How can you possibly train for a marathon and not burn a massive # of calories every week?

PQ – I think it’s more about the quality of exercise. When you do something like high intensity interval training, your metabolic rate increases for a period after your exercise. That doesn’t happen with marathon training (as far as I know). I think runners also typically eat more to compensate for the exercise they’re doing, so you don’t get much of an added benefit for running a lot of miles because you’re going to have to eat more and more to avoid hitting “the wall.”

Those of us who are fans of dead baby jokes would disagree….

So proud of you signing up for your FIRST (not last) half-marathon. I’ve run two fulls and six halves this year 50 lbs. overweight, and I can attest it’s not about losing the weight but the amazing experiences training and at the race!

I’m also leery of the fat acceptance movement. VO2 max is not the only marker of fitness. It comes down to what you want out of fitness – heart capacity is a big one, but also bone mass, functional capacity, longevity risk are other measurements.

Finally, I think the biggest myth of all is that exercise can make you lose weight. Food intake is far and away the most important component of weight loss. Here’s one explanation of it:

http://skwigg.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/1760110/weight-loss-from-exercise-only/

The only thing that put me off was including Uta Pippig in the program. She was caught red handed for doping in the 90′s – and consequently barred from running.

Totally disappointing since she was a great athlete. Drugged, but great.

You may not have enjoyed your office yoga, but try a different class! Yoga’s physical and emotional benefits complement running & weight loss. Yoga helped me survive the stress of graduate school AND the rigors of triathlon training.

I had 42% bodyfat, but my cardiovascular fitness was above average and my resting heart rate was in the “professional athlete” range (a big joke to anyone who knows me). That’s not to say I was incredibly fit, because my muscles still started to complain after about half an hour of cardio, but I was starting with an advantage.

That does sound like a really inspiring programme, although I do not want to hear any details about the bits of glass. Don’t you go treading on any!

I completely agree with the post about the best exercise being the one you will do. There are many benefits from exercise beside weight loss, and just about any form of exercise is better than no exercise.