Running and Weight-loss - How do they work together?

People are turning to many paths in the world of weight loss transformations. Some are turning to diet plans, some are turning to the gym, some are turning to fast (including IF - Intermittent Fasting), and many more.

One more path in that list has given people weight loss results. Yes, it is running and the objective of this article is to throw light on the following topics and more.

- Can running help everyone lose weight?

- How fast or slow one should run to lose weight?

- What to watch out for or look for when someone turns to run for weight loss?

Running is by far one of the most efficient ways to burn calories. But

Where would you start?

Well, let's first understand what you need to do and understand, to make running a part of your weight-loss journey.

Step 1: Before you run to lose weight, learn the sport of running. Prepare yourself, and your body so you can run without getting injured. Moderate strength training and flexibility/mobility workouts will come a long way in helping you become a good runner to start with.

Step 2: Most people do only walking and expect to see weight loss. While walking is a great way to keep your metabolism going and keep you active throughout the day (including enhancing your mood), the number of calories you burn is far less compared to what you burn in running.

Step 3: Running at the right pace is very important to see more fat burning. Zone 2 running has proven to help burn more fat than any other running zone. Running at zone 2 means you are running 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. More about running zones in a separate article.

Step 4: Running, based on how long you run, at what intensity you run, what weekly mileage you run, and how many days you run, means very different things to your weight loss results. Running about 5K to 7K at zone 2 just 2 days a week may get the best results, especially because it would not bring stress element to your physicality. You may do other training on other days.

Having understood the approaches, we will take a look at what additional insights might help you use running in the right ways to complement your weight loss.

✅ Why is zone 2 running important?

It taps into burning your fat. A faster pace or higher zone running will start to tap into your glycogen stores more than tapping into fat burning.

✅ Resistance training is way too important. Why?

It will not only give you the strength to stay uninjured in your running, but it will also help you build more muscle mass in the body, helping your body to metabolize fat more!

You can do resistance training at least 2 days a week or even 3 days. Use body weight, free weights, and resistance bands to get these workouts done.

I know many are not even able to run as they get injured more often which is becoming a huge hindrance to their possibilities of using running as a weight-loss tool. To that point, as I mentioned initially in the article, learning the sport of running is way too important.

✅ Too much running may work against you. Why?

If you have seen many runners around you who have huge bellies despite running ultramarathons, it is because of two to three things that they are doing wrong.

They are adding a lot of stress to their body system without recovering and rejuvenating their body enough. When you can't fix stress in your body system, it leads to hormonal issues that eventually lead you to bad eating habits. On top of that, if you add less sleep and more alcohol, you are DONE! Your weight loss may have even more challenges!

✅ More cardiovascular activity is not going to help. Why?

If you do too many cardiovascular activities (running, walking, cycling, or even playing badminton too many times in a week), it will actually burn muscle mass as well in your body which will lead to more fat deposits in the body. That's the reason one should do strength training at least 2 days a week to sustain a good muscle mass in the body system.

Having said these, the following is very essential in your weight loss journey.

✳️ Achieving calorie deficit

✳️ Avoiding eating highly processed and sugary food/drinks

✳️ Getting enough sleep (7 to 8 hours) per day

✳️ Drinking enough water (8 glasses at the least and not running thirsty throughout the day)

✳️ Getting enough protein in your diet

People are getting bombarded with information overflowing everywhere. It is essential to understand what are the sustainable ways which will not only help you lose weight but also help you to lead a very healthy life.

As an experienced health and wellness coach and an accomplished ultramarathon runner (author of the book BE A RUNNER FOREVER), I help individuals to achieve their wellness goals - Running, Fitness, Diet & Nutrition, Weight Management, and Diabetes Reversal. You can reach out to me for a free consultation.

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