Each week, I put up a question box on our Instagram stories, giving our followers a chance to ask us questions directly.
(If you’re not connected to us on Instagram, give us a follow- @lucky13fitness)
One question we got recently was “Is running going to help me lose weight faster?“
It’s a popular question… maybe you’ve been wondering the same thing.
Here’s the answer:
In short, there is nothing special about running when it comes to weight loss. IF you enjoy running then it can absolutely be included in your fitness routine. But if you don’t like running, and/or it gives you pain or discomfort, you do NOT need to suffer through it!
A lot of people incorrectly assume that more running – and more calorie burn – will help the pounds drop faster.. That’s actually not entirely true.
When it comes to weight loss, here’s what you need to focus on instead. Please note that this list is in order of importance. So #1 is the most important, down through #5.
1) Calorie Deficit. You could run a marathon every day, but if you ate more calories than you burned, you still wouldn’t lose any weight. You need to know your daily caloric needs and then stay slightly below that (15 – 20%)
2) Protein. You’ve gotta be sure you’re getting enough every day, and a good place to start is aiming for 100g each day.
A great way to make sure you’re accomplishing both #’s 1 & 2 is to track your food intake. Use a free app like MyFitnessPal or Chronometer and track every calorie and every gram of protein that you’re taking in. Guessing how much food you eat does not work, and it’s almost always going to set your weight loss progress back.
3) Strength Training. Make sure you’re doing 2 – 3 sessions of resistance training every week. 30 to 45 minutes is a great time to shoot for, and you can use your own body, resistance bands, dumbbells, or kettlebells. Don’t be afraid of those heavy weights. π
4) Sleep. Sleep matters so much. Aim for getting at least seven and up to nine hours every night.
5) Cardio. Take your pick on what you’d like to do. You can run, walk, bike, or canoe!! It doesn’t matter. Aim to get 20 to 30 minutes of low level cardio per day.
As you can see, cardio is the least critical for weight loss… so don’t bother ramping up the running miles in an effort to lose a few inches around your waist.
