Running! Good for weight loss and body image

If  your ultimate goal of running throughout this 2013 year is to lose weight then you have come to the right activity!! Running has been proven to shed the pounds if you make this a regular habit. I recently read in an article that you must perform an activity for 2 weeks in order for it to become a habit, however it only takes 2 days to reverse that same habit. Seems pretty unfair huh?? However, if you can last the first 2 weeks you are golden.

Why is running good for weight loss??

Simply walking for a half hour at 3mph will compute to a total of 120 calories per mile for a woman weighing in at 150lbs. Furthermore, if you jog at 6 mph for 30 minutes you will burn roughly 350 calories per mile. Now that is a lot more than other activites for the same amount of time.
Now you may be wondering why you burn so many more calories when you run than when you walk.   Recent studies have shown that you will burn the same amount of calories whether you walk or run a certain distance. The difference in the amount of calories burned is determined by what some call "after-burn." The more you challenge your body, the longer the effects of the after burn are seen.  Therefore, by running you are challenging your body and causing the afterburn to last for longer, therefore burning more calories.

How do I eat as a runner?
Many people think that as a runner you can simply eat whatever you want. Not true. Although running may help to speed up your metabolism, if you fill your body with junk you will not only feel fatigued during those long runs, but you won't see the results that you want. It is necessary to carb load if you are racing or have a long run planned, however it is not necessary to do so every single meal. It is important to maintain a healthy diet.

It is also important not to starve yourself.

"I'm on this new diet where I don't eat anything and when I feel like I'm about to faint I eat a cube of cheese. I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight." - The Devil Wears Prada

Appetite may be curved in the aftermath of a hard workout, however it is detrimental to your metabolism to simply skip meals. It has been tested repeatedly and shown that people who skip breakfast tend to be overwieght and that by restricting calories throughout the day usually leads to overcompensation at night. Translation = you starve yourself all day and then binge eat at night... Major NO NO.  Also, if you restrict your calories as you are increasing the intensity of exercise, this may lead to exhaustion and increased risk of injury.

LOVE YOUR BODY!!

Picture taken from here

Body image in today's world has been seriously screwed with the use of media images and photoshop. No one is that perfect!! Otherwise photoshop wouldn't exist. It is important to be fit and healthy. Not necessarily skinny. Trust me, healthy is waaayy more beautiful! Running can help you to become more fit and healthy, increase strength and tone those muscles. It has also been proven running can help to alleviate depression and anxiety by decreasing stress. ALL GOOD in my book :)
It is important to understand your body's shape, and its capabilities with exercise. Each person must look at thier body shape and find someone who is toned and fit with that same shape to compare to. If you are genetically short and stocky, it is an unrealistice expectation to think you will have a ballerina body from exercise. Will you have a ballerina body? No.  will you be fit and beautiful? ABSOLUTELY. Women come in all shapes and sizes, so embrace what you have because chances are, someone else would love to have it!!!

Until next time lovelies....

Southern Girl Therapy