I usually run 9-10 miles outside 4 times a week then use the elliptical at the gym 2 times a week for a hour.
for the past month I've been running on the treadmill due to weather and knee issues. But only for a hour a total of 7 miles about 5 times a week. I use the 10k setting so the incline changes throughout the workout.
Whats odd is that my weight suddenly dropped 10 pounds. I'm not complaining but I actually thought I'd gain weight from reducing milage.
I haven't changed my diet either.
I was wondering if anyone might have an idea why I wouldn't lose weight at a higher milage?

Since it's winter and it's cold out, you could be drinking much less water and dehydrating yourself. Then, you run these distances with little water in your body, you drink a little, and you stay dehydrated. 10 pounds of water could easily come from that.

Compared to the tread climber, various elliptical trainers, stationary bikes etc.

I do a lot of gym and fitness work and I despise treadmills!
Running is a fantastic cardio but stay away from treadmills, buy a decent pair of running shoes and go jogging outside!

Another great exercise which actually uses the most muscles is swimming, it is good for cardio and will burn carbs!

if I run 7 miles in a hour with a incline of 1% is it as effective for weight loss as running outside?

Sure. I assume you mean is running 7 MPh for 60 minute @ a % incline the same as running 7 miles in 60 minutes outdoors. If so, the answer is yes. Running on a treadmill uses less energy because the treadmill moves the Ground for you and because you don't have any wind resistance, but adding the 1% incline compensates for this and makes it basically equal.

Is there anything that would be better than running 3 miles daily?

As long as you are burning more calories than you take in you will lose weight. Eat healthy and if you can run 3 miles a day good for you that works!

24 yo male, 6′. I started running frequently again a few months ago and my weight is around 180lbs down from ~192lbs. This doesn’t seem like much of a decrease however my waist has gone from about 37″ to 33″ (a substantial difference).

Could this be due to muscle weight gain in my legs?? Usually a loss of 4″ is indicative a larger weight loss than about 10lbs.

Any similar anecdotes or ideas?

Hey, I was a runner for 7 years and but because of my genes I gained muscular legs with definition quicker than anyone else did. Running does make you lose body fat and/or weight but this is not caused by your muscle weight gain in your legs. Look at your family genetics. If family members have big legs or muscular legs, we’ll you’re stuck with them. Running shapes & defines your entire leg and melts off body fat and shrinks your upper body.

I want to lose some weight and tone my lower body. I use the treadmills at the gym. Is it better to run/jog or walk on the treadmill to achiee this? Or is it better to use an elliptical?

Mix it up. Do some interval training. Walk for a few minutes then jog for a few and go back and forth. Interval training provides maximum results! Also add some big incline for a challenge. If you go the same distance for running or walking you are burning the same amount of calories. Keep it interesting which will keep you from getting bored with your workout. Do the elliptical too. Use all the cardio machines for the best cross training. Just switch which days you do them. Good luck!

I am a 27 year old male, 5′10″ and weigh 295lbs. I have lost and gained large amounts of weight in my life thus far, and am gearing up for another big weight loss push. Ironically, I don’t like weight lifting and have always prefered running. You wouldn’t think for a guy my size, but I’ve always like it. Monday, I started running again, and I was able to run a 10 minute mile before having to walk and rest. I know 10 minutes is not a great time for a mile, but hey, you don’t weigh 295lbs. This morning was my 3rd morning running 1 mile, and then walk / jog about another mile after that, and I felt very week this time. My legs my back, everything. Mind you, I’m not saying that I was sore, because I understand the difference. My legs and low back were just very fatigued. What I’m worried about is, I don’t want to push my body to breaking down muscle, so I’m making sure to not eliminate carbs from my diet, but not go overboard either as to facilitate fat loss. An open ended question like this makes for 2 page answers, so let me tell you already what I understand about the body and fat burning. I understand that the best way to burn fat is to build a more muscular body that naturally burns more calories at rest, and that cardio does not do this. Also, I understand that cardio does not burn fat while in the act, because it needs a faster source of energy, that being carbs which are easily turned into glucose. Running is the only thing that I enjoy and would be able to stick with long term. So I need to leverage that to help with the weight loss. What I need is practical advice to apply my love of running most effectively towards the goal of burning fat. I would expect that diet would be a integral part of this undertaking.

