How to lose weight by running

It seems that in our modern Western civilization, there has always been a desire to create an everyday life free of physical strain. Through technological advances and aids, we have made life easier for ourselves. How to lose weight by running is not as easy as it seems today.

As the desire comes true with less and less physical activity for a larger and larger part of the population, it dawns on medical science what a catastrophic price we are paying for having removed the physical element of our everyday lives.

Inactivity is at the top of the list of risk factors that lead to lifestyle diseases. At the same level as smoking and obesity! We can no longer pretend that physical exercise is a hobby that we cultivate if we have the time and surplus. The whole premise must be reversed: Our body IS the very source of time and surplus, and we cannot afford not to meet one of its most basic needs, namely the need for movement.

Running

Running training is a very effective way to keep the weight down. Running training is in practice only surpassed by very intensive cycling/spinning and cross-country skiing, on the other hand, running is much more accessible and easier to practice than both cycling and cross-country skiing.

We need to be in contact with our bodies, and we do that through physical activity. Running can compensate for the feeling that the body has become a flaccid appendage to the brain and is just something we used to transport ourselves to work.

Running as well as cycling and cross-country skiing are all sports where you train continuously for a relatively long time, from 20-25 min and upwards. Exercise provides increased fitness in the long term, but already in the short term, daily calorie consumption will increase, and if you do not start eating similarly more, you have a good opportunity to lose weight.

Morning training

The weight loss increases furthermore if you can train in the morning. This is because a run of just 30 min. will cause the metabolism of the body’s consumption of calories will be increased in the next 3 to 5 hours. On a daily or weekly basis, such an increased metabolism will mean that you use many more calories than before you started running.

If you are very overweight, i.e. more than 20 kg over the ideal weight, you must start your running training very carefully. Severe overweight puts a heavy strain on the body’s joint structure during running. For many overweight people, it will therefore be a good idea to start with cycling or easy training and then later when the first kilos have disappeared, start on running.

Enjoyment of life and intellectual unfoldment

The people who have decided to completely opt-out of that physical fitness craze have probably developed an image that those who exercise are people who refrain from enjoying life and intellectual development. As if they are cultivating their body, becoming fanatical and boring.

For them, it is often the case that there is nothing more unbearable than overzealous running fanatics who cannot stop talking about how amazing it is, how super much energy they get from it and how many kilometers they have run this week.

They go with their heart rate monitor to work and teach others not to eat the bad fat and remember to drink a lot of water during the day. So, it is not so strange that someone thinks – “Forget it! If it’s the price of a long life, I’m skipping it.

Medicated misery

The problem is just that today many of us rarely die young because of the improved treatment methods in the healthcare sector.

There have simply been so many advances in medical science that we only live on average about 5 years shorter if we choose inactivity.

You then just spend the last 10 years of your life in medicated misery, as a burden to society and your family. Those who opt out of training because they prioritize other things, such as time with their children or career, must agree to let the children pay the price later by having a sick parent or they may forget the dream of a nice retirement with lots of good experiences.

If you choose inactivity, you increase your risk of a whole group of lifestyle diseases significantly. Of course, we must be careful not to make the wrong conclusion that people who get sick are to blame for it themselves.

Some of us are just genetically predisposed and get sick no matter how healthy they live. But we know so much today about the body’s reaction to lack of exercise that we can no longer just shrug on our shoulders at people’s explanations that they prioritize differently or may not even identify with someone who sweats.

Role models

It’s a bit like opting out of car insurance Yes, you save a little money here and now and maybe nothing ever happens but if it does… then it will be expensive. One way forward to build your self-confidence with your self-perception of training is role models

Role models do not have to be professional athletes or models. A role model is someone who can give you the belief that you can succeed.

It could be a person who has had success with a project similar to the one you are about to embark on. So, think of someone you know – a friend, colleague, family member who has had the same goals and the same starting point. It does not have to be exactly the same but close. If you cannot find any, then do yourself a favor and go online.

You are guaranteed to find lots of people who have started right where you are now. People who have had an equally busy life, who have had the same challenges and who have had as many attempts where it has not gone after the plan. They have experienced relapses where the desire and motivation for training have disappeared.

But still, they have risen and reached the finish line. You can use it positively in your project. There are lots of stories of people who have succeeded despite being overweight, illness, stressful work life and even lack of support and assistance

And you can become one of them, why should you not be able to become one of them? It is not an impossible task. There are plenty of examples of similar cases out there and even many that have had even greater challenges than you.

Go for the joy

There is a myriad of exercise forms and some of them are more effective than others in terms of specific objectives. The best method to help you get in the flow and thereby get the best experiences with exercises would probably be “forget the goal and go for the joy”.

If you really hate sitting on a bike, then it will be hard to reach a state where you just forget about time and place. If, on the other hand, you love playing football, then there is a shorter way to just be present in the game and what is going on right now. So choose an activity you fancy.

Conclusion

In some way, you have to explore your own history around training. What is the image you have formed of what type of person you are or will be if you train? You may also need to adjust your expectation level for training. But the best start will probably still be to find role models in your circle of friends or on the internet.

I hope you get something out of this post and if you have any questions about the topic or want to leave your own Personal review, please leave a comment below.