Should I lose weight before getting back in to running?

Any thoughts?

What are yours?

I started running again about 6 months ago I was 5’8 160Lbs, now I’m 135lbs. Limited my calorie intake to 1500 a day (would eat more if I ran or worked out) losing the weight will absolutely help you. just get on a good diet while continuing to run. I did a lot of red meat, a lot of fruit, & dairy with other things such as beans, potatoes, avocado & rice. I completely cut out bread & processed foods. Only stuff drank was water, nuun, milk with my protien shake & kiefer.

I am in a similar boat to you. I used to run a lot several years ago (2016-17) when I was about 30 years old. My PRs during 2017 were 35:31 (10k), 1:22:13 (half), and 2:54:35 (a hilly marathon), and my weight was between 150-155 lbs (5’11”).

I recently got back into running about a month ago, except now my weight is 195lbs. I’m definitely feeling the extra weight on my joints and muscles when I run. But I’m not going to stop running until I lose weight, instead I’m going to keep running to help me lose weight. Then hopefully I’ll be able to run again without a creaky body.

I guess to clarify the question a little more, I was thinking of using alternate forms of cardio to help cut weight rather than immediately going to running as it can have more of an impact on the body and can be seen as a non-optimal way to lose weight. But you guys definitely answered my question, thank you for the input. :)

The ONLY allowed answer on LRC is that you must not lose any weight no matter how over weight you are. Any suggestion that you should lose weight to run faster will be deleted.

5'10", 160lbs? You are still skinny.

I am 5'6", 185lbs and run 30-40mi a week at mostly 7:30 pace.

The body adapts.

Alan

It is wiser to be on a diet (=no carbs) with a limited energy outtake (no running) - until your body can handle that diet and you also can run on it.

Given that... 1) You're not overweight (BMI is 23) and 2) That you've run relatively fast times so your running form can't be complete junk.

Thus, the problem is most likely your shoes. That, plus your body needs to adapt to running again.

As a general rule of thumb, if your shoes feel too tight, you either have them laced too tight or the shoes are too small. If your feet are too sore after a run, then the shoes are too tight, too small, lack the cushioning you need as you are reaccustoming your body to running... or you are running too much too soon.

What you should do is test each of these theories one by one and eliminate the ones that you're sure is not the problem until you find the likely problem(s). Buy a pair of shoes from a place with easy returns and try them. You might need to try and return 2-3 shoes before you find the one that works for you.

Since you arent extremely overweight running some isnt going to be terrible for you. That said, since you are feeling the weight in your joints it wouldnt hurt to incoporate a higher ratio of crosstraining and weight training to prevent injury until you drop your weight. I have always been injury-prone, especially when carrying a bit more weight. Triathalon-style training has prevented injury for me now that Im in my mid30s/heavier than i was back in college.

This is a stupid idea. You are not overweight. I'm the same height as you and I weighed 175 last year and ran a 78 half. If your joints are hurting while running it is because your muscles are weak

Is the fat making you stupid? The brain and muscles need carbs.

I would stay first and foremost don’t play the comparison game. I know it’s hard when you see a bunch of people that look like gazelles, but you can still do special things at the weight. I know someone 180 who is a world class runner at his specific niche. Also the point is you have to be careful on a restrictive diet and most of all it’s risky that you’ll carry the same poor eating habits when you go back to running a lot more miles. I’d just start running. keeping going slowly and go from there.

Technically, they don't, they need glucose. Glucose can be generated by your body by various means.

What is your body like? Are you noticeably flabby?

I’m 5 11’ 165 and 28 and still can see my ribs. 160 and below is my racing weight and wouldn’t want to go any lower.

Around 20 I was closer to 140, but to try and get back there would be an exercise in futility. Most of the gains are just from muscles in my upper body filling out.

Being depleted indeed makes you stupid. I have lost 20-lbs at about 4-lbs per week and have only been about half as productive at work. My ability to communicate has definitely suffered.

Walk it off . If you put on weight then your load bearing joints are not used to it and you’ll get injured .

Take it slow, give it time. Your joints and connective tissues will take longer to get used to running, compared to your muscles which will get in shape more quickly.

I'd suggest 6 months of low mileage easy jogging, plenty of brisk aerobic walking, tons of drills & strides. Lunges, heel drops / calf raises, squat-jumps. Once a week cross train on a bike or swimming or whatever. Once every couple of weeks throw in a mile or two mile TT as a fitness test to gauge progress.

Eat healthy, sleep right, increase volume and your weight will take care of itself.

Start now and don't wait. I was 100 pounds more than you when I started up, at almost the same height.

When I lost a ton of weight a few years ago, running sucked cause of the extra weight so I biked almost daily for 40 days but hard and I was able to recover for the next day. If i ran, I would be so sore the next day I couldnt run. Lost 30 pounds in 40 days....I was also lifting 6 days a week, walking about 30k plus steps with around 75 to 100 flights of stairs(garmin estimate) and greatly reduced my calorie intake.