Lose Weight by Running

If your goal is to lose weight by running, there are some things to keep in mind before you embark on your journey. First off is to do a reality check about your current fitness level and set realistic goals. Second, you need to take the precautions necessary to avoid injury. Finally, how do you stay the course and keep focused once the initial gung-ho spirit wears off? Consistency is the key to weight loss, so these last two points are of great importance to anyone attempting to lose weight by running.

Reality Check

If you're relatively healthy and just happen to carry a few extra pounds, you're probably okay to hit the jogging trail pretty much right away. If you have a medical condition, or you're obese and haven't done any exercise for a couple years, you have to ramp up your efforts gradually instead. Start with brisk walks and work your weight up over time, but get clearance with your doctor first.

A healthy person can safely lose one to two pounds of actual fat per week through smart eating and training. Any more than that and odds are you're merely losing water and/or muscle mass.

One pound of fat is roughly 3,500 calories, so if you eat the same as before, you'll have to burn off an average of 500 extra calories per day to hit the one pound per week mark.

For a 140 lb female, a one-hour jog at a leisurely six mph may burn about 600 calories. A 200 lb male clocks closer to 900 calories running that distance at the same speed, meaning the woman would have to hit the trail six days a week while the man could get away with four times to achieve the same result.

Of course, there are other factors in play as well, such as age, natural hormone levels and so forth, but this should serve as a rough estimate.

Avoiding Injury

Nothing throws off the most well-intentioned effort as a nasty injury. You should never train with aching knee joints or burning Achilles tendons, so the key is to not get in that situation in the first place.

• Get good shoes. Not the $10 bargains, but quality shoes fitted for you at a store where the clerks have a clue and are knowledgeable about footwear.
• Don't push it. Muscle soreness is one thing, the twinge of budding joint problems is quite another. If a joint is starting to give you trouble, take an extra day or two off rather than risk putting yourself on the sidelines for a month.
• Never forget to warm up properly. A cold and stiff muscle is much more prone to problems than a warmed up muscle.
• Cool down and stretch properly after each workout. Failure to do so may cause shortening of the muscles, which in turn cranks up the risk of future pulls and sprains exponentially.

Staying Motivated to Lose Weight by Running

The greatest motivator for continued effort is results. Thus, make it a point to track your progress closely. After all, if you can see that you lost five pounds last month and another three pounds so far this month, the temptation of blowing off the scheduled runs in favor of pizza and beer in front of the TV shrinks considerably.

Weigh yourself before breakfast each Monday morning, noting the weight on a chart on the bathroom wall above the scale. Next, bring out the measuring tape and note your waist circumference next to your weight. If both decrease in lockstep, you're on the path to progress. If the weight drops and the waist stays the same, you may want to increase weight training a little so as to avoid muscle loss.

Finally, one of the simplest yet effective motivational boosters is to team up with someone else, preferably someone in slightly better shape than you. Having someone wait for you at the park makes it that much harder to fudge an excuse not to hit the trail that day. Good luck!

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