Running Makes You Fat

Bigger Stronger Leaner
#21

I actually thought it was an okay article. Maybe it doesn’t cover new ground, but welcome to the world of fitness writing.

I think a lot of people who run do it like yo-yo dieters diet. Short term, maybe lose a little weight, fuck up their metabolism, stop running, get fatter. Or dumb-asses who train for one mini-marathon, obsess about it, think they are a fucking know it all when it comes to training, complete said mini marathon, get fatter.

If running is part of an overall training program, enjoyed by someone who is in good shape already, or done at the elite level - yes, you probably are not looking at a fat person.

But go into any gym and look at the treadmills on January 2nd. Drive down any suburban street a couple months before spring break. Fat people who will always be fat because they are not incorporating running into an overall plan…

#22

[quote]Chris87 wrote:

[quote]BHappy wrote:

Idiots say read labels.
Labels laws are written by the industry.
They have the right to lie.
They do.
They can write fat free even if the content is 100% fat.
[/quote]

This is complete and utter bullshit. There are very strict rules regarding food labels and the claims that food companies are allowed to make.

In order to market a food as “fat free” is must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.[/quote]

Not utter BS.

few years back (in Canada anyways), they passed a rule where cereal couldn’t have more then x amount of sugar per serving advertised on their boxes. You guessed it, they (cereal industry) changed the labels. Grab three different sugary cereal and compare “serving size”. Try the same with “fat free yogurt”. Yes, rules are there, the industry has learned to play with it.

#23

[quote]JFG wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:

[quote]BHappy wrote:

Idiots say read labels.
Labels laws are written by the industry.
They have the right to lie.
They do.
They can write fat free even if the content is 100% fat.
[/quote]

This is complete and utter bullshit. There are very strict rules regarding food labels and the claims that food companies are allowed to make.

In order to market a food as “fat free” is must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.[/quote]

Not utter BS.

few years back (in Canada anyways), they passed a rule where cereal couldn’t have more then x amount of sugar per serving advertised on their boxes. You guessed it, they (cereal industry) changed the labels. Grab three different sugary cereal and compare “serving size”. Try the same with “fat free yogurt”. Yes, rules are there, the industry has learned to play with it.[/quote]

They’re not lying if they changed the serving size to lower the sugar content of a serving. You would need to read the label to understand how much sugar you are ingesting by understanding the serving size. If you didn’t read the label and just trusted what it said on the front of the box, you wouldn’t know this. See what I did there?

Eating fat free yogurt is stupid so who cares.

#24

[quote]AliveAgain36 wrote:

[quote]JFG wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:

[quote]BHappy wrote:

Idiots say read labels.
Labels laws are written by the industry.
They have the right to lie.
They do.
They can write fat free even if the content is 100% fat.
[/quote]

This is complete and utter bullshit. There are very strict rules regarding food labels and the claims that food companies are allowed to make.

In order to market a food as “fat free” is must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.[/quote]

Not utter BS.

few years back (in Canada anyways), they passed a rule where cereal couldn’t have more then x amount of sugar per serving advertised on their boxes. You guessed it, they (cereal industry) changed the labels. Grab three different sugary cereal and compare “serving size”. Try the same with “fat free yogurt”. Yes, rules are there, the industry has learned to play with it.[/quote]

They’re not lying if they changed the serving size to lower the sugar content of a serving. You would need to read the label to understand how much sugar you are ingesting by understanding the serving size. If you didn’t read the label and just trusted what it said on the front of the box, you wouldn’t know this. See what I did there?

Eating fat free yogurt is stupid so who cares.[/quote]

What BHappy wrote is in fact bullshit. What is written on labels is correct. They are not allowed to lie. They cannot say “fat-free” on their product if it is 100% fat. That is a bold face lie.

#25

I know it isn’t long enough to make a solid conclusion about the effects of running, but over a month of running between 2-3 miles 2-3x a week my mid section size has been decreasing while I maintain the same weight. I guess there’s some of that g-flux thing going on. I’ve also noticed I just have more stamina for work and day to day task.

Also, I’m starting to fall in love with that runners high. The weightlifting seems to jack my adrenaline up and amps me up which I love, but while I’m running I experience something almost akin to taking painkillers. I will admit though that the first quarter mile just sucks and almost hurts. I guess there’s different endorphins and hormones at work with the two activities. I’m totally speculating, but I would guess in addition to the different energy systems used, the different hormones and endorphins would have some sort of long term physiological effects.

