Jogging Related Questions

Question
Hi Jared,

Firstly let me tell you somethings that I think I ought to tell you before I ask my questions:

I am 40 (age), about 6 feet tall, 205 Lb (weight), taking medicine for mild hypertension. The nature of my work is mostly office work (mostly sitting in front of the computer).
About four months ago I thought maybe jogging/running for about an hour might help me reduce my weight. Besides it would be make a great fitness routine. So I started with walking and gradually slipped in a little jogging in there. So as it stands today I walk for about 30 minutes at the speed of about 4.5 miles/hr and 30 minutes jogging at about 6.4 miles/hr. That way I cover a distance of about 5.5 miles in the hour I walk/jog.

Okay, now my questions:
1. I haven't seen any significant weight loss in the four months. May be a couple of pounds. Does it mean that I need to alter my diet so as to see some results in terms of weight loss ? And if yes, what changes do I need to make in my diet so as to lose some weight ?
2. As I transitioned from walking to jogging, I realized that my ability to jog was way less then my ability to walk. About two months ago, I could walk for about 6.5 miles and be okay after that (i mean no pain). But I could bearly jog a mile. So I started jogging with my comfort level and increased the time in small increments. And I have reached the current levels. Is this pretty much how one does it ? Or is there a better way to increase my jogging time (and reduce my walking time). That way I will burn more calories in the one hour I got.
3. If I can reach my goal of jogging for an hour, then i would like to convert the jogging into running. is the best way to getting into a one hour running mode ?
4. Are there any breathing techniques while I jog ? I found that taking intermittent deep breaths seem to help me get through with relative ease. Is it true or just my imagination ?
5. Are there are any techniques on how much space between legs and which part of the foot touches the ground first ?
6. Any recommendations for supporting diet and exercises that I might consider to reach y goal more effectively ?

Thanks in advance.

Anil

Answer
Thanks for a well organized question!

1. That's exactly what it means. It's harder to lose weight while you're older, and half the answer is diet. Most people only do one half. Either exercise without dieting, or dieting without exercising. But when you put them together, it's like a magic bean.

When you run, you burn carbohydrates. First the complex carbs, (not for awhile, just the last energy bar you ate) and primarily the glycogen storage in your liver. After you burn the glycogen carbs, your bodies next choice of fuel is fat.
So when you're running that sweet hour, all you're burning is the carb storage in your liver. And guess what? You go home and eat more carbs, and put them back in your liver so that the next time you run, the same thing happens.
The key to weight loss is to get past the carb burning stage and into the fat burning stage. How do you do that? Either by running for an hour and wiping out your glycogen storage, and then burning fat for the next hour, or doing your workout, going home, not replenishing your carb storage, and the next day when you get up for work, you'll be burning fat just by walking. You'll be burning fat when you're sleeping. So What do you thing will be happening when you run? It's like fat burning steroids!
I've lost up to 8 or 9 lbs. in 24 hours by doing this.

The catch is, it's not easy. This means no breads. You might not think it's hard, but try it. You'll be stuck with veggies, fruits, and meats. And water. But remember: while it is hard, you'll lose wight incredibly.


2. You git it. Just do more jogging and less walking. No better way to do it. But of course, jogging is going to be harder than walking. Keep working at it.

3. Don't worry about it. Keep up what you'
re doing, and eventually you'll be able to jog that hour. And from there, you'll only get faster and better at it. There are some more techniques you need to consider to do this though after you are ready to start running faster. But before you plan that, you gotta lose that weight first.

4 and 5. The best technique for your jogging is how you naturally do it. If you try to concentrate and think about how you're running or breathing, it's wrong. Unless you have a really weird stride or anything, the way you naturally run is the best.