Am I too fat to run?

Am I too fat to run?

If you are here it's because you are searching for an answer!

I'm excited because if you are curious for an answer it means you want to learn to run, continue to run, eliminate fears about running as a overweight/obese person and I'm excited to help you overcome the fear and doubt ♥

Let me tell you right now "YES YOU CAN RUN and NO you are NOT too Fat!!"


So who is your naysayer?

• Yourself: The voice inside your head that fixates on how uncomfortable it is to run. Questioning and creating doubt/fear if the ache or discomfort equates to the decision that it's not good to feel that way.

• A primary doctor: listen closely to your doctor. if you have a medical condition that will worsen because you run then you should listen to your doctor. Follow your doctors instruction: I caution you to fully understand why the doctor feels you should not run. Is it because he does not like the wear/tear on your legs/hips/knees/feet etc. Or is it more justifiable as in you have a heart condition and you could die. Perhaps you suffer from a metabolic disorder or have a seizure disorder that is triggered with physical stress and again puts you in danger.

• Physical therapist: You have been diagnosed with a medical problem and they are insisting on you resting.

• Friends & Family....STRANGERS?-  People that don't understand the need or desire to run. They don't understand or respect the sport and they are not clear about the truth and realities with running.

How do you handle your naysayers:

• Yourself: The voice inside your head is normal. You are overweight/obese and you feel more than the average runner. Understand that you a superior to the thin person learning to run. You are extra-ordinary and because of that I want to comfort you in the notion that it's normal and ok to feel a little extra stress on your body from running. There are concrete differences between running with ache/discomfort vs pain. The burn of your lungs, the burn of your legs all very normal. The extra stiffness in your joints and the burden on your back or belly from the extra weight is extra-ordinary but common amongst the overweight runners. This is normal. You will need extra recovery time. You will need extra support from those that have been there and done that. You will need guidance from me as your coach to help you determine if what you are feeling is normal or abnormal. As your coach I will help you determine if you should take extra day off between running or if you should push forward with your training. I will teach you that moving out of your comfort zone is vital for success in your weight loss and running journey! Very normal *you can breathe now!!*

• Your Primary Doctor- Be thorough with your doctor. You can have an amazing and intelligent doctor and they can give you the best medical sound advice they deem appropriate for you! Listen to their advice and understand clearly why they feel that way about running for you. Decide if that decision is based upon their feelings toward running in general or if that feel that way about running just for you! I am going to tell you right now there are doctors out there against running. You can choose to listen to them or find that loves running and supports your desire to learn to run! (I will say my Doctor is a life-long runners and he gets my passion, supports me and talks to me all the time about running, if he told me stop running because I had a serious medical condition that would cause me to die then I would stop and listen!)

• Physical Therapist: I feel a physical therapist should never tell you what to do in regards to your running. They are NOT your doctor. They are NOT anything other than a person that should be guiding you back toward better health with physical rehabilitation. Trust me when I say they see only HURT patients from sports! If you see injured runners all day long you may advice against running as well!  I feel confidently that their job is to rehabilitate you and then teach you how to have proper form mechanics if they are qualified and further more teach you how to run while reducing your risk for injury. Stretching methods and ways to improve your muscle strength so that you can reduce the wear/tear against ligaments and tears.

I have running friends by the dozens that have experienced a medical professional telling them they have to stop running, must stop running and never run again forever! Guess what they do? They get a second opinion, they find a doctor that advocates for them to run, they give them support and health advice to keep them running with strength and safety etc. I have friends that doctors that refuse to repair an injury so they can get back to running, yet they go to a second doctor and their surgery is performed the following week.

The question comes down to YOU!! You are going to Decide to "Run" your Life or let someone do it for you!


What is Normal Feelings for an obese/overweight runner

• lungs burning
• belly/but/boobie bouncing that feels intrusive
• out of breath
• racing heart beat
• fatigue
• burning in your throat
• coughing
• aches in joints, knees, shins, feet that may require more recovery time and pro-active steps to ensure longetivity

Please Trust me as your body becomes accustomed to Running the quads will strengthen, your ligmanets and tendons will be accustomed to a new fitness routine and  you will be losing weight, it all becomes easier and easier!

Cautions & Red Flags for Aches or Pains