Weight Management

Keep Track

We know that maintaining a healthy weight and body fat percentage is an important priority for the majority of runners which is why we have added a Weight Tracker to the GoodRunGuide service. 

If you are a seasoned runner you will know how much easier it is to maintain a healthy weight when you run without having to go on those crash diets!  Keeping track of your weight helps you to stay at a weight you are happy with and if you already have a weight/fat history this can be easily entered into the Weight Tracker enabling you to produce all sorts of interesting graphs (including comparing your weight and distance run through our Running Log Book).

Recording your Weight

Body weight and fat percentage can vary by a surprising amount during the day, so in order to make a meaningful comparison over time, take your measurements at the same time each day, preferably on a typical day (e.g. not after a night out!) .  Also, do not weigh yourself after running and allow a few hours after a meal.  In the morning, as soon as you get up, is a good time as is the early evening before eating.

Losing Weight

If you need to lose weight, just remember weight loss and maintenance is a simple matter of 'calories in' versus 'calories out'.  1lb of weight is equal to 3500 calories. So, if you wish to lose 1lb in a week, it is necessary to take in 3500 calories less over the week.  However, this is psychologically hard to maintain by diet alone and more importantly can lead to protein and muscle mass loss.  Studies conclude that the best way to lose (or maintain weight) is with a combination of calorie deficit and energy burn through exercise.  Remember not to try to lose more than 21b a week as this can actually be very unhealthy and certainly won’t help your running.  If you are training for a long distance race make sure you re-fuel within an hour with a high carbohydrate meal/snack after each hard session or you won’t be doing yourself any favours.

Running is the best activity for burning calories. Approximately 100 calories are burnt for each mile you run, although this will depend on your starting weight, the effort intensity and the gradient of the run.  All our GoodRunGuide Training Routes include a Calorie Counter which calculates the calories burnt on that Route taking into account your own weight and the topography of the Route.  

Many people start jogging in an attempt to lose weight but become disillusioned when the pounds do not seem to shift even if calorie intake has not increased.  However, it is important to remember that muscle mass weighs more than fat and also an increase in aerobic activity leads to an increase in blood volume so that, although it is not shown on the scales, body fat is actually being lost although weight may stay the same.  That is why we also include fat percentage and waist measurements on our Weight Tracker.  A pair of scales which also records fat percentage is a good investment and will allow you to keep track of your body fat rather than concentrating on weight alone, which is not always representative of progress. Waist measurement is also a good indicator of health.

Body Mass Index

Click on the button to the right and you can bring up a Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator. BMI is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify underweight, overweight and obesity in adults.

The World Health Organisation classifies BMI into the following ranges: