You’ve been running regularly, watching the miles stack up on your fitness app, but that stubborn belly fat seems to be enjoying the ride a little too much. It’s time to lace up our detective shoes (yes, I actually did a bunch of research beyond my own experiences) and run down the facts (pun intended) about whether those sprints and jogs can truly help you say goodbye to belly fat for good.
Before I jump in…I was once a paltry 120lbs when I was running in high school and college. I evened out and found myself at about 140lbs in about 2008. But that was when I got injured and burnt out and my running nearly came to a screaming halt. in 2019 (and today sadly) I find myself nearer to 180lbs. One thing to know about me: I’m a terrible eater. Fruits and veggies are a no for me. I’m about meat, carbs, and starches. This typically lands me into hot water when I think about diets to lose, or maintain, a specific weight. However, I had some great success a few years ago I want to share with you, as I think about beginning this journey once again for myself. Ok, let’s get into it…
The Straight Facts on Belly Fat
Let’s clarify something: As a society, we tend to view body fat as our enemy. Just take a look at the millions of articles and diet fads made popular throughout the years. Yet, it is crucial to understand that a certain amount of body fat is necessary for survival. It insulates the body, cushions and protects organs, and plays a key role in hormone production. HOWEVER, when body fat, especially belly fat, tips us into obesity, it crosses from a necessity to a health risk.
Belly fat is composed of both visceral fat (deep abdominal fat surrounding organs) and subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin). Excess visceral fat is linked to significant health risks such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, making its reduction a critical goal for improving overall health. (https://marathonhandbook.com/burn-belly-fat/)
Belly fat is basically just stored energy. When you eat, the digested food is calories, or energy. But instead of throwing away what we don’t need, we collect it as fat in case we need it some day. Most of us, don’t. That’s because we eat at the next meal and add to the collection created from the meal before. So yes, we are all hoarders in some way!
Running’s impact on Belly Fat
Running is an undeniable calorie-burning champion. The science is clear on this—according to a study published in the Journal of Obesity, high-intensity interval running significantly reduces total, abdominal, and visceral fat mass without changing your diet. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10054577/)
To optimize the loss of belly fat through running, incorporating a variety of workouts is often highly important. Just going for slow runs every day will not do it. Why? Well, our bodies are masters at adaptation. This means that as you get good at running 5ks, your body is able to accomplish them by burning less and less calories. We have a way of learning to make things easier for ourselves, even when we don’t know we are doing it.
Interval training, which involves short bursts of high-intensity running followed by recovery periods, has been shown to be particularly effective at burning fat. This approach not only helps in losing weight but also in improving running performance and cardiovascular health. (https://www.runwithcaroline.com/does-running-burn-belly-fat/). This is because it takes longer for our body to adapt since there are so many changing variables.
Cross-training is another strategy that enhances fat loss efforts. By combining running with other forms of exercise such as cycling, swimming, and strength training, you can improve your overall fitness, avoid injuries from overuse, and potentially increase the rate of belly fat loss (https://totalshape.com/training/does-running-burn-belly-fat/). Again, your body can’t adapt as quickly since the variables change and require different things from our body.
But here’s the plot twist: while running torches calories, reducing belly fat also heavily depends on your nutritional choices.
“You Can’t Outrun a bad diet”
The Caloric Conundrum: A Study in Snacks
A pivotal study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveal what we all don’t want to hear: while exercise, like running, is crucial, dietary adjustments are essential for significantly reducing abdominal fat . The researchers found that a combination of diet and exercise was most effective in reducing belly fat, highlighting the importance of watching what you eat as much as staying active.
Running burns calories, but so does living! So, how much should you eat? The Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal suggests that moderate to high-intensity exercise, like running, coupled with a slight caloric deficit, is the winning ticket to reducing visceral fat levels. This means eating just enough to fuel your recovery and energy levels but less than what you burn, creating the perfect storm for burning belly fat.
My Journey
Let me tell you about the diet I worked on a couple of years ago (and probably should take on again soon).
I lost 18 pounds in just a 12 weeks. How? Yup, the million dollar question. I counted calories. I only counted for 2 weeks. It allowed me to gain insight into the foods I ate regularly. I used multiple tools to help me including garmin and myfitnesspal (there are many other tools out there that can also do this well, I just chose these because I was already on, or partially on their platforms). What I liked was that myfitnesspal and garmin can be tied together so you know how many calories you are supposed to intake to live, but also calculates how many you burned from your activity, all in the garmin app. Some screenshots of my journey are below!
The goal: shoot to be about 200-400 calories less than the number presented in myfitnesspal. Let’s run a quick example:
I need 1200 calories to stay alive. But I ran 10 miles which burned 1000 calories. Now I need 2200 calories. So, throughout the day, my goal would be to finish the day at around 1800-2000 calories. The 200 calorie deficit doesn’t even equal 1 pound. But over a couple days of this, the fat will slowly melt away.
What I found through this exercise were that foods I enjoyed more were much more calorie dense than I expected, and other foods I also enjoyed had much less calories than expected. I started to lean towards the latter allowing me to eat and get full but still meet my diet goals. Ultimately, it meant losing a bunch of weight, without giving up everything.
Yup, I didn’t give it all up. Some days I’d still have a can of soda, or a few cookies. Other days, I’d fall way behind when we’d go out to a restaurant and get my day’s calorie count in a single meal. Yet, more often than not, I would beat my goal, even with these ‘setbacks’. You can’t always meet your goals, but you need to try. Failing is ok. The hardest part, and the part that shows off your character, is how you do the next day.
Looking at the images below, you can see my journey through 4 week long groups. The first half of my journey was about finding the right foods. It was a relatively slow weight loss time period, but I learned about which foods I enjoyed and which food had high caloric contents to avoid. By the 2nd month, I got into a groove and start weighing myself less frequently with better results. By the 3rd month, the weight was dripping off me. I was checking in less frequently, and seeing incredible results each time. I stopped after 13 weeks and felt very satisfied with my results.
Click on the images below to bring them up in a larger view.
Wrapping It Up: Running, Diet, and the Belly Fat Equation
So, while lacing up and hitting the pavement (or the treadmill) is a fantastic way to burn calories and improve cardiovascular health, the secret ingredient to bidding farewell to belly fat is managing what’s on your plate along with increasing calorie burning. It’s about creating a balanced equation of calories in versus calories out, where running and dietary choices work hand in hand.
Running can indeed help burn belly fat, backed both by science and personal success stories. Just remember, it’s not just the miles you run but also the food choices you make that lead to the finish line of your belly fat burning marathon.
I guess, maybe I’ll be jumping back on this bandwagon this year?! Let’s see.
I’d love to hear from you if you have any secret ingredient ideas to melting away fat. No, not pills etc. but real ways to lose weight through food and workout. What tricks do you have?
Keep up with my nutrition adventures and advice here.
