running as my only form of exercise

Becca21

will i lose weight i i only run. im wanting to run 6x a week at the moment ive moved it to 4x a week,
wil this be enough for weight loss i do 50-60 mins of running each day i go out

CarsonRuns

If:

Calories consumed < Calories burned

Then, yes.

Starsighter78

If:

Calories consumed < Calories burned

Then, yes.

What he said. The only thing I want to add is that running can also add muscle, so if you see intermittant gains, don't freak out. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so while the gain may seem counterproductive, it will actually help in the long run *no pun intended LOL*

Jessie43082

I've lost a majority of my 100 pounds from running, as well as other cardio. Now I have a ton of toning to do. I'd pay attention to building muscle as you are losing weight as well. Wish I had

RachelWest86

My husband has been running several times a week since Thanksgiving, and is on WeightWatchers (and does VERY well staying within his daily allotment) and has lost about 40 pounds.

Keep up the good work, and make sure you're wearing good running shoes to stabilize yourself!

ATLMel

I've lost a majority of my 100 pounds from running, as well as other cardio. Now I have a ton of toning to do. I'd pay attention to building muscle as you are losing weight as well. Wish I had

This.

You'll lose weight with only running. But you'd improve your fitness more if you augmented it with 2-3 days of weight training.

cowgirlslikeus86

If:

Calories consumed < Calories burned

Then, yes.

What he said. The only thing I want to add is that running can also add muscle, so if you see intermittant gains, don't freak out. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so while the gain may seem counterproductive, it will actually help in the long run *no pun intended LOL*

I second that...or third :laugh:

ninerbuff

If:

Calories consumed < Calories burned

Then, yes.

What he said. The only thing I want to add is that running can also add muscle, so if you see intermittant gains, don't freak out. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so while the gain may seem counterproductive, it will actually help in the long run *no pun intended LOL*

It may add a little muscle to the legs in the beginning, but there's no upper body muscle being added. Also as weight goes down, there will be less resistance so load is less.
While I know that you can lose weight with just running alone, your overall body conditioning isn't as good since it mainly focuses on your endurance and doesn't really address your strength (especially in the upper body).


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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brandyk77

another vote for supplemental weight training

BerryH

Yes, running will help create a calorific deficit and speed up your weight loss. Don't worry about gaining muscle as one poster said, that just doesn't happen. What MAY happen is you will weigh a little more as fluid rushes to your muscles to replace nutrients, carry away waste and repair damage.

There is a bit of a law of diminishing returns, however - you won't burn twice as many calories running six miles as three, for instance, as you become more efficient.

I would warn, however, that if you're not cross-training at all, running the same session six days a week could lead to injury. Have a couple of short, quality sessions mid-week - sprint intervals, hills, fartlek etc., and maybe increase the length of your long weekend run by a little more each week. Have a rest day after your longest and hardest sessions.

Adding resistance training will complement your running by helping prevent injury and improve lean tissue to fat ratio.

Finally, why do you want to do nothing but running? If it's your favourite thing in the world, yay go for it. If it's just for the awesome calorie burn, you might want to look at other ways to achieve that without getting bored and/or hurt.

workout_junkee

You can, but I agree with others in the fact added some weight training would help build muscle in the upper body. More muscle = more calories burned. Lower bosy weight training would also help build the muscles not used as much when you run:).

yoovie

yes but you WILLL hit a legit solid plateau if you dont eventually add some kind of strength training. true story. truer than you'll want to believe.

if you only run, that plateau will be a real impossible btch to break down- and it will come at the wrong moment. When your motivation is already low.

nickiw68

Bump...to read later

workoutgirl23

Running is basically the only thing i do. i'm a big runner. i run several miles about 4-5 times a week. i occasionally throw a little weight lifting in there, but mainly i just love to run. running will burn off calories just as well, as any other exercise.

BrianSharpe

Yes, running will help create a calorific deficit and speed up your weight loss. Don't worry about gaining muscle as one poster said, that just doesn't happen. What MAY happen is you will weigh a little more as fluid rushes to your muscles to replace nutrients, carry away waste and repair damage.

There is a bit of a law of diminishing returns, however - you won't burn twice as many calories running six miles as three, for instance, as you become more efficient.

I would warn, however, that if you're not cross-training at all, running the same session six days a week could lead to injury. Have a couple of short, quality sessions mid-week - sprint intervals, hills, fartlek etc., and maybe increase the length of your long weekend run by a little more each week. Have a rest day after your longest and hardest sessions.

Adding resistance training will complement your running by helping prevent injury and improve lean tissue to fat ratio.

Finally, why do you want to do nothing but running? If it's your favourite thing in the world, yay go for it. If it's just for the awesome calorie burn, you might want to look at other ways to achieve that without getting bored and/or hurt.

^^^^^ This

Even if running is your passion add some strength & cross training as a way of helping to prevent injuries.

Huffdogg

You'll lose weight with only running. But you'd improve your fitness more if you augmented it with 2-3 days of weight training.

erickirb

will i lose weight i i only run. im wanting to run 6x a week at the moment ive moved it to 4x a week,
wil this be enough for weight loss i do 50-60 mins of running each day i go out

You can do no exercise and lose the same amount of weight as you would with 6 days running if you are following MFP caloric intake. The more cals you burn the more you eat. the difference is you will be in much better shape incorporating exercise.

I would suggest adding in at least 2 days/week of strength training though, as when dieting your body sheds fat and muscle, strength training helps your body maintain the muscle it already has.

sunshinesonata

bump to read more later.

KatieJane83

Yes, running will help create a calorific deficit and speed up your weight loss. Don't worry about gaining muscle as one poster said, that just doesn't happen. What MAY happen is you will weigh a little more as fluid rushes to your muscles to replace nutrients, carry away waste and repair damage.

There is a bit of a law of diminishing returns, however - you won't burn twice as many calories running six miles as three, for instance, as you become more efficient.

I would warn, however, that if you're not cross-training at all, running the same session six days a week could lead to injury. Have a couple of short, quality sessions mid-week - sprint intervals, hills, fartlek etc., and maybe increase the length of your long weekend run by a little more each week. Have a rest day after your longest and hardest sessions.

Adding resistance training will complement your running by helping prevent injury and improve lean tissue to fat ratio.

Finally, why do you want to do nothing but running? If it's your favourite thing in the world, yay go for it. If it's just for the awesome calorie burn, you might want to look at other ways to achieve that without getting bored and/or hurt.

^^^^^ This

Even if running is your passion add some strength & cross training as a way of helping to prevent injuries.

^^^yup

belgerian

That is how I lost my weight I ate 1600-2000 calories and ran 5-6 times a week anywhere from 45 min up to 2 hours, was a slow pace at the time but I lost 85-100lbs and I still run everyday for 8 miles well 5-6 days a week and starting to get interested in some resistance work. Looking to tone up.

Starsighter78

Don't worry about gaining muscle as one poster said, that just doesn't happen.

Nice job on making a blanket statement that isn't necessarily true [all of the time]. The reason I made the statement is because it's what happened to me. I guess I could have gone further and said, especially when you are first starting out, you will build muscle, especially if you don't have good muscle tone to begin with.