Running to Lose Weight

Many people believe that running to lose weight is both the best and fastest way to lose weight. Running health benefits include boosting energy levels, improving fitness, weight maintenance and the health of both your heart and lungs. The calories burned when running are high, 10 kcal/min on average (use our running calculator below to check, as it will vary depending on your weight).




A Running training schedule – 30 minutes 3 times per week - helps many people to control their weight, but whilst it is one of the best exercises for weight management, it is not necessarily the best exercise to lose weight especially for overweight and unfit people.

If you start running to lose weight when you are overweight, there is a high probability of injuring yourself, as there will be massive pressure on the knee joints and ankles under the full weight of the body when the feet hit the ground. Injuring yourself and not being able to exercise for a few weeks is not a good start!

Walking exercises, swimming or rowing are more suitable for you.

Running to Lose Weight, Lose Weight by Running, Calories Burned Running

The body burns more energy (carbs) when you do speed training workouts such as running, aerobics, etc, so even though you burn more calories, 90% of those calories burned will be from carbohydrates – so it is not going to impact fat loss – as only 10% will be from fat burning. Also, carbs burned in such quantities will increase your appetite – this is another reason that to lose weight by running is not recommended for beginners.

How much fat you burn during exercise depends on the ability of your cardiovascular system to deliver the oxygenated blood to the fat cells for sufficient fat burning. When we exercise, blood delivers oxygen through capillaries and arteries faster. 
Professional runners are able to utilise oxygen even during an intense running training program as both their breathing during exercise and muscles have will have adapted. Their trained, toned muscles will have developed twice as many blood capillaries which supplies the oxygen to the fat cells, when compared to an average person. More oxygen means more fat burn – this is their secret of a lean body.

Once you have toned your muscles and improved your fitness levels, you would not only burn extra calories by running but would be able to burn fat directly, the same as professional runners do!

Overweight people should lose some weight and improve their fitness before they start running. Walking to lose weight would be more suitable to start with, also start improving your fitness slowly and learn how to start running - Beginners Running Program.






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