Walking, Jogging, Running: Wont help losing weight

Walking, Jogging and running are very popular forms of aerobic exercises for fat loss and weight loss,often performed as an alternative to dieting when people are trying to loose weight fast and reach their fat loss and weight loss goals. But are they really beneficial way to loose weight fast and burn body fat tissue,will they help you to reach your weight loss goals?

The problem with any aerobic activity is that they will increase your respiration and heart beat well above the desired fat burning mode where the body will start to burn carbohydrate as calories for energy instead of your stored body fat tissue. Meaning that the extra energy burned to jog or run will be of no use to the weight loss / fat loss process, making dieting a better alternative.

If the purpose of doing an aerobic exercise is to loose weight by increasing your respiration and heart beat above normal for an extended period of time, hoping that it will accelerate the fat loss and weight loss process! Do think again, here is what happens when you are willing to perform any aerobic activity for weight loss or to be healthy….

HUMAN BODY: EXTREMELY ADAPTIVE
Remember this – the body is great at adapting according to the amount of stress you put on it, not your stress at work. I am talking about the stress demands of exercise/ physical activity. Cardio makes your heart beat faster. If your heart has to beat faster, it is working harder than it is at rest. When repeatedly exposed to such stress, the heart gets stronger and adapts to being able to beat faster for longer periods of time.

This is great for things such as lowering your resting heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, regulating insulin, and decreasing the risk of all kinds of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Cardio is great for increased longevity and overall quality of life, but it is NOT rather NEVER the only great choice of exercise for fat loss.

Also, think of it like this…

Let’s say that you go outside right now and need to run/jog/walk 1 mile without stopping. If you have not done such stunts in awhile, you are going to feel very exhausted trying to get through it all. But, let’s say that I have you do the same 1 mile program for four times a week for the next two months. Wouldn’t it feel tremendously easier than it would have the first time you tried it?

Why? Because the 1 mile activity that started as a stress that was very physically taxing, after repeated exposures, your body adapted in response to the stress of the mile run and became better at it. Here is how this all relates back to cardio for weight loss…

Doing lots of cardiovascular training makes your body more efficient by utilizing lesser energy to complete the task it has adapted to. This is bad for weight loss because the goal of a aerobic or cardio session is to burn lots of calories during and after your exercise.
Lots of repeated bouts of cardio makes your body become more efficient and adaptive, meaning that the more adaptive it gets the fewer calories you burn. Due to its smart adaptive techniques, the body never wants to run out of fat when they are jogging or walking, so the body goes into fat production and fat conservation mode. It is that simple. The body’s genetic adaptions to jogging and walking are;

Decreases in muscle mass (because muscle burns fat for energy, so the body cant store energy as fat)
Increases in fat storing hormones (because the body wants to make one molecule of fat last as long as possible during the jog/walk)
A lower metabolic rate (so that fat is conserved during the times when the jogger/walker is resting)
Increases in fat production hormones. (so the body builds more fat from the same or lesser amounts of food because fat is needed during the jog/walk)

Lets assume the body like a processor chip, performing every task asked of it. Aerobic exercises do burn fat but again the body hears the command that the body needs fat in order to jog or walk. The body’s genetic adaptation of over producing fat, in response to jogging or walking, can unfortunately translate into unhealthy exercise addictions.

The body’s fat storing hormones always want to stay one step ahead, basically showing up as weight loss plateaus, increases in weight or increases in fatty content. If the body is really good at storing fat those effects can show up when you stop your aerobic activity for only one week. This can get the jogger or walker out on the road sooner than they should. This is how a leisurely jog or walk, 2 days per week for 30 minutes, can escalate to 1-2 hour jogs or walks/6-7 days per week with a hope
to lose weight.

MARTHON: EASIER TO LOSE WEIGHT
Most commonly, i come across this question?
Vivek, can you train me for a marathon, however their real reason is to lose weight.
Frankly, You Don’t Need to Run a Marathon to Lose Weight!!

This goes back to the myth that you can train for an endurance event and expect that fat loss is going to be a side effect of your training. We already know that lots of endurance work makes the body more adaptive and efficient.

If you want to lose 30lbs and decide you are going to train for a 5k, half marathon, or full marathon, then you should expect some fat loss to occur from your training. However it is possible for someone to train for months for a running event, develop some incredible endurance, and not lose a single pound.

Why?

First, you will likely lose lean muscle tissue unless you supplement your aerobic training with some kind of strength training. Second, burning more calories makes you hungry. If you burn an extra 400 calories a day from running but take in an extra 700 calories per day because you your appetite is higher, then you have not created the caloric deficit need to lose weight.

You can develop some incredible endurance without ever losing any weight. This is another reason why traditional cardio exercise is great for the heart but not so great for losing body fat.

Lets think about it like this:

If you want to train for a marathon, do lots of running.
If you want to train for a power lifting competition, do lots of bench press, deadlifts, and barbell squats.
If you want to train for baseball, do lots of core training that emphasizes rotation.
If you want to train for the Tour De France, do lots of cycling.

So , if you want to train to lose body fat, develop a balance of resistance training, cardio training (intervals are great), and most importantly, a balanced diet.

Training for fat loss is just as specific as training for any of the sports listed above. Think of fat loss as your sport and your training is what prepares you for “game day”.
If you desire fast weight loss and fat loss then walking,jogging and running are not recommended as they burn more carbohydrate calories than fat calories, and instead dieting to loose
weight fast is what i recommend using a good fat loss / weight loss dieting program. There are many easier and more effective forms of aerobic exercises such as swimming, climbing up hill, bicycling and hiking that can be used in combination with a good fat loss / weight loss dieting plan to help you to loose weight fast. As these aerobic exercises are less demanding on the body and judging your heart beat and respiration is simplified, and they are perfect to be used in combination with a nice fat loss / weight loss dieting plan which will help you to loose weight fast and that is what you want.

TRIVIA

We burn 1 calorie per liter of oxygen inhaled (Read Swimming as a aerobic activity)
The Danish scientist in 1989 – performed a series of tests by making their subjects run a marathon(26.2 MILES) and after a grueling 18 months of training program here are the results:
• The men dropped 5 pounds of body fat
• The women dropped no body fat at all

So, if you’re looking to drop 40 pounds and that too fast; then you better be ready to do a 20 odd miles run, quit your job and abandoning your family, friends …
Else stick to a combination of resistance training, cardio training , and most importantly, a balanced diet.

BeWell,
Vivek