I started losing immediately because I joined Weight Watchers the same time I started running. One mile of running only equals about 100 calories, so while you are on C25K you are not logging enough miles to see a weight difference. Running motivates me to eat right, if for no other reason than I get tired of hauling around the extra pounds. There are several weight loss threads on this board, there are lots of us out there who are running with you so feel free to stop by and say hello!

Consider yourself lucky, many new runners actually gain weight when they start running. You'll start losing when you realize that how much you eat determines your weight not how much you run.

Consider the fact that the C25K program maxes out at about nine miles a week. Depending on your weight, that only equals about a thousand calories a week. You can easily offset that amount with one trip to your favorite fast food restaurant.

Running at a beginners level does not justify or require you to eat more and unless you combine it with responsible eating habits you will not lose weight. I've trained for a number of marathons and during that training I only lose around 10 pounds (5% of my body weight) and that's from running up to 50 miles a week.

Run for fitness, eat less to lose weight.

Tom

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Changed my eating habits and started running at the same time so I started losing right away.

Figbash is spot on.

Running makes me hungry - I've gained weight since i started 3 months ago....

I will echo what everyone else has said - I have not lost a significant amount of weight since I began running (been in it for about a year).

However, my clothes began to fit more loosely after about three months, and my blood pressure and pulse have dropped dramatically over the course of the year. My spouse says I look better, even at basically the same weight.

I think a lot of the posts in this thread are really trying to get across that you shouldn't expect to lose weight solely from running, and I agree with that. But I wouldn't want you to lose heart and decide running isn't worth it.

The health and fitness improvement alone is so worth it. Some posts I read on this topic are kind of moribund in the attempt to set one's weight-loss expectation to the extent that they undersell the fitness benefits.

I feel great since I started running. Don't get bummed out about not losing weight without changing your eating habits. I'm focusing on fitness, and that has made a dramatic enough difference in my life.

I have been running for four weeks and have lost a little weight (5 pounds) but I notice my legs are stronger and leaner, and my stomach (always a fun spot for me as it is for my mother and was for my grandmother - don't you love genetics) is actually getting less floppy. It's almost like your body goes "she's doing this running thing and all those floppy bits don't feel right so I guess I better tighten them up."

I am about 10 pounds from ideal weight. I am hoping to be able to run a half marthon next July and to continue running as a life long activity. Main goal is to get to below 25% fat and a BMI of around 21 rather than a weight as I keep remembering it's fitness not the figure on the scale that matters.

It's funny, I hated running as a teenager (one older sister and my brother ran quite a bit and tried to get me interested but though I had baseline ability I had no motivation), but now at 38 I actually enjoy it and like improving the distance I can go. ItIt also fits in with my lifestyle. I used to swim a lot but due to access problems (pool hours and cost, needing to be here to send kids to school, job hours) I decided to try running again. I can go out at 6:30 and run 2.5 miles (no in four weeks I can't actually run it all yet - but I can run one mile straight!). I'll have to get out earlier as my distances improve.

On the healthy eating side - I started to record everything I eat when I stared running - I have done this several times in my life and every time I just naturally eat less and lose some weight. When you go to write down a candy bar at 300 calories with 200+ calories from fat, you tend to go why am I eating this and eat an apple or orange at 80 calories instead. Also, I'm much more aware that I am eating too much fat or not enough fiber. It helps our whole family - husband and two kids - eat better too. It's more about remembering to have a good diet than slapping down a quick meal.

Sorry, this ended up a little longer than I expected. It is my first post.

I can run and not lose weight, I finally joined sparkpeople.com (it's free) and track all my calories there, and I also added in crosstraining (spinning 2 times per week, and weights) and the weight has started to come off. Good luck!