511 world obesity day giving you 9 principles for running to reduce fat
Obesityis one of the top ten chronic diseases identified by the World Health Organization. May 11th is World Anti-Obesity Day, established by the World Health Organization. The pronunciation of '5·11' sounds like 'I want 1', with the '1' representing slimness. In other words, it means 'I want to be slim'. (This is purely Miss Codoon's imagination...)
However, what you might not know is:55% of the human body's weight is composed of water, 20% is fat, and 20% is protein. The remaining 5% is inorganic salts. The true goal of weight loss is to reduce the proportion of fat in the body. Generally, weight loss will reduce body weight, but it does not necessarily reduce the proportion of body fat. It is very likely that the reduction is in lean tissue and/or the loss of intracellular and extracellular fluids (body water). Therefore, losing fat is the real weight loss!
To lose fat, you first need to understand the principle of fat loss:
To consume fat, you need to create a calorie deficit in the body. When daily calorie expenditure exceeds daily intake, it provides the conditions for fat loss. Many people fail to lose fat due to the following two reasons:
1. Eating too much, resulting in too high daily calorie intake. (Codoon suggests that when eating, you can check the nutritional information on the packaging and choose low-fat, low-calorie foods.)
2. Exercise intensity is too low, resulting in a small calorie deficit from exercise.
It is well known that to lose fat, you need to exercise and control your diet, but it is not that easy to implement.For runners preparing for a marathon, fat loss is often very contradictory.Because fat loss requires reducing the intake of carbohydrates and fats, it will inevitably have a negative impact on marathon training.If you want to lose weight while preparing for a race, you need to pay attention to the following rules:
Start early
If you plan to significantly reduce calorie intake, do so before starting training or in the first 6 weeks of training when the running volume and intensity are still low. The closer you get to the race, the more you want to focus on proper energy supplementation, speed training, and long-distance run recovery.
Lose weight slowly
Set a goal to lose 0.2 kg per week, which means reducing about 250 calories per day—equivalent to an energy bar or a soda. Over a week, this can reduce 1750 calories, or 0.2 kg. By making small adjustments to your diet slowly, you can avoid severe deprivation. Your body will have time to adapt to the calorie reduction, and you are more likely to stick with it long-term.
Maintain balance
To maintain running vitality and perform well while burning as many calories as possible, you need to balance your calorie sources like every runner: about 55% of calories should come from carbohydrates, 25% from protein, and 20% from fat. Removing any of these three nutrients will make training feel more difficult, hinder recovery, and leave you feeling fatigued. Ensure your diet includes high-quality foods from each category.
For carbohydrates, choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and lentils, which are also rich in fiber (helping to maintain satiety longer), vitamins, and minerals. Choose unsaturated fats like olive oil, flaxseed oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados. The best sources of protein are lean meats, low-fat dairy products, eggs, legumes, and fish.
Time it right
You need food the most before and immediately after running. Before running, you need carbohydrates for quick energy; after running, you need carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores and protein to help repair muscle tissue. Eat your highest carbohydrate meal of the day a few hours before training. If you want to indulge, you can have a dessert shortly after running—during this 20-minute window, muscles can quickly absorb sugars to replenish the energy consumed.
Eat real food
Many diet foods have too low a content of carbohydrates, fiber, or protein to provide enough nutrition for training, maintain satiety, and keep the body in peak condition. Foods that try to reduce something (like sugar or fat) often have less nutrition than whole foods.
Be sensitive to food labels
Just because a food package says 'healthy', 'organic', or 'natural' does not necessarily mean it is good for you. Check the nutrition label and ingredient list to determine if it is healthy and compare it with other items. Studies show that people who read nutrition labels are more likely to lose weight than those who do not. Another situation is overeating diet foods, thinking that since Oreo cookies are low-fat, you can eat the whole bag.
A 2006 study found that if chocolate cookies are labeled 'low-fat' instead of 'regular', people will eat 28% more. Researchers concluded that low-fat labels make people underestimate the calories and eat more. 'Even if you eat fat-free or low-sugar products, the calories can still add up,' says Dorfman. It is important to understand the true meaning of the label content.
Diversify your training
Running most days of the week creates conditions for weight loss, but if the body stays in a comfort zone for too long, it will eventually reach a plateau. If you run the same 8 km route at the same pace repeatedly, your body will become very efficient at it. To improve speed or strength, you must change certain aspects of your training, such as distance, intensity (effort level), or volume (weekly mileage). Increasing intensity or doing different types of training—such as cross-training, hill workouts, or long runs—will burn more calories and speed up weight loss.
Lift weights
Runners usually do not go to the gym. But weight training can help you burn more calories, increase lean body mass (fat-free mass), and reduce fat. Each kilogram of muscle can burn an additional 11-15 calories per day. Therefore, building muscle also increases the body's ability to burn calories. Studies show that adding 3 days of resistance training per week can enhance runners' leg strength and endurance. The stronger the body, the more balanced the muscle force can be generated for a longer time, allowing the body to maintain good posture even when fatigued.
Pay attention to rest
Research suggests that insomnia is related to obesity and that people who lack sleep may weigh more. Without sufficient sleep, your energy levels, immune system, and mood will decline, and the only thing that will increase is your appetite. Studies show that people who sleep less tend to eat more snacks, especially high-carbohydrate snacks.