#26

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
I know it isn’t long enough to make a solid conclusion about the effects of running, but over a month of running between 2-3 miles 2-3x a week my mid section size has been decreasing while I maintain the same weight. I guess there’s some of that g-flux thing going on. I’ve also noticed I just have more stamina for work and day to day task.

Also, I’m starting to fall in love with that runners high. The weightlifting seems to jack my adrenaline up and amps me up which I love, but while I’m running I experience something almost akin to taking painkillers. I will admit though that the first quarter mile just sucks and almost hurts. I guess there’s different endorphins and hormones at work with the two activities. I’m totally speculating, but I would guess in addition to the different energy systems used, the different hormones and endorphins would have some sort of long term physiological effects. [/quote]

The best I’ve felt is my life is when I incorporated running into my overall training. I agree on the runner’s high. I usually get it around the 5-6 mile mark and it is a crazy-great feeling. I dropped running to focus on weight training and building size and in some ways regret it. I know it will be hard to get back into it but I will around the end of December.

I do think the article is a bit off. It’s obviously going for shock value with it’s title and premise. If a fat person thinks they can just jump into running and become healthy without other major lifestyle changes, yes, then running will make you fat(ter). If you have healthy mindset, eat a diet with nutrition & macro/calorie balance, and lift weights, running will not make you fat.

#27

I have been bewildered by the anti jogging bent, but I actually laughed [being old and cranky does not happen often] when I realized my “jogging” Always includes hand weights or a weighted vest on a light day or one when I just want to enjoy the weather and the greenway. Semantics. I have never jogged in the popular usage after all.

#28


#29

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#30

[quote]BCFlynn wrote:
You ever see a fat sprinter? Wide Receiver? Cornerback/Safety? Nope they are all shredded from spronts. We’ve all seen fat joggers.

It’s so easy to lose weight and get in condition without jogging. Fast 1 - 2 times a week for 24 hours. Lift heavy weighs a couple of times a week, do some sprints, kettlebells, circuits or complexes a couple of times a week. Limit grains and bad carbs. Bring your lunch to work instead of getting takeout. Cut your drinking down or avoid alcohol

The only place you’ll be fatter is in your wallet[/quote]

actually you’re not taking into account some fairly obvious things…

distance running is a social event. haven’t you seen all the marathons, 5k’s, mud runs, etc. etc. that even coordinators put on for the public? they are for everyone to enjoy. therefore, you are going to see a waaaay broader range of people just out jogging.

sprints are not a social event, there are no widely announced 100m mud sprints, 100m road races, etc. etc. all sprints are available to are USATF events and someone training for a specific sport with sprints.

so the actual act of doing jogging, running, or sprinting has nothing directly to do with the look of the person. to an extent perhaps, but not in the way you suggested.

why don’t people see this?

#31

[quote]lifter85 wrote:

[quote]BCFlynn wrote:
You ever see a fat sprinter? Wide Receiver? Cornerback/Safety? Nope they are all shredded from spronts. We’ve all seen fat joggers.

It’s so easy to lose weight and get in condition without jogging. Fast 1 - 2 times a week for 24 hours. Lift heavy weighs a couple of times a week, do some sprints, kettlebells, circuits or complexes a couple of times a week. Limit grains and bad carbs. Bring your lunch to work instead of getting takeout. Cut your drinking down or avoid alcohol

The only place you’ll be fatter is in your wallet[/quote]

actually you’re not taking into account some fairly obvious things…

distance running is a social event. haven’t you seen all the marathons, 5k’s, mud runs, etc. etc. that even coordinators put on for the public? they are for everyone to enjoy. therefore, you are going to see a waaaay broader range of people just out jogging.

sprints are not a social event, there are no widely announced 100m mud sprints, 100m road races, etc. etc. all sprints are available to are USATF events and someone training for a specific sport with sprints.

so the actual act of doing jogging, running, or sprinting has nothing directly to do with the look of the person. to an extent perhaps, but not in the way you suggested.

why don’t people see this?
[/quote]

As much hate as it gets, crossfit seems to be changing that.

#32

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:

[quote]lifter85 wrote:

[quote]BCFlynn wrote:
You ever see a fat sprinter? Wide Receiver? Cornerback/Safety? Nope they are all shredded from spronts. We’ve all seen fat joggers.

