Why You Don’t Lose Weight After Several Running Sessions

Elizabeth Last Updated: June 16, 2023

18 4 minutes read

Running is one of the most popular go-to methods for people trying to lose weight. As efficient as it might be in terms of weight-loss, running does not seem to work for everybody for several reasons. Some new runners have reported losing a negligible amount of weight, while others have not shed any pounds at all.

There are multiple factors that can kill your weight loss efforts. So, we have compiled a short list of possible causes for this phenomenon.
Without further ado, here are three reasons why you fail to lose weight after several running sessions:

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You are Not Pacing Your Jogs Right

While picking up running is fine and all, you can’t just put on a pair of running shoes and sprint away haphazardly. If you want to see results, you need a clear structure and routine based on three key elements:

Resistance
Intensity
Persistence.

pacing-your-jogging
Furthermore, you are more likely to have success (in terms of weight loss) if you increase your mileage on a weekly and monthly basis.
While you might have some results running at the same pace on a regular basis (meaning you will lose a couple of pounds), those results will kick in less often as your body is getting accustomed to the physical effort.

If you are really into jogging, you can add a treadmill to the mix to freshen things up. Unlike running outdoors, a treadmill such as the Bowflex TreadClimber TC100 allows you to customize your experience and gradually increase the resistance level.

Furthermore, Bowflex TC100 is a machine that combines the benefits of a treadmill, elliptical, and stepper, making it a good ‘’gateway’’ method to prepare for running outdoors, while helping you burn tons of calories.

When it comes to running, you can also try incorporating different speed intervals into your running session. For instance, you can gradually increase the speed as you are warming up for half a mile or so and continue at a fast pace for a minute.
Breathe heavily, but steadily, then slow down the pace for a minute. Rinse and repeat for about one-one and a half mile, then take a five-to-ten-minute break.

Once you get accustomed to this type of training, you can increase the times and distances and add hill repeats. Soon enough, you will be running four miles without breaking a sweat.

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You are Eating Too Much

One of the most common reasons you are not losing weight despite giving your best on the running track is that you might be eating too much. Weight loss is based on a very simple principle: calories in, calories out. That means you should direct your weight loss efforts toward achieving a caloric deficit.

If you daily caloric needs (which you can calculate using online tools) is 2,500, you should try to consume only 2,400. As your body is getting adjusted to the caloric deficit, you will start losing weight without even running.

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Important Tips for Eating Way Less but Still Feeling Full!

In other words, even if you are running, if you fail to burn more calories than you are consuming on a daily basis, you will hardly see any differences on the scale. In some cases, you might be even hungrier than you were before you started the running session.

This, in turn, will eventually trigger a vicious circle during which you will be struggling to quench your food cravings after running, believing that you will compensate for the extra food by investing more physical effort.

You could start spreading your meals evenly throughout your day instead. For instance, you could try eating five or six small meals – meaning just enough to satiate your hunger and prevent you from overeating.

Furthermore, you can introduce healthy snacking in your daily routine to cover the time-frames between meals when you are more likely to get hungry. Obviously, you should avoid any junk foods as much as possible. This includes sodas and other beverages with excess amounts of sugars and added sugars. Plain water will hydrate you just as well.

You are Building Muscle

you-are-building-muscle
Another plausible explanation is that you might be building more muscle mass, which is denser than fat. So, even if you might not see much of a difference on the scale, your body fat percentage has been gradually decreasing and your body is more toned than before picking up running thanks to all that physical effort.

In this case, you might want to use other methods to measure your progress rather than the numbers on the scale. For example, once every two weeks, you can try on older clothes that were not a good fit anymore and use them as a guiding point to measure how many inches you have lost and mark your progress accordingly.

As satisfying as it is to have a visual marker of your efforts, sometimes, the changes are not always as obvious as one might think.

Conclusion

While running is one of the best ways to lose weight, it can lead to little to no visible results if you are not doing it right.
Therefore, make sure to pace your runs appropriately, keep track of your progress via methods other than the scale (such as old clothes), and always operate on a caloric deficit to prompt your body to shed the extra weight.

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Author: Katherine Roberts

As a prestigious member of The Fitness Trainer Academy in Houston, with a vast experience in fitness coaching, nutritional advice, as well as wellness knowledge, Katherine Roberts is behind the ‘fitness’ word. She’s a guru of everything related to active lifestyle and personal development, you can check out her website: topfitnessreview.net.

Source: Wiry Body