Running Strategies for Quick Weight Loss

Running is the most efficient exercise for burning calories and losing weight. A 150-pound runner burns about 100 calories per mile, or about 500 calories in a 45-minute run. Weight loss is simple when you look at it mathematically. You have to burn more calories in a day (or week, or month) than you eat. You need a deficit of 3,600 calories to lose a pound. In other words, the 150-pound runner above could burn enough calories to lose a pound in seven five-mile runs.

Running for Weight Loss

Although running every day seems like the quickest way to lose weight, it is not necessarily the best solution for long-term weight loss. If you get injured or burnt out, you won't run and the pounds will creep back on. To ensure longevity as a runner (and as a thinner person), it is better to run four to five times per week. Supplement your running with cross training such as swimming, weight training or yoga on your non-running days. Take one day per week completely off to give your body a chance to recover and keep your mind fresh.

Don't do the same run every day. When you do the same workout over and over, you become more efficient at it, burning fewer calories. Keep yourself interested and your body burning calories at full steam by running different routes on different surfaces at different speeds.

Running on uneven surfaces like trails or sand will strengthen the stabilizing muscles in your legs and trunk. Hilly workouts and intervals of intense running followed by short periods of rest burn up to 30 percent more calories than steady running, as well as boosting your metabolism for up to 19 hours.

Most local running clubs offer a variety of weekly workouts like intervals, hill repeats, long runs and tempo runs. Running with others will help you push harder than you would alone, turning you into a calorie-burning oven. Training partners keep your runs interesting and give you accountability, so you're more likely to show up on days when you're less motivated.

Weight Loss for Runners

Your weight loss will plateau quickly without a healthy diet. Start thinking like an athlete, not a dieter. When you think of food as fuel, you are more likely to make healthy food choices. Runner's World's executive editor, Amby Burfoot, recommends snacking throughout the day to lose weight. "When you graze, you never become overly hungry, so you don't get the urge to overeat," she explains.

Running and crash dieting don't mix. If you don't eat enough, you won't finish a high-quality run. Burfoot recommends snacking one to two hours before a run to make sure you have enough energy for your workout. You won't feel famished afterward either, so you can make better post-workout fuel choices.

Nutritionists agree that one pound per week is the best rate for sustained weight loss. That's a 500-calorie daily deficit, or a three-mile run followed by a "no thank you" to two post-dinner chocolate chip cookies. If you run consistently and make good food choices, you'll lose weight without ever feeling deprived.