Welcome to 1 Minute With Naomi!
This week's edition of 1 Minute With Naomi is all about losing weight by incorporating running into your fitness routine. There's a lot of conflicting advice out there about running when it comes to whether it's good for weight loss or not. As a triple-digit weight loss maintainer, I can tell you: it does work. But here's what you need to know.
Watch the video here:
Can you lose weight by running?
Yes. Absolutely.
But you can't just start running and hope that's what's going to do it for you. Running is great for weight loss because it tends to be higher intensity than many other workouts, so you're burning more calories. But if you have no idea how many calories you burned AND you feel like you're starving after your workout, you're likely to overeat and you may as well not have even ran. Truth.
The heart rate monitor I wear every day is the Polar M400. You can check it out on Amazon by clicking here. But honestly, any Polar brand heart rate monitor is highly accurate in telling you your heart rate and translating that into calories burned. Other fitness activity tracking watches are not as accurate and the purpose of using something like a Fitbit is to keep yourself motivated by seeing your steps/mileage walked each day– not weight loss.
You need to make sure that you know how many calories you burned in your running workout so that when you do feel hungry after your run, you're fueling your body an appropriate amount of calories in the form of healthier choices. It's really easy to overindulge.
You must also cross-train. No, you shouldn't run all of the time. It can be your primary exercise (it certainly is for me), but you've got to do other forms of fitness so that you're conditioning your muscles in other ways. It's really easy to get overuse injuries when all you do is run run run (been there, done that). You may also be surprised that participating in other forms of fitness can actually make you a stronger runner, too.
One last thing: if you're not keeping a food journal while trying to lose weight with running, you might be want to start. If you're not mindful of how much you're snacking and the portions you eat at meal time, this could be a reason why you're not losing weight. We often eat much more than our body needs because our brain wants us to eat it all. Pay attention!
Bonus: Supplements to start using while getting into running: l-glutamine, magnesium, potassium, vitamin d3, and fish oil.
If you want to watch more videos in this 1 Minute With Naomi series, check them out here:
Latest posts by Naomi Teeter (see all)
- GET INSPIRED TO RUN YOUR BUNS OFF - August 7, 2019
- The Effects of Childhood Trauma on Weight Loss - August 6, 2018
- A Typical Day of Living Healthfully For Me (March 2018 Edition) - March 4, 2018
- The First Step On My Weight Loss Journey Required Bravery - December 21, 2017
- How to Make Positive, Lasting Change from a Place of Self-Love - December 20, 2017