Hey All, New to the site.  Been running since June 2012.  Started out at 252 #'s. I run 4 times a week and have gotten down to 205#'s.  No 5K yet but hope to do one soon.  hope to put good news on here to share.

Another newbie here.  I'm 6'1" and not sure about the weight but last time I was on a scale it was a hair over 3 bills.  Not sure if you've read any of my other posts, but I'm with the DOD currently deployed in Afghanistan.  One thing we've got plenty of over here is time so I'm doing C25K (again).  I was here last year and did C25K and made it through the whole thing, but I did it on a treadmill.

I actually started back in July but sprained my ankle and a trip home for R&R threw my schedule out of whack.  When I got back from R&R I started over at week 3 where I was when I left.  Yesterday was w4d1.  I wasn't looking forward to it at all...seemed like a big jump from week 3.  I was surprised how well the first half went and even the 2nd 3 minute run wasn't too horrible.  The last 5 minutes were pretty bad.  I usually run with my stopwatch so I can see how close I am to the end.  I made it to 3:30 before I checked my time.  By that point I figured I did that much, surely I could do the last minute and a half.  That exhausted feeling was far outweighed by the pride I felt and the high I was on for the rest of the day.  I'm actually looking forward to my run in the morning.

Well, for some reason, w4d2 felt worse than day 1 but I still finished it.  In addition to the c25k I've started going to the gym for 20-30 minutes a day before lunch to so some weight training and I've also found a hand-2-hand combat training class that I've started doing 3 nights a week (M, W, & F).  So far that has been another fun way to break a sweat in the evenings...it's been popular enough that he's even going to start doing some bonus classes on the other 2 days (T & Th) just for people who want to get some extra practice.  One of the other good things about being here is that there are quite a few opportunities to take advantage of things like this, there always seem to be some sort of activities like this happening.

I've actually started a blog just to try and keep a running tally of what I've been doing, http://fatghanistan.blogspot.com/, but I've got a picture posted there so you can see where I'm starting from.  I have yet to weigh myself since I've been doing all this stuff, usually when I'm at the gym where the scale is I'm all decked out in full ACU's and some pretty heavy tactical boots, but it definitely seems like my belt is getting a little looser.

Had someone here that I hadn't seen in a few days tell me it looks like I'd slimmed down.  Makes me feel like a million bucks and a good incentive to get out there and do W5D1 tomorrow morning.

I would like to join your thread. I can't believe how long it has been going!

I am 29 years old,  5'6" and currently weigh 189 lbs. this is a big deal for me because I got all the way up to 225 lbs. I have been 200+ for about 5 years with one 6month break right before I got pregnant with my son. I got down to 170 at that time. My goal right now is 155. I have been working my butt off to lose the weight. I started with walking two hours a day 3 days a week. While I was at the park I was inspired to run by all the fit people who were lapping me! Lol some of them were at least twice my age! I have never even had the desire to run before. My niece is also a runner. She was actually recognized in our local paper for winning at her last meet. I am so proud of her! I want to be able to run with her, at least at her practice speed.

I started the C25K program on 9/24/12. I am starting W3D1 on Tuesday. I am also starting a new strength training program tomorrow. Wish me luck! ;-)

Where in Afghanistan are you?  I am a DOD Civilian at Bagram trying to work my way through the couch-2-5-k program.

Hey everyone! Just wanted to weigh in here (ha-get it?). You most definitely can do this.

Im 25 years old and a busy medical student about to interview for residencies. About 1 year ago the stresses of med school had gotten to me, and stress eating had gotten me up to my highest weight ever - 237 pounds. I wanted to be able to walk the walk and set a good example for my future patients, so I knew I had to make a change. Dietary change took off the first 10 pounds. Then I did something crazy - I signed up for a Tough Mudder (a 13 mile course with about 25 military-style obstacles like running through fire/live wires, diving into ice water, and scaling 12 foot walls with the help of your fellow racers). Boy, was that motivation. I used a couch-to-5k app to starts running - and could barely finish W1D1 without feeling like I was burning up my lungs - I had never ever been a runner or even run for more than a minute straight in my life, so I thought to myself, "What are you, crazy?! You can't do this." But I couldn't let down my tough Mudder team. So I pushed on and all of a sudden by week 3 - running started to...(wait for it)...feel good! The intervals were increasing, and although it was tough, it was also fun to push myself each time and cheer when I accomplished something.

At the end of the first month, I was down to 227.

One of the greatest moments in my training came around week 6 - the C25k app had me run for 20 straight minutes. When, to my surprise, I actually did it, the British female voice that had been calling the prompts to run/walk shouted a message of encouragement: "You just ran for 20 minutes! You can definitely call yourself a runner now!"

A "runner." Wow. Me? The girl who could barely run for 1 minute without panting under 2 months ago?  Yes. A runner.

With renewed vigor I signed up for personal training to build up the upper body strength I would need to complete all of the obstacles, and kept increasing my running time on my own. Not only could I run the 3.1 miles in under 35 minutes by the end of the C25k app...but I kept going.

4 months after I started training (it was March now), I weighed in at about 205 and RAN THE TOUGH MUDDER. I never felt more accomplished in my life. Sure, my team switched over to just walking and less jogging by mile 8, but I was no longer the fat girl slowing everyone down. I held my own. I RAN.

After that I immediately signed up for more 5ks to keep the momentum going - I did two "Color Runs" since then (you start off dressed all in white and they throw colored powder at you at ever kilometer so you're a rainbow by the end). The day I broke the 200 pound mark and weighed in at 198, I cried. I hadn't been user 200 since high school!

Unfortunately an ankle injury sidelined me for a while and I wound up gaining back to 210, but I just started a couch to 10k app program a few weeks ago and it's starting to feel amazing already. I completed W5D2 yesterday, I've lost 3 pounds (207 now - would have been more if I had kept my eating under control from the beginning but I'm on the right track now), and I feel incredible every time I push further. The last run was 2.5min run/2.5 min walk x12 reps. So I was out there for more than an hour and completed about 5.5 miles. I'm hoping to eventually make it to the 10k (6 miles) in 50-65 minutes. I'll let you know how it goes!

I hope you found my story inspiring. If I can find time to run as a med student (and hope to keep it up during residency) you can do it too :)

-Amanda