Running to lose weight is one of the single most popular reasons that people take up the sport, for good reason. Look around the next time you find yourself at a road race. See many overweight people finishing the race? That’s not meant to imply that only runners who finish races lose weight. I just wanted to reinforce what most people know intuitively—regular runners are less likely to have problems with their weight than most people. That fact is important to remember if losing weight is one of your main motivations to start running. Why? Because although weight loss through running can be dramatic, it takes time.
Nearly all of our society is based on quick results and instant gratification. Need cash? There’s an ATM around the corner. Article in the morning paper bother you? Fire off an e-mail to the editor. Dying to know the temperature in Outer Mongolia? Just turn on The Weather Channel. I’m all in favor of convenience. Unfortunately, though, the notion that everything can and should happen quickly has crept into areas of our lives where that’s just not how things happen. Those areas include weight loss. Although seemingly half the magazines in the world carry the line, “Lose 10 pounds before breakfast!” on their covers, that’s just not how it works. If losing weight were that easy, then more than half of Americans wouldn’t be overweight. Taking off your extra flab takes time and patience. After all, you didn’t gain your spare tire overnight, so you shouldn’t expect to lose it overnight.
Depressed yet? Don’t be. As I said, most people know that regular runners are less likely to be overweight. I’ll spend pretty much the rest of this book showing you various ways to become and remain a regular runner. Do that and some (if not all) of the extra weight that you may be carrying around will disappear.
Nearly all of our society is based on quick results and instant gratification. Need cash? There’s an ATM around the corner. Article in the morning paper bother you? Fire off an e-mail to the editor. Dying to know the temperature in Outer Mongolia? Just turn on The Weather Channel. I’m all in favor of convenience. Unfortunately, though, the notion that everything can and should happen quickly has crept into areas of our lives where that’s just not how things happen. Those areas include weight loss. Although seemingly half the magazines in the world carry the line, “Lose 10 pounds before breakfast!” on their covers, that’s just not how it works. If losing weight were that easy, then more than half of Americans wouldn’t be overweight. Taking off your extra flab takes time and patience. After all, you didn’t gain your spare tire overnight, so you shouldn’t expect to lose it overnight.
Depressed yet? Don’t be. As I said, most people know that regular runners are less likely to be overweight. I’ll spend pretty much the rest of this book showing you various ways to become and remain a regular runner. Do that and some (if not all) of the extra weight that you may be carrying around will disappear.
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