What You Should Know About Running for Weight Loss

This article first appeared on Women's Running.

A pound of body weight equals roughly 3,500 calories, according to studies, and the Centers for Disease Control suggests shedding about a pound every week, which translates to a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day—or eating 500 calories. It is less than what you normally consume.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple. If you want to run to lose weight (which we don't recommend), there are a few things you should know. Instead of counting calories, the key to long-term weight loss is to embrace healthy eating habits and consistent physical activity. Running can help with this if you properly feed your muscles.

How many calories does running burn?

Running can be a very effective way to lose weight. A 140-pound person burns approximately 13.2 calories each minute, or 132 calories per 10-minute mile, according to the American Council on Exercise.

According to Dana Hannes, Ph.D., a senior dietitian at UCLA Medical Center and assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and author of Recipe for Survival, it depends on a number of factors, including your age and gender, as well as your body weight and body composition (or how much muscle mass you have).

"You probably burn between 70 and 100 calories every mile," says Meghann Featherston, R.D., a board-certified sports dietitian located in Cleveland, Ohio. Because the harder you work, the more fuel your body demands, each factor that increases the intensity of your workout (for example, running uphill, faster, and longer) will also increase the number of calories you burn.

Running burns calories long after you stop exercising because it increases your body's excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), a phenomenon known as the "afterburn" effect. "Your heart rate and body temperature remain raised after intense activity while your body seeks to return to a resting condition, during which time it continues to burn calories," Hannes explains.

The story continues.

Runners exhibited an afterburn that lasted five minutes longer than walkers, according to research published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. A study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that runners lost more weight than walkers over a six-year period, most likely due to the afterburn effect.

It is worth noting that when new runners begin jogging, they are more likely to burn more calories. "As we run more, our bodies become significantly more efficient, meaning we burn fewer calories every mile," Featherston adds. Once your body has been acclimated to running at a consistent speed, you must find new ways to put it to the test, such as increasing your pace, distance, or changing the terrain on which you run.

Low energy availability can have a negative impact on the endocrine system and general health.

How else might jogging help you lose weight?

Of course, losing weight is about more than just burning calories. There are various other mechanisms in your body that may help you lose weight.

Running, for example, may lessen your appetite. A 2020 study published in the journal Health Psychology found that people who did not exercise were 13% more likely to overeat or exceed their daily calorie goal. On the other hand, exercise for an hour reduced their chance of overeating by up to 5%, and every additional 10 minutes of exercise after the 60 minutes reduced their risk of overeating by another 1%.

Running reduces ghrelin, the "hunger hormone," while raising peptide YY, a hormone released after a meal, according to a study published in AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology. What are the end results? Exercise may help with weight control since it causes a loss of appetite for around two hours afterward.

According to a 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Peer, exercise improves your overall sleep time, capacity to sleep through the night, and overall sleep quality. In fact, people who spent six weeks

Finally, running makes you happy. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2021 indicated that just ten minutes of moderate-intensity running improves mood management significantly. "If we feel good about ourselves and what we've accomplished, we're more likely to treat ourselves properly in terms of nutrition," Featherston adds.

Aside from the physical, running promotes psychological well-being.

Keep track of the amount you consume.

While running is beneficial to our health, it is not an excuse to ignore what percentage of calories we ingest. When people exercise, they tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn. "Use it as an excuse to eat something healthy," Featherston continues. In one study published in the Journal of Medical Speciality and Fitness, men and women both thought they burned 400 calories during a 60-minute workout, but they really burned closer to 250 calories—a one-year difference. Remember that losing weight requires a calorie deficit.

Undereating is a major risk with running, particularly among females. According to the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, girls aged nineteen to thirty require between 1,800 and 2,400 calories per day, and men aged thirty-one to fifty-nine require approximately 1,600 to 2,200 calories per day.

They may become disjointed if their muscles do not receive the nutrients they require to rebuild themselves post-workout.

"If you're anxious to lose weight, the best thing you can do is prioritize fuel around a run," Featherston adds. You will be able to ensure that your performance and recovery are not affected in this manner. Then, she says, "you will skim calories off the rest of the day, not by skipping a meal or limiting snacks, but by consuming small quantities each time you eat."