It’s so easy to lose weight and get in condition without jogging. Fast 1 - 2 times a week for 24 hours. Lift heavy weighs a couple of times a week, do some sprints, kettlebells, circuits or complexes a couple of times a week. Limit grains and bad carbs. Bring your lunch to work instead of getting takeout. Cut your drinking down or avoid alcohol

The only place you’ll be fatter is in your wallet[/quote]

actually you’re not taking into account some fairly obvious things…

distance running is a social event. haven’t you seen all the marathons, 5k’s, mud runs, etc. etc. that even coordinators put on for the public? they are for everyone to enjoy. therefore, you are going to see a waaaay broader range of people just out jogging.

sprints are not a social event, there are no widely announced 100m mud sprints, 100m road races, etc. etc. all sprints are available to are USATF events and someone training for a specific sport with sprints.

so the actual act of doing jogging, running, or sprinting has nothing directly to do with the look of the person. to an extent perhaps, but not in the way you suggested.

why don’t people see this?
[/quote]

As much hate as it gets, crossfit seems to be changing that. [/quote]

I wish that was the case. There are infinitely more distance running events for every day people to partake in than crossfit events. In my state I’ve seen maybe 2 crossfit events advertised for an entire year. You can find at least 2 distance running events any given weekend, probably more. That said, I would WAY more prefer competing in some local crossfit event than a powerlifting meet.

I don’t see how anyone can stand sitting around literally for 8-10 hours to do 9 lifts. I’ve done 3 powerlifting meets so far, and they just take forrrreeevvvver. I’d enjoy pushing my limits with a mixture of lifting and cardio. And I don’t believe the injury thing; you know your own body and what you can and can’t handle.

Anyone in half way decent shape should never get injured snatching 95 lbs, even if it is for reps. That’s like asking me to pick a kid up 10 times and assuming i’m going to get injured doing so just because I’ve done other stuff before it. It’s not like you’re snatching 300 lbs for reps after running. Anyways, rant over lol

#33

In response to the entire article, I went ahead and made some very casual observations at a marathon that was held in my city recently. I was at Mile 19 of the event, and worked it for the entire day. In summary, here is what I saw…

  • NOBODY that passed my checkpoint within the first 3 hours of the event was fat. They didn’t even look “skinny-fat”. There were plenty of guys that passed me that had significant muscle mass on their frames. They were not the stereotypical marathoners that people picture. Were there guys that were super skinny?? Sure. But I was actually surprised to see how many of them were not. So…these were people that hit Mile 19 at the 3 hour mark…or just barely over 6 miles an hour. That’s roughly a 10 minute mile.

  • There were some heavier types that passed me by after that. Not a lot, but a decent handful. Most of the ones who were what anyone would call “fat” passed my checkpoint somewhere around the 5 hour mark and later. They were moving at no more than a fast walk.

So…here is my VERY unscientific conclusion. If you are able to maintain a 10 minute mile (or better) for any significant length of time, you are going to burn fat. If you just go run for 20 minutes at that pace? Probably not. But go do it for 30-40 minutes or longer? Then yes. Now…where is the point that you slow down so much that it isn’t helping? I don’t know. If it takes you 5 hours to run 19 miles, you are running at a 3.8 mph pace. That’s roughly a 16 minute mile. That’s not even a fast walk, so that’s obviously not doing it for most folks.

So, based on my horribly unproven science…no, running does NOT make you fat, as the original article stated.

I don’t care what the latest science claims, or what the latest fad is…I saw it with my own two eyes. In my opinion, the original article is BS.

#34

[quote]mapwhap wrote:
In response to the entire article, I went ahead and made some very casual observations at a marathon that was held in my city recently. I was at Mile 19 of the event, and worked it for the entire day. In summary, here is what I saw…

  • NOBODY that passed my checkpoint within the first 3 hours of the event was fat. They didn’t even look “skinny-fat”. There were plenty of guys that passed me that had significant muscle mass on their frames. They were not the stereotypical marathoners that people picture. Were there guys that were super skinny?? Sure. But I was actually surprised to see how many of them were not. So…these were people that hit Mile 19 at the 3 hour mark…or just barely over 6 miles an hour. That’s roughly a 10 minute mile.

  • There were some heavier types that passed me by after that. Not a lot, but a decent handful. Most of the ones who were what anyone would call “fat” passed my checkpoint somewhere around the 5 hour mark and later. They were moving at no more than a fast walk.

So…here is my VERY unscientific conclusion. If you are able to maintain a 10 minute mile (or better) for any significant length of time, you are going to burn fat. If you just go run for 20 minutes at that pace? Probably not. But go do it for 30-40 minutes or longer? Then yes. Now…where is the point that you slow down so much that it isn’t helping? I don’t know. If it takes you 5 hours to run 19 miles, you are running at a 3.8 mph pace. That’s roughly a 16 minute mile. That’s not even a fast walk, so that’s obviously not doing it for most folks.

