Weight Loss and Running

by Navin
(Trinidad)

I am currently 255 lbs. I was 280 lbs. I still have difficulty running for too long, how much should I run and what should I do to get there?

Answer by Dominique:

Hi Navin,

Thanks for your question about weight loss and running.

I think you have already made great improvements. Losing 25 pounds is obviously a good achievement already. Understandably you want to lose more weight.

The good thing is that running will definitely help you get there!

There is no magic number for how much you need to run, it's depending on what and how much you eat as well as other factors. The more running, the better, obviously. General guidelines for good health recommend 4-6 times of 30 minutes of cardio-aerobic exercise a week.

The best method for a beginning runner to increasing your time spent running is to take a run/walk approach.

Suppose you are able to run ten minutes at the moment. Then instead of running ten minutes, do something like 5 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run.

The walking breaks help you get back to your breath, before you are completely exhausted and this way you sneakily get in 15 minutes of running, not 10.

Every week, get a little bit more running minutes and a little less walking minutes. Before you know it, you'll be able to cover 30 minutes of non-stop running.

Don't believe me? Just check out my most popular Beginners Running Program. It's had many happy users already. Feel free to start using the program. Maybe you don't need to start completely at the beginning, just start with the week you feel comfortable with.

For more information about running and weight loss see:

Running for Weight Loss

Hope this helps. Best of luck, you have been doing well so far, so keep it going!

Cheers,
Dominique