The right way to run for weight loss...finally!

I don't know about you but I have a love/hate relationship with running. On the one hand I love it! It gives me such a sense of accomplishment to say "oh yeah, I just ran a 'couple' miles this morning" to folks, or to race across the finish line of a 5k or half marathon and collect my medal or t-shirt. On the other hand, it's tough! I hate it! Some days go by and my treadmill is my biggest enemy. I look down after what seems like hours to find I've only run for 10 minutes and have barely been a mile.

 

The other thing that makes me hate running is that no matter how much I run, I don't tend to see the weight loss that I notice from other exercise. Sure I feel more toned but as far as pounds/fat loss, I don't always notice it.

For years I have run anyway, again 5k=free t-shirt, but I really struggled with what I perceived to be the lack of benefits. That is until I ran (get it?) across this article from Women's Running. It talks about the good, the bad, and the ugly of running. Lots of great info about the right way to run for weight and fat loss.

One of the things that I am so glad the article mentioned is the fact that running makes you hungry for good reasons: to avoid injury and fatigue. I believe in listening to my body so the fact that I was hungry more while running meant that I was eating more but had misgivings about since I was trying to run to get more fit.

The article gives a great 8-week guide for running in order to lose weight. The 3 keys for running for weight loss are these:

1. Runs that burn fat
2. Sprints
3. Strength-training

This article does a great job of laying out facts and an easy to use plan that is not too difficult to stick to whether on the road or a treadmill. One final thought from the article is that Women's Running is honest in saying that running is not the most effective method for weight loss. So if running isn't your thing and (like my husband) crossing the finish line doesn't give you a buzz that lasts all week through those tough miles, than you may want to research and find some different ways to lose those pounds and tone up. But as for me, I think I'll stick to that fantastic sense of accomplishment I feel when I cross the finish. Even if I have to work a little harder on the weight-loss end of things.