Many people start running in order to lose weight. Since it is one of the most strenuous exercises out there, running is an extremely helpful way to burn calories and shed extra pounds. A 150-pound person will roughly burn about 100 calories per mile when running. If you’re thinking of running for weight loss, here are some tips to succeed in your weight loss campaign.
1. Concentrate on healthy eating
If you want to lose weight by running, you must understand that you’ll only shed pounds if you burn more calories than you consume. If you want to lose a pound, you will have to burn, through exercise, approximately 3500 calories. So you’ll have to combine running with a healthy diet plan. Runners do have special nutritional needs, but the basic principle for healthy eating always remains the same. Choose smaller portions of high-fat and high-calorie foods and start eating more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. In other words, a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables will not only help you lose weight but also enable you to stay healthy.
One common eating mistake runners often make is to overcompensate for the calories burned by exercise with extra calories from more food and beverages. This is why some runners even tend to gain weight, or hit a weight loss wall, in spite of their regular running schedule. One way to prevent this covert calorie consumption is to keep a record of your food intake so that you can check out where you need to improve upon.
2. Keep a solid training schedule.
If you stick to a training schedule, you will stay motivated to run. You’ll know exactly what you need to do every day, so it becomes that much harder to postpone or skip running. Following a schedule will help you to avoid a running injury, for you should not increase your mileage too quickly. If you’re new to running, here are the training schedules to start with:
4 Weeks to Run One Mile – for those absolutely new to running.3 Weeks to run for 30-Minutes – for beginners who can run for more than 10 minutes.4 Weeks to Run Two Miles – for beginners who can run at least a half mile.
3. Run regularly to make it a habit
If you don’t want to follow a schedule, you still need to be consistent with your running because nobody loses weight by running once a week. So, it will be better if you get involved in running activity every day but, if that’s not possible, try to run for at least 3-4 times per week.
4. Keep it challenging to stay motivated
If you can incorporate speed training, or interval training (running at a very fast speed for short intervals of time) into your running schedule, it will really help you to lose weight quickly. Speed work burns a greater amount of calories in a short period of time. You’ll also be able to increase your muscle mass and improve your resting metabolism, so that you can burn more calories round the day.
5. Eat for better performance
If you’re running regularly for a longer period, or you’re training hard for a long-distance event, proper nutrition is a must for your performance. Skipping meals will not allow you to train hard and you will get tired easily. You shouldn’t cut down on calories before, during, and immediately after an intense running schedule. These are crucial times when nutrition plays an important role to enhance your performance and remain fit.
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