Can you lose alot of weight by running

And everybody else starts telling you about runners who went the other way, gaining weight during training. Running and weight loss really can go together, but you have to know how to make it work for you. Sometimes, how well running helps you lose weight has very little to do with running and very much to do with what you do around your run, especially what you eat before, during, and afterward.

If you take advantage of the right strategies, your running routine even a new, yet-to-be-routine running routine! You can lose weight just by running if your routine boosts your activity level beyond what it was before.

More on that in a minute. But when that amount of running becomes routine—maybe you run the same three miles on the same three days every week for months on end—your weight will stay stable. To burn more by running, you need to change something up: Maybe you go longer, maybe you go faster during certain sections try these get-faster workouts , maybe you replace some flats with some hills.

Beyond changing up your running, experts all say that if you really want to lose weight by running, you need to think about what you eat. What started as a banana after a workout can spiral into a high-calorie coffee beverage and a pastry on the way home from that run. A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical nutrition confirmed that new exercisers tend to overcompensate with calories when they work out, losing less than expected.

Before a run. During the run. After the run. Start with a big glass of water. When you're running a lot, it's easy to make these errors, too, points out Pamela Nisevich Bede, nutritionist, exercise coach, and author of Sweat.

Eating as much during a rest week as a heavy training week. That can sneakily stop your weight loss. And consider whether, during low-volume weeks, you're sometimes eating when you're not even hungry.

Not planning snacks and meals. As the miles and training time creeps up, you can feel fatigued. Which won't get you where you want to go, of course. This weight loss strategy was first introduced to me by Tim Ferriss in his outstanding book The 4-Hour Body. The premise is simple: eat 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking up to keep you full longer and stop the catabolic break-down of muscle from fasting overnight.

The fastest digesting form of protein is whey, derived from milk and widely available as a powder that you can mix with water or milk. Focus on nutrient dense foods. I can eat! Here are a few examples of nutrient dense foods:. Satiety is critical here because these foods keep you full and satisfied for longer without a lot of calories. For more recipe ideas than you can shake a stick at, check out this list of healthy recipes by Registered Dietitian and runner!

Anne Mauney. The first step is to clean out your kitchen and remove most processed foods that are calorically dense but nutrient poor. Either have one last eating bender, donate those items to a food pantry, or simply throw them out.

Instead of worrying about eating the same 10 foods over and over again, I put together a free resource to help you eat more real foods. The Master Shopping List has nearly 90 foods you can buy on your next trip to the grocery store — from fruit and veggies to seafood and even nut butters. Join our free course to help you better prevent injuries, develop runner-specific strength, and avoid the big mistakes that get runners hurt.

Posted May 19, by Jason Fitzgerald. Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube. Diet , Weight Loss. Share on facebook Facebook. Share on twitter Twitter. Share on linkedin LinkedIn. Share on pinterest Pinterest. Share on email Email. Next What do you love about running? And a challenge for you… Next.