Although running to lose weight is not for everyone, but if you are capable of running, then you will find tremendous benefits. To get the most out of your running exercise, it is important that you follow a few, simple guidelines. After all, you want each running outing to be effective, but also enjoyable. The great thing about using running to lose weight is that you can do it wherever you go. Therefore, if you travel, you can still find a place to run. If it were raining, an indoor treadmill would be the ideal solution.

Running to lose weight has been a favorite option for millions of people. Something about getting outdoors in the fresh air is invigorating, boosting a person’s level of energy and clearing the mind. While you could use a number of exercises to drop pounds, running to lose weight works exceptionally well, while building up lean muscle and improving the heart and lungs.

As mentioned, if you are going to use running to lose weight, you want to do it the right way. The information below will help you with the various decisions needing to be made.

Proper Running Attire

While running to lose weight should be fun, if you were not wearing the right attire or shoes, you will find the experience a miserable one. The last thing you want to do is come home with a foot full of blisters or sick from not having enough layers on. It is important to wear clothing that provides ventilation, but also clothing that is not too hot or too cool.

Additionally, we strongly recommend that you invest in two to three pairs of high quality running shoes. Then, alternate the shoes each time you go out running to lose weight. This will make your feet more comfortable while reducing the risk of chin splints.

Carbohydrates and Protein

Before you go out running to lose weight, it is important to fuel the body. For this, you should eat a little bit of carbohydrates about 30 to 45 minutes ahead of time. A great option would be a cup of cooked pasta, topped with a little bit of protein in the form of chicken or cheese.

Safety

Of course, whether you plan to go running to lose weight during the day or nighttime hours, you always want to put safety first. Sure, listening to an MP3 player or iPod makes the time go faster but it also blocks out your hearing. Unfortunately, many people have been attacked while running and listening to music, having been snuck up on from behind. Instead, stay in populated areas, use well-lit roads, parks, or paths, avoid the headphones, and if possible, run with a friend or dog.

Remember, in addition to running to lose weight, you can also incorporate various forms of exercise, breaking up the routine to make it more interesting. For example, you might start running to lose weight on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then bike, swim, or hike on Tuesday and Thursday.

In addition, for the greatest success, it is imperative that you start on a healthy diet, trying to keep calorie intake between 1,200 and 1,500 daily. By choosing the right foods, especially those high in fiber that will make you feel full, you will actually eat more but with fewer calories

By using running to lose weight, you will easily burn 200 to 300 calories every day. When you add that up over the course of a week, you have lost one to two pounds, which is considered a healthy weight loss goal. Keep in mind that a pound is equivalent to 3,500 calories. Therefore, if you can use running to lose weight along with other exercise options and a diet of fewer calories, you can be certain the pounds will begin to fade.

In addition to enjoying the benefits to the body by running to lose weight, you will also enjoy benefits for the mind. Running is an excellent way to de-stress and relax. Since stress has also been shown to have a direct link to weight gain, by reducing stress, you have just found yet another benefit of this type of exercise.

By John Mcewen
FatBurn4Idiots.com

Use Running to Lose Weight

If there is one thing I didn’t want to do as a young man was loose weight. My nick name at school was Stick. Others were Skinny Ribs and Skelator. There were a couple of reasons why I was so thin. One was simply because I was full of energy and always running around, and the other must have been down to me having an ultra fast metabolism. Oh how I hated those nicknames back then, but I would have loved to have them back once I hit my mid 40’s as I became as fat as a barrel. Alas, I was to become a couch potato and my poor ole metabolism began to slow down with age. But I did eventually find a solution to the middle age spread and that was simply by running to lose weight.

The thing I like so much about running to lose weight is that it’s easy. Apart from decent footwear there are no machines, gyms, or other fitness expenses to suffer. It can be practiced at your own pace, in your own time, at a schedule that suits you. There is a downside though which is I sometimes have to miss my run if there’s a torrential downpour or worse still a snow storm. But even with the unpredictable elements, there are very few days lost to inclement weather conditions.

Running to lose weight and to get into shape gets a bad wrap from some fitness gurus as being hard on the joints. No one can argue that poor footwear slapping down on hard concrete won’t take its toll over time, but with a good quality pair of running shoes and a nice grass surface, no one is going to be turning into a cripple overnight. As I’m neither practicing for nor running a marathon here, the harm is done by this form of exercise. 20 minutes of running or gentle jogging every other day has seen a healthy steady weigh loss with this Fatty Arbuckle and as a bonus to shedding those pounds, I feel absolutely fantastic too.

On average I lost around 2 Kg a week for 3 months then the weight loss became much more gradual after that. My obvious physical appearance changed in a relatively short space of time which impressed my neighbor so much that he now accompanies me on my runs most days, and the weight is dropping off him just as it did with me.

I will just finish by saying that I have not been on any kind of diet regime. I’ve always enjoyed my meat and 2 veg and continue to eat as much, if not a little more, than I did before I began running to loose weight. Having said that, I’ve never been a fast food junkie, nor do I have a sweet tooth, but I do get stuck into big helpings at meal times. So for me, loosing weight was not so much about putting less in my mouth and getting more exercise, but more to do with just the exercise bit. Everyone is different, and only you know what you have to do, but what I can say is that running to lose weight has really worked for me and my neighbor Roger D.

Bye the way, if you don’t fancy the outdoor jogging scene, you can always use a treadmill instead. Just remember, if you’re serious about losing weight, there are only 2 times when you really need to exercise – One is when you want to, and the other is when you don’t! Get out of that one if you can!

Andy Maingam