So, based on my horribly unproven science…no, running does NOT make you fat, as the original article stated.

I don’t care what the latest science claims, or what the latest fad is…I saw it with my own two eyes. In my opinion, the original article is BS. [/quote]
good points, it’s important to remember that a lot of runners, in fact most don’t lift weights at all, the ones that do have decent physiques from what I’ve seen

#35

real runners, the ones that average 6 minutes or faster a mile on a 10 miler and do 800 repeats in 2:10 or faster, are not fat…i’m not even wasting my time on reading more than the post above… the OP headline is all i need to see. no, pure hard training runners arnt fat. joggers that go out and jog a mile or two then go home and eat junk food are fat. real runners, the guys and girls on your high school track and cross country team are lean and strong. tons of pushups ab work, curls militarys , if they are coached properly. college runners are the same. lean and very strong. its the fat weekend warrior guys/girls that jog at 10-15 minute mile pace that go home and eat a ton, thinking they trained a bit so they can eat that way. pure runners are very disiplined and eat well and train hard… and are pretty strong too…at least all the ones i knew during my running days…

#36

[quote]spk wrote:
real runners, the ones that average 6 minutes or faster a mile on a 10 miler and do 800 repeats in 2:10 or faster, are not fat…i’m not even wasting my time on reading more than the post above… the OP headline is all i need to see. no, pure hard training runners arnt fat. joggers that go out and jog a mile or two then go home and eat junk food are fat. real runners, the guys and girls on your high school track and cross country team are lean and strong. tons of pushups ab work, curls militarys , if they are coached properly. college runners are the same. lean and very strong. its the fat weekend warrior guys/girls that jog at 10-15 minute mile pace that go home and eat a ton, thinking they trained a bit so they can eat that way. pure runners are very disiplined and eat well and train hard… and are pretty strong too…at least all the ones i knew during my running days…[/quote]

Amen to that, BROTHER

I think the BB community pump this propaganda out because they fear demanding cardio as it shows them how unfit they really are (Not all but most of the gym texting between sets bros).

#37

mapwhap… there’s an entire correlation/causation effect that you didn’t address…

#38

spk and Chong: how ya doing guys…
A quick little history for you about american marathoning…
In 1970 NYCity had its first marathon. By 1980 they had just over 3000 participants, of which 85% finished in 3 hours or less time.
In 2010 NYCity had just over 42,000 participants, 85% finishing in over 4 Hours !

The moral is this, Yes the truly hardcore marathoners are still out there. They my be looking like Holocaust survivors (been reading Jamie Lewis again) but to their credit are Ripped to shreds even if they cannot bench half their body weight. All the others though are really just Joggers.
When someone does a MARATHON in the same amount of time Running it that it takes me to Walk it you know humanity is
in pretty Pathetic shape.

Then there is the human body as an Adaptable Machine. Do the same thing over and over and your results are going to diminish.
This is why for the 2 years on went on Louis’ westside template I went from 173# and 13%Bf to 210# and 13%Bf. My Heavy training was complimented by my explosive training, never missed a training session and did proper HIIT on top of it to keep the BF down.

I forget who it was that we lost on these forums about two years ago, but his catch phrase was: Sprint, Kill, Eat !
there ya go…

#39

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
mapwhap… there’s an entire correlation/causation effect that you didn’t address…[/quote]

I’m sorry…did you not read the parts where I emphasized that it was mere observation, and very unscientific??

The bottom line is, I do not believe the original author’s supposition to be true. I do not believe that running MAKES you fat. That is absurd to the point of being stupid. So, since I was working at the marathon anyway, I thought I’d take a look and see what passed me by.

And while I cannot state definitively that the long distance running CAUSED the folks running past me to be comparitively lean, I think I’d feel comfortable saying it was definitely a factor.

The most recent article on this topic, which essentially stated there are BETTER ways to burn fat, is likely much more accurate.

Either way, I have no dog in this fight. I run because I have to, not because I want to. People who run aren’t going to stop cos Chris Shugart or Charles Staley say it makes you fat. People who don’t want to run aren’t going to start becuase Dr. Cooper says it’s good for you.

#40

IMO running/jogging just makes you skinny , weak and better at running. I HATE RUNNING other than sprints or prowler pushes I consider it a complete waste of time.