping. It is about believing you can do it, rather than thinking you never will. Enjoy every day and every step knowing that it will make you fitter regardless of how many times a week you run or how far.
  • Hi All
    I too am a stone or 2 overweight, 48 years old and just starting after quitting smoking.
    I used to run regular 15 years ago, and did the Londom Marathon then in under 4 hours.
    But jobs, life etc took over and i stopped.
    I found it very difficult to run even half a mile at the beginning of April and i only manage 3 miles now, in achieving that distance though, my knee has been painful, my back painful, my calves hurt etc etc
    I have lost around 6lb in weight so far and aim to try and run 4 miles next week at some point, my message to you all is dont give up! its painful and hard at first i know, but will be worth it in the end, and you will reach your goals i promise.
    Teresa...sorry to hear your running club is not interested in beginners....shame on them!...what area are you from? are there not any more clubs near you?
    I personally have set myself a goal of doing the Nottingham Half marathon in September as my motivation to keep running.
    Good luck to you all, keep it up and maybe one day we will all meet up at a race somewhere.
  • I have been running for 10 weeks, and for a long time appeared to be getting nowhere fast!

    But, one of the things I cottoned on to after doing a duatlon in early March was to cross train. I go out on the mountain bike and cycle for around 20 minutes, then park the bike up and run for 10-15 minutes then cycle back. The plan is to eventually increase distances as I get stronger.

     Running is very tough after cycling up Cotswold hills, but after 3 weeks of doing it, I am stronger, running faster and have lost more weight. I had got stuck but now it's shifting. It's knackering, but all in a good cause eh

     Jan

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