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20 March 2026|Porady, Tips

Running and Weight Loss: How to Run to Lose Weight

Spring is the perfect time to start being more active, and running is one of the most effective ways to burn calories and lose weight. Longer days and warmer temperatures make running outdoors a pleasant activity that improves your mood and helps you achieve your weight loss goals. However, combining running with weight loss requires a smart approach to avoid burnout and injury. Here’s everything you need to know about getting started, eating right, and avoiding common mistakes.

How to Start Running to Lose Weight

If you’re new to running, it’s crucial to start slowly and gradually increase your intensity. Pushing yourself too hard at the beginning can lead to injury and discouragement.

Mix walking and running: To avoid overloading your muscles and joints, alternate walking with running until you build enough endurance to run continuously.
Don’t run every day: Even experienced runners need recovery time. As a beginner, aim to run every other day, giving your body time to rest and strengthen. A good starting goal is 15 minutes of running three times a week.
Run at a moderate pace: If your main goal is fat burning, run at a comfortable pace in the aerobic zone where you can still hold a conversation. The longer you run at a steady pace, the higher the percentage of fat your body will use for energy.

How Many Calories Can You Burn Running?

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means you burn more calories than you consume. Running can help you achieve this, but the number of calories burned depends on your weight, pace, and how long you run.

The general rule: You can lose about half a kilogram per week if you consume 500 fewer calories than you burn each day.
Realistic goals: A good target is burning 1–2 kg of fat per month, which requires a daily deficit of about 300 kcal.
Be patient: Trying to lose an extreme amount of weight, like 10 kg in a month, is biologically impossible and would require excessive dieting and exercise.

What to Eat Before and After Running

Proper nutrition before and after running is crucial to avoid fatigue and aid recovery.

Before running: Never run on an empty stomach. Choose a light carbohydrate snack 30-60 minutes before your run, such as a banana, whole grain toast, a bagel with peanut butter, or a piece of chocolate. These carbs provide quick energy to get you moving. It’s better to choose carbs with less fiber to avoid digestive discomfort, especially at the beginning.
After running: Within 30 minutes of finishing your run, eat a snack that combines carbohydrates and protein. A good choice would be a protein shake, skyr with fruit, or a protein bar. This helps muscle recovery and replenishes energy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many runners make mistakes that hinder their weight loss progress. Here are the most common ones:

Under-fueling: Eating drastically fewer calories doesn’t mean you’ll lose weight faster. In fact, severely restricting calories slows down your metabolism, bringing your weight loss to a halt.
Eliminating all carbs: Carbs are your body’s primary energy source while running. Cutting them out will hurt your performance and make it difficult to finish your run.
Neglecting strength training: Running alone isn’t enough. Include strength training 2-3 times a week, as building muscle boosts your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories even at rest.
Increasing intensity too quickly: Pushing your mileage or pace too fast leads to injuries and weakened immunity.
Weighing yourself too often: Weight loss isn’t a linear process and is influenced by genetics and hormones. Instead of obsessing over the scale, focus on energy levels, stress reduction, and improving cardiovascular fitness.
Forcing yourself to run: If you don’t enjoy running and see it as a punishment, you might start compensating with extra food, which can ruin your calorie deficit. Find a pace and routine you enjoy!

Interesting Facts to Help Keep You Motivated

The 60-Minute Switch: While your body burns a mix of carbs and fat, after about 60 minutes of easy running, the proportions switch, and up to 80% of your energy comes from fat stores.
The 48-Hour Afterburn: For more experienced runners, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) creates such a demand for oxygen that your body continues to burn calories (mostly fat) for up to 48 hours after the workout.

Key Takeaways

To lose weight effectively, you need to start slow, eat properly, and avoid common mistakes. Combining running with the right diet, strength training, and regular recovery will lead to long-term success. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re an experienced runner, understanding how calorie burn and nutrition affect your progress is key to achieving your goals.

Fitatu® App

Spring is the perfect time to lace up your running shoes and hit the outdoors. Whether you’re starting your first run or training for a race, Fitatu® can help you track your runs and measure progress. With synchronization to fitness apps, you can easily log your runs and see how many calories you’ve burned during each workout.

Fitatu® also lets you set your activity level—from very low to high—and automatically adjusts your daily calorie and macro needs accordingly. This helps you align your diet with your running goals, supporting your weight loss or fitness journey.

Fitatu® is available for free on Google Play and the App Store. Full access to additional features is available with Fitatu® Premium or Fitatu® Premium+AI. With Premium+AI, you can also access AI Calorie Estimation, which estimates the calories of any meal by simply entering the dish name.

To help you get started with your spring running routine, we’ve prepared a special discount code RUNNING20. Visit this link to get 20% off annual Fitatu® Premium and Premium+AI subscriptions. It’s a great way to support your running, track your workouts, and stay on top of your diet.

What else is included in Fitatu® Premium?

over 2000 recipes, plus dozens of new ones every month,
additional intermittent fasting plans,
the ability to create shopping lists,
7 ready-made meal plans,
filtering products and recipes,
more sync options with fitness apps,
access to the web version of the app,
no ads!

Fitatu® Support Group

Reaching your goal is easier with the support of others! Join our Fitatu Facebook group and achieve your goals together with other Fitatu® app users. With the group members, you can share your results every day and motivate each other to keep going.