Is running causing me to gain muscle instead of loosing weight??!

Is running causing me to gain muscle instead of loosing weight??

Hi! Almost a week ago I began to run everyday for about 30-45 min and changed my eating habbits. Along with running, I do ab workouts and such for another 15 min. I am 17 years old, 5'8, and about 131 lbs. I know this is a healthy weight, but I hardly do physical activity and i don't eat as well as i should. I have def. cut way back on how much junk food i eat, but still have noticed no change at all. My goal is to lose atleast 5 lbs. I do not want to gain muscle weight. Do you think running is causing me to gain muscle and should i not do it everyday?? Or will i eventually loose weight? I need advice..thanks!

You have only been running for a week and it is very unlikely that you would see any significant changes in muscle mass in that time. Is there some reason the weight number is important to you? How you look and feel is a lot more important thatn the number. I would suggest that even if you do wind up gaining muscle weight (actually a very difficult thing to do with low intensity aerobic training you outline), you will look better and feel stronger. Any gains in muscle will also increase your resting metabolic rate (the bigger engine burns more fuel, even at rest)..

If you have real need to focus on the number, 3500 calories per pound of fat is the magic number. As long as your combination of exercise and calorie reduction eliminate that amount, you will burn up a pound of fat.

However most people way over estimate the amount of calories burned during exercise because it feels so hard. It is possible to achieve a burn rate of 1000 calories per hour through running but would require you to maintain an average speed of 6 min/mile (or 10 mph) for the entire hour. I can't even reach this speed for 1 mile. At a more reasonable 10min/mile you burn about 500 calories per hour. If you could run 10min/mile for an hour a day, in one week you could lose 1 pound of fat. This is quite an intense workout plan. Note that the scale might lie to you and tell you different stories because water weighs a lot. If you drink a lot or are dehydrated before weighing, the hourlty variance in your weight due to water will greatly overshadow any fat loss weight changes within a week.

If its that hard to lose a pound of fat, how hard do you think it would be to create a pound of muscle?

You might want to increase your time horizon and think more about making gradual changes to prevent injury and encourage longevity. Especially at the start of an exercise program, most people succumb because they push too hard in the first few weeks and then just stop. In order to avoid burn out and injury, it might be wise to cut back on the amount of running and ramp up at a maximum of 10% of time or mileage per week. I have found that the muscles and aerobic system adapt far more quickly than the joints and bones (feet, ankles, knee problems can quickly sideline you and interfere with normal life too).

Good Luck with your fitness and health goals!