Lose weight jogging

If you want to lose weight, most people will recommend eating less and doing more exercise. This in itself is a good recommendation. Losing weight while running alone, as many try, usually does not bring the desired success. However, the impact of individual measures should not be overestimated. In particular, the effects of cardio on weight loss are often misguided.

For this reason, I want to provide some clarity to this article. I want you to understand how much more calories you actually burn when jogging. From this, we will discuss together how effective jogging weight loss is and what you can expect.

Calorie intake while jogging

Running is a great sport, it’s not a question for me. Running is a healthy, functional and highly flexible way of learning. At a correspondingly high running pace, the energy consumption during running is also quite high. For these reasons, running is also a very popular diet sports option.

The idea is simple and straightforward: the more you run, the more calories you burn and the faster you lose weight. However, most people don’t even know how many calories they actually burn while running. I would like to give you an example of this.

The numbers used in the calculation example are approximate values ​​that I have roughly averaged from the available literature. However, I think they are significant enough to make a good impression on you.

Useful information on consumption always takes into account at least your weight. Calories (kcal) you consume per hour of running per kilogram of body weight:

• Slow jog (7-9 km / h): about 8 kcal / kg
• Fast running (10-12 km / h): about 10 kcal / kg
• Medium speed running (13-15 km / h): about 12 kcal / kg
• Fast running (16-18 km / h): about 14 kcal / kg

Anything faster should be a sprint for most people. Even “fast running” is, to be honest, almost a sprint pace, and I use it more for HIIT or tabata.

Calculation example 1 – 1.5 hour base endurance

Once a week, I do a longer (about 1.5 hours) slow speed of about 9 km / h. This is my running pace for basic endurance training. My current body weight is about 90 kilograms. For my calorie consumption during work, this means:

8 kcal / kg / h x 90 kg x 1.5 h = 1080 kcal

Calculation Example 2 – Speed ​​Run One Hour Threshold Training

I also do a one hour speed run once a week. During my threshold workout for an hour, I currently maintain an average speed of just over 11 km / h. For my calorie intake, this means:

10 kcal / kg / h x 90 kg x 1 h = 900 kcal

900-1000 calories (kcal) for a workout sounds good at first, doesn’t it?

If you’re trained better than you can, you can move at a higher pace and burn more accordingly. However, the principle should be clear.

Funny edge information: If you run the same route at different speeds, you will always find very similar total consumption.

These formulas and guideline values ​​are always based on average test scores and can only serve as guidelines. If you want to know how many calories you actually burn while running, I recommend adding a good heart rate fitness tracker (like the Garmin Vivosmart HR *). In particular, in cardio training, they give very good results.

More calories burned while jogging

If 900 or 1080 calories (kcal) impressed you and convinced you to run more in the future to lose weight even faster, great. However, there is one more small thing to consider. These values ​​are not my total consumption while running. However, I would burn calories if I followed my daily routine as usual.

My daily calorie intake

I am calculating my basal metabolic rate using the Harris Benedict formula. This is the most famous formula because it gives very realistic results. For men, it looks like this:

Basal metabolic rate (kcal / 24 h) = 66.5 + (13.7 * body weight (in kg)) + (5 * body size (in cm)) – (6.8 * age (in years ))

According to this formula, my base metabolic rate is about 1990 kcal per day. This is the energy that I use when I am doing absolutely nothing. Basically, this would be my energy need if I only slept all day, lay in bed and did not move at all.

Also, there is my so-called productivity turnover. There are various calculation methods for this, and everyone should consider all actions individually for the most accurate possible values. For the sake of simplicity, I will use the so-called PAL ratio. This indicates the average for certain activities. Here are some examples of PAL factors:

The more movement you have in your daily life, the higher this reference value. I assume a factor of 1.7 for my office work as a project manager. It also has to match my level of personal activity. If I now apply this factor to 17 hours of awake time, I get a total energy turnover of approximately 2976.7 kcal per day.

Again, this refers to the fact that this calculation is of course only approximate, and you can use a fitness tracker with heart rate measurement (such as Garmin Vivosmart HR *) to make significantly more accurate statements about your energy consumption. … In fact, after measuring with the Garmin Fenix ​​3 HR *, I average around 3100 calories on non-training days.

Actual jogging extra calorie intake

So what does this specifically mean for my actual extra calorie intake while running?

It is estimated that I have an energy consumption of 141 kcal every hour, which I use in my daily life. Therefore, I would use this energy if it were not for sports. To determine the actual additional energy consumption while jogging, I have to subtract this main consumption from the total consumption while running.

• One and a half hour base endurance: 1080 kcal – 212 kcal = 868 kcal
• One hour of speed running / threshold workout: 900 kcal – 141 kcal = 759 kcal

These are the actual numbers you should add to your calorie intake here.

Don’t get me wrong, this is still a good consumption if your goal is to lose weight while jogging. However, it should be clear to you what additional consumption is really real.

Lose weight by jogging – run so much

Let’s see what this means specifically for your weight, or more specifically, fat loss. To do this, we will calculate how much I will need to run at two speeds to use as much energy as I lose a kilogram of fat.

One kilogram of body fat contains 7000 kcal of energy. With my previously calculated values, this means that I will have to lose a kilogram of body fat

• Jogging for 13 hours and 19 minutes (core endurance for me)

or

• Jogging for 9 hours and 13 minutes (running speed for me)

Then I would use enough energy to lose a pound of fat. It’s a lot. You can hardly lose weight just by jogging.

But the good news is that you don’t need to lose weight by running alone.

Strength training and nutrition

Your weight loss project will be truly effective if you combine different measures. In addition to cardio training, this also includes regular strength training and a diet tailored to your goals. If you adjust all of this to your circumstances, you can also stick to your diet.

With the right combination, you will not only be able to lose weight as quickly and as quickly as possible, as with a crash diet. You will also be able to significantly increase muscle mass in your diet. to define your muscles and thus get the body that most people want. Losing weight while running alone will not achieve this goal.

Your conclusion about losing weight by jogging

Of course, there is nothing wrong with running regularly or doing other cardio workouts. This has many benefits for your health. Even if you want to lose weight, it doesn’t hurt to burn more calories while running. However, you shouldn’t overestimate your jogging calorie intake.

Losing weight by jogging alone is as ineffective as losing weight without exercise. If you want to lose weight, you should always combine exercise and nutrition. It is also recommended to include strength training in this combination. This will give you the best results.

Good luck with losing weight and having fun jogging.

And don’t forget: your health is your health.