So what diet would you recommend, (carbs to protein ratio) etc..
What workout schedule should I use here in the beginning?
What workout schedule should I use 3-6 months down the road?
Should I work to improve my the time of my mile, or just focus on lengthening distance without walking?

Watchfully analyze the calorie suggestions of any diet program earlier than you start it. You will almost certainly find out that 95% of diet programs have you cut your calories to “starvation” degrees. Extremely low calorie diets will have an effect on weight loss at the start, unfortunately not for long.

The human body always automatically strives to sustain an outstanding condition of balance: metabolism, body temperature, blood sugar, hormone levels, acid-alkaline balance and each additional system in the body, are all normalized within a narrow range that your body gets secure and comfortable.

As we know that the human body is very intelligent, it has abilities to constantly maintain all of these balances automatically even when we sleep.

Whenever you make a radical action with intention to formulate immediate change such as very fast weight loss, your metabolism in cybernetic regulate it to maintain stability in energy balance, very similar system as a thermostat maintains the temperature of your home in a desirable range.

Whenever you are at risk of starving, naturally your body immediately responses this condition, it is well-known as “the starvation response”. In this circumstance your body will suddenly regulate your metabolic rate downward similar to a thermostat, which means you burn fewer calories.

Extremely low calories diets can basically make you fatter. It is physiologically impracticable to achieve ‘permanent’ fat loss and lean body by starving yourself.

The only way to achieve permanent fat loss and retain it forever is to decrease your calories faintly and increase your activity greatly. It is always much more improved burn the fat than attempt to starve the fat on behalf of successfully lose your fat permanently.

I am on a very serious diet and I am highly determined about losing weight. I already started a few weeks ago.
From what I know, the more you exercise the more you weight you lose.

If I run once in the morning and once in the evening wouldn’t that help me lose more weight faster? Of course I rest two days a week. When I run, I do 2 miles on the treadmill now, but I want to do 4 miles a day now, half morning half evening.
Please give me helpful and sincere advice.

Depends on how 'serious' your diet is. You need a lifestyle change not a 'diet'. Because as soon as you go off your 'diet', you will gain all of the weight back. You need a healthy eating plan full of lean proteins, complex carbs, veg (especially leafy greens), fruit, and lots of water. No excess sugars and fats. You'll need a lot of calories to support a runners lifestyle.

As far as cardio goes: You need 1 hour a day minimum of cardio. 2 hours would be fine if you're active and you're eating a healthy and full enough diet to compensate for it. Treadmills are crap though, you're 10x better off running outside.

run quickly over a shorter distance or do a slow jog for a longer amount of time? Or both?!

Two factors here.
1) How many caloreis you are going to burn. 2) What mix of fat/free glucose you are going to burn.

Your body burns the same calories covering a set distance no matter the speed. The difference comes after you are done running. The faster you run the longer your metabolism stays elevated.

The other side of this is that the less calories you are burning the higher percentage of that burn is fat. You burn the highest percentage of fat when you are sleeping.

So, first make sure you are lifting as well as running. The muscles you build are what continue to burn calories while you are resting.

I would recommend that you do run walk combinations for weight loss. Start out walking 2 or 3 minutes. Run for 1 minute at a pace that allows you to carry on a conversation, then walk for 30 seconds. After you can keep this up for 30 minutes, up the run to 1.5 minutes, then 2, then 5minutes with a 1 minute walk, the add a minute of running until you are running for 10 minutes, then start lowering the 1 min down by 15 second increments.

You also really need to eat healthier. Balanced meals. Broccoli, Spinach and oatmeal are magical at helping to loss weight.

Do you know of anyone who lost alot of weight (10+ pounds?) through running/walking? Or, have you came across any pictures of anyone who has?

Thanks in advance!

I was 250lbs, then i started running, going to the gym and eating right now im down too 207lbs and 7.9% bodyfat.

That took me around 15 weeks.