So how do you lose weight by running? A pound of body fat contains 3,500 calories.
Covering a mile on foot, either by walking or running, burns approximately 100 calories. The exact number depends on your weight, the terrain you cover, your fitness, and other factors, but the difference is small enough that 100 calories per mile is an applicable figure for all people. At the most basic level, you lose one pound of body fat for every 35 miles you run.
I know what you’re thinking: That’s a lot of running just to lose one pound! Isn’t there anything you can do to speed the process? Yes, there is. Let’s look at the math more carefully. OK, so you burn 100 calories per mile. Say you’re running 10 miles per week. You’re creating a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories per week, so it will take you about three and a half weeks to burn a pound of body fat through running alone.
But what if you make a few changes in your diet at the same time? What if you cut out that sugar-laden soda?
There’s 150 calories right there. What if you eat a banana instead of a chocolate chip cookie at lunch?
There’s another couple of hundred calories saved. Yes, you’ve probably tried dieting before, and it didn’t work for you. That’s not what I recommending here. Diets alone don’t work. Continually denying yourself is too hard, and it’s also not a healthy way to live. But combine a few small changes a day in your diet with exercise, and things are different. Suppose you combine running 10 miles a week with making good “food trades” that save you 300 calories a day. Suddenly, you’re at a calorie deficit of more than 3,000 per week, or nearly enough to lose one pound a week. That’s a safe level of weight loss. If you lose four to five pounds per month, it starts adding up.
Making running, not dieting, the main focus of your weight-loss program works in part because you’re doing something positive (running) to shed the pounds rather than not doing something fun (eating). If you follow my advice in this book, then you’ll come to enjoy your running, and the lost weight will be just one of the many things that you value it for.
In addition, exercise, not diet, is the way to go because after you work out, your metabolism remains elevated for hours. One study found that after an easy hour run, subjects were still burning calories at an accelerated rate more than seven hours later! Even after a 30-minute run, their metabolism was revved up for two hours after finishing. So by running, you’re burning extra calories even when you’re at rest. That doesn’t happen with dieting. In fact, the opposite does. Also, every bit of muscle that you gain with your running helps you to lose weight. Muscles burn more calories at rest than fat does.
Covering a mile on foot, either by walking or running, burns approximately 100 calories. The exact number depends on your weight, the terrain you cover, your fitness, and other factors, but the difference is small enough that 100 calories per mile is an applicable figure for all people. At the most basic level, you lose one pound of body fat for every 35 miles you run.
I know what you’re thinking: That’s a lot of running just to lose one pound! Isn’t there anything you can do to speed the process? Yes, there is. Let’s look at the math more carefully. OK, so you burn 100 calories per mile. Say you’re running 10 miles per week. You’re creating a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories per week, so it will take you about three and a half weeks to burn a pound of body fat through running alone.
But what if you make a few changes in your diet at the same time? What if you cut out that sugar-laden soda?
There’s 150 calories right there. What if you eat a banana instead of a chocolate chip cookie at lunch?
There’s another couple of hundred calories saved. Yes, you’ve probably tried dieting before, and it didn’t work for you. That’s not what I recommending here. Diets alone don’t work. Continually denying yourself is too hard, and it’s also not a healthy way to live. But combine a few small changes a day in your diet with exercise, and things are different. Suppose you combine running 10 miles a week with making good “food trades” that save you 300 calories a day. Suddenly, you’re at a calorie deficit of more than 3,000 per week, or nearly enough to lose one pound a week. That’s a safe level of weight loss. If you lose four to five pounds per month, it starts adding up.
Making running, not dieting, the main focus of your weight-loss program works in part because you’re doing something positive (running) to shed the pounds rather than not doing something fun (eating). If you follow my advice in this book, then you’ll come to enjoy your running, and the lost weight will be just one of the many things that you value it for.
In addition, exercise, not diet, is the way to go because after you work out, your metabolism remains elevated for hours. One study found that after an easy hour run, subjects were still burning calories at an accelerated rate more than seven hours later! Even after a 30-minute run, their metabolism was revved up for two hours after finishing. So by running, you’re burning extra calories even when you’re at rest. That doesn’t happen with dieting. In fact, the opposite does. Also, every bit of muscle that you gain with your running helps you to lose weight. Muscles burn more calories at rest than fat